Helsingborg, Sweden Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know!

Must See Architecture & Views

Helsingborg City Hall (Rådhuset)- This is Helsingborg’s most defining landmark, and for good reason! The city hall is a beautiful neo-gothic style building that looks more like a castle than a government building.

Kärnan Tower– This is a medieval tower that is a remnant of a castle. You can climb the tower for great views of the city.

Terrace Stairs– These famous stairs lead up to Kärnan tower and the observation deck just above the staircase. If you don’t want to climb the stairs of Kärnan tower, you can get great photos from this observation deck as well.

• There is also a lift to use for those who can’t navigate stairs.
• The city hall, Kärnan Tower and Terrace stairs are located at or very near the main street of Stortorget, so this is where you should begin when you start to explore Helsingborg!

St. Mary’s Church– This is Helsingborg’s oldest church, and one of the oldest buildings in general, dating back to the 1400’s. The church has beautiful gothic architecture and worth a stop in.

Sofiero Castle– This previous royal summer residence is located about a 12-15 minute drive north of Helsingborg, so it is not within walking distance like most other things in Helsingborg.

Shop

Kullagatan Street- Shop down the main shopping street of Kullagatan street. This is where you will find little boutiques, souvenir shops, etc.

• This street begins at the main city center of Stortorget in the old town and goes to Sankt Jörgens Plats

Shopping Malls– If you want to shop indoors, there are a couple of options in Helsingborg,

• Söder has some shopping as well as a cinema, bowling, billiards and other entertainment.
• For a more traditional mall you can go to Väla Centrum, which only has clothing and household stores.

Outdoor Activities

Gröningen Park– This is a park located on the north side of Helsingborg that has a great boardwalk along the beach. This is a lively area during the warmer months in Helsingborg!

Tropical Beach– Another warm-weather activity to do is hang out at Tropical beach. This beach is an easy ~10 minute walk from Helsingborg’s downtown area.

Fredriksdal Museum & Gardens– Technically a museum, but it is also a botanical garden located just a bit outside of Helsingborg’s city center. Here you will find the gardens, farm animals and a city of cobblestones and architecture that is like going back in time.

Museums

For a town so small, Helsingborg has museums to cover most everyone’s interests!

Medical History Museum (Medicinhistoriska Museet)– An old hospital turned museum with displays that showcase the changing of perception of health and sickness through the years. Artifacts, documents and interactive displays are shown throughout the musuem.

The Printing Museum (Grafiska Museet)– The largest graphic museum in the Scandinavia area that showcases the history of printing.

The School Museum (Skolmuseet)– An exhibition of the development of Swedish schools with displays of an old classroom, woodworking room, sewing room, dentists office and doctors office.

The Sports Museum (Idrottsmuseum)– A collection of local athletes who competed in football, swimming, boxing, fencing, formula 1 and more, many of whom made it to the Olympics.

Råå Museum– A fishing and maritime museum which tells the history of fishermen and sailors throughout the history of Helsingborg. Helsingborg was once one of Sweden’s largest fishing villages and a main stop for ships.

Now that you are convinced you need to visit, here is everything else you need to know about visiting Helsingborg including:

• Where its located
• How to get there
• How to get around the city of Helsingborg
• Where to stay
• Best time to visit

Helsingborg is located in southern Sweden, on the Øresund Straight directly across from Helsingør, Denmark.

• In driving terms it is about:
  • 45 minutes north of Malmö, Sweden
  • About 2 hours south of Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Nearly 6 hours from Stockholm, Sweden

Train

If you are only planning to take a trip to Helsingborg from a nearby city (rather than road tripping,) train is your best way to get to Helsingborg. It is the fastest option and is quite affordable, and the train station is located right in the city center of Helsingborg!

The train ride from Gothenburg to Helsingborg is between an hour and 45 minutes to 2.5 hours (depending on which train you choose.) And the price ranges from ~$25 to $50 USD depending on times, train type and time of year.

Ferry

As I mentioned, you can ferry from Sweden to Denmark and vice versa! If you are in Copenhagen and want to visit Helsingør and the Kronborg Castle, ferry will likely be your best option!

From Helsingør, Denmark you can ferry with a car or on foot to Helsingborg. The ferry is only about a 20 minute ride, runs 24 hours a day and leaves nearly every 30 minutes (a little slower during the overnight hours).

• You can purchase ferry tickets online at ForSea Ferries or purchase tickets directly at the ferry terminal.

Car

Scandinavia is well-connected via train and can definitely be managed without renting a car.

And, you really don’t need a car to navigate most of Helsingborg.

HOWEVER, we rented a car and road tripped from Oslo, Norway, down the coast all the way to Copenhagen, Denmark and loved being able to stop at little coastal towns along the way!

I highly recommend this Scandinavian road trip trip, especially at Christmas time!

Rent a car for your road trip!

As I mentioned, Helsingborg is a very walkable city.

It is about 38 square km in size and has a very centrally located downtown. If you are coming in via ferry or train, you will arrive JUST across the street from Helsingborg’s famous town hall.

So, the best way to get around Helsingborg is to walk or bike! But, for the sites that are a LITTLE far out for walking, there is also a local bus system that connects the highlights of Helsingborg.

If you are taking the road trip option, know that parking can be limited in the central part of Helsingborg. The city is also rather compact and hilly just beyond downtown Helsingborg, so if you are arriving by car you may have to park a bit outside of the city and walk into the downtown area.

You also want to be sure to find a hotel that has parking nearby which often is street parking. This is typically free at certain times of the day/week, but not during busy hours.

There are a couple of good options when it comes to choosing accommodations in Helsingborg. Again, Helsingborg is a very walkabout city, so it really makes sense to find somewhere you can walk to downtown.

Stortorget street (shown below!) is the most centrally located street in downtown Helsingborg, so if you use this as a landmark and work your way out from it, you should have a great location for a hotel!

However, another good option (which we chose due to parking) is to stay at or near Hotel Comfort Helsingborg. This hotel is a budget-friendly hotel that offers street parking if you are driving in.

• It is also in walking distance of Södergartan Street where you ca find the mall, movie theatre, a grocery store and several restaurants.
• Though located a little further from the city center, it is still within about a 12 minute walk to the Helsingborg City Hall.

Book a room at Hotel Comfort Helsingborg !

Located on the Øresund Strait, Helsingborg, along with other small, coastal Swedish towns, is more popular as a summer getaway destination. With nice summer weather and beaches along the straight, it is an escape from the summer heat in the cities.

• Summer in Helsingborg boasts LONG summer nights and has a lot of outdoor activities and parks to visit!

Late Spring and early Autumn can be okay options, though I don’t think they are the best time. The crowds will definitely be lower. But the weather during the Spring and Autumn can be quite chilly making it less ideal for the outdoor, summer-type activities.

• If you do opt for these times of year, I would choose May or September rather than early spring or late autumn or you could really get some cold weather!

However, cold weather can be okay at the right time! I may be biased, but Helsingborg during the holidays is magic! The architectural charm combined with twinkling Christmas lights, giant Christmas trees and SNOW is a perfect combination!