You might not have heard about Lund, but this amazing university town in the southern Swedish region of Skåne is definitely worth a visit. What’s even less known about this charming municipality is that it’s only about an hour by train from Copenhagen.
So even if Lund itself might not be your next travel destination, if you visit Copenhagen, you might want to add an extra day, hop over the Øresund Bridge, and visit this lovable town. In my humblest opinion, by the way, Lund is much more worth visiting than neighboring Malmö, the latter being the third-largest city in Sweden.
Follow me on this journey, where I share the lovely day we spent here and everything you need to know when visiting Lund.
The Most Important Facts About Lund
The first thing to know about Lund is that this is a university town. And not just in the sense that there is a university somewhere in the city, but in the sense that the whole place breathes this young, intellectual, slightly relaxed student atmosphere. Lund University is one of the most important universities in Sweden, and you can feel that energy when walking around the center.
The second thing is that Lund is old. Really old. It’s one of the oldest cities in Sweden, with medieval streets, old brick buildings, and the impressive Lund Cathedral standing right in the middle of the town. So even though the city is small and easy to walk around, it doesn’t feel like a random pretty town. It feels like a place with history.
And maybe this is exactly what makes Lund so lovable. It has the charm of a small town, the cultural weight of an old city, and the lively feeling of a university place — all in a municipality of around 132,000 people. You don’t need a long checklist of sights here. Just walk around, look at the houses, stop for coffee, visit the cathedral, and let the atmosphere do its job.
For me, visiting Lund is less about “doing” a city and more about enjoying it. It’s compact, calm, beautiful, and very easy to like. Especially if you come from Copenhagen for a day trip, Lund gives you a completely different Swedish feeling without making the journey complicated.
How to Get to Lund
Unless you’re staying in Skåne, chances are you’re coming from Copenhagen or maybe Malmö. Either way, the easiest way to get to Lund is by train. The well-known Copenhagen–Malmö train that crosses the Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden actually continues on to Lund.
We took this train from the Danish capital and arrived in this lovable town in less than an hour. From Malmö, it’s only about 15 minutes. So not only can you visit Lund in a day, but you can even add some extra program the same evening. We, for instance, visited the enormous Emporia shopping center in Hyllie, right along the train line back to Copenhagen, to take advantage of the much friendlier Swedish prices.
Lund is a Big Walk
Lund has a charming old town, and — maybe other than the Cathedral — it doesn’t really have one set itinerary or a strict list of must-see sights. Instead, it grabs you right at the first corner opposite the train station, with its mix of charming medieval half-timbered houses and majestic turn-of-the-century buildings.
We just immersed ourselves in history, following the first street from the station, Sankt Petri Kyrkogata, and enjoyed the architecture all around us.
If you don’t do anything else, just stroll along the streets of old town Lund all day long, and you’ll still return home with lots of wonderful memories.
Lund Cathedral
And then, just around the corner at the end of Sankt Petri Kyrkogata, Lund Cathedral appeared on our right.
This is the sight most people probably come to Lund for, and honestly, I understand why. Lund Cathedral is a 900-year-old church, standing right in the middle of the city, with its two massive towers dominating the streets around it.
From the outside, it is impressive in that heavy, medieval, almost fortress-like way. Not overly decorated, not trying to be delicate, but powerful and calm at the same time. It looks old in the best possible sense of the word, as if it had seen everything that happened around it for centuries and didn’t feel the need to explain itself.
The interior is just as amazing, with that deep cathedral atmosphere that immediately makes you slow down. One of the main highlights is the astronomical clock, dating from around 1425, which still feels like something between a machine, a piece of art, and a medieval mystery.
Also make sure to go down into the crypt. This was one of my favorite parts of the cathedral. Low arches, thick columns, and a completely different atmosphere from the bright space above. This is where you’ll find the legendary Giant Finn, connected to one of the best-known stories of Lund Cathedral.
So yes, if there is one actual must-see sight when visiting Lund, this is it. The town itself is lovely for walking around, but Lund Cathedral gives the whole place its historical weight.
Kulturen
As much as I hadn’t planned to go inside the cultural history museum in Lund, this became our favorite experience in the town.
I have to admit, we were lucky. We came here on the last Saturday of May, the first day of Lund’s History Days. There was a medieval fair all around the park beside the Cathedral, but more importantly for us, Kulturen offered free entry for the day.
I don’t know if we would have entered had it cost the usual entrance fee. But once we saw it, I can honestly say it would have been worth not only the visit, but also the money on a regular day. The museum itself gives you a lot of insight into the history of Lund and Skåne, but the open-air museum — right in the middle of town — is a whole world of its own.
You walk from one historic building to another, through courtyards, gardens, and small streets that almost feel like a tiny old town hidden inside the actual old town. Some houses show how people lived in southern Sweden in different periods and different social settings, and that’s exactly what makes the place so interesting. It’s not just objects behind glass; it’s rooms, homes, streets, and everyday life.
And maybe this is why Kulturen surprised me so much. I expected a museum. What we got was a much more physical and atmospheric experience of history. After walking around Lund and admiring the old houses from the outside, here we could suddenly step into that world a little bit.
Botanical Garden
From Kulturen, we continued toward the Botanical Garden, but instead of taking the most direct route, we walked through the old streets of Lund and then Östra kyrkogården (cemetery). And I’m very glad we did. It might sound strange to recommend a cemetery as part of a pleasant walk, but this one really felt like a quiet green passage through Lund. Old trees, peaceful paths, and beautiful old gravestones made it feel more like a historical park.
Then we arrived at the Botanical Garden, which is another lovely stop when visiting Lund. It belongs to Lund University, and it fits the city perfectly: calm, green, a little academic, and very easy to enjoy without needing a big plan.
For us, the best part was simply the abundance of flowers and blossoms everywhere, as we visited right between spring and summer. The garden felt full of colors, life, and incredible scents. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever smelled such a beautiful rose scent as the one drifting from a white rose bush along the path here in Lund Botanical Garden.
How to Make it a Full Day
I think two important things are still missing from this Lund itinerary if you want to get back the same feeling we experienced on our beautiful day.
The first one is the amount of walking. I already wrote about it, but it’s worth emphasizing again: give yourself at least an hour to stroll along the old streets of Lund with no set itinerary. That’s what we did, and I can tell you, every street and every corner had something interesting to offer.
The second one is food. Of course, you’ll want to grab something when you spend an entire day here — and this is also a website about travel and food, after all. But for thas part, I’m planning a separate article. So stay tuned!
Your Itinerary Around Lund
I included this interactive map, so you can find everything that I wrote about in this article.
