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Apelviken, 2km south of Varberg, is Sweden’s best spot for windsurfing and kitesurfing. Bring your own kit or rent from Surfer’s Paradise (67 70 55; info@surfersparadise.nu; per hr/day from Skr80/300; Feb-Nov), which also offers courses from June to August: contact them for details.

Sleeping & Eating

Getteröns Camping (168 85; www.getteronscamping.se; sites low/high season from Skr180/265, cabins & chalets from Skr200/290; May–mid-Sep) On a sandy beach on the Getterön peninsula, this well-equipped place has plenty of tent spaces, though it does get busy in high season.

Fästningens Vandrarhem (868 28; vandrarhem@turist.varberg.se; dm/s/d from Skr220/330/515) Within the fortress, this SVIF hostel is one of Sweden’s finest. Old prison cells make up the single rooms, with larger rooms in surrounding buildings.

Hotell Gästis (180 50; gastis@hotellgastis.nu; Borgmästaregatan 1; s/d Skr1150/1495) Behind a deceptively humdrum exterior awaits a one-of-a-kind hotel. Quirky details (there are many!) include an elevator shaft covered in pulp fiction covers and a glimmering basement bathhouse (Skr100) modelled on a vintage Russian version and complete with a giant candlelit Jacuzzi. Individually styled rooms are cosy, with sparkling bathrooms and nooks full of books. Room prices also include a decent dinner buffet. Best of all, nonguests can also use the bathhouse, but call ahead first.

Most cheap restaurants line pedestrianised Kungsgatan. Café Fästnings Terrassen (105 81; 11.30am-10pm Jun-Aug, weather permitting), at the fortress, offers the best sea views in town, delicious shrimp sandwiches, waffles and pastries, as well as live waltz tunes from 7pm on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday in summer.

Head to Grappa (179 20; Brunnsparken; mains Skr160-300; Mon-Sat), next to the tourist office, for slinky interiors, fine Swedish and Italian nosh, and a civilised sip.

Getting There & Around

Buses depart from outside the train station; local buses run to Falkenberg, but regular trains are your best bet for Halmstad, Göteborg and Malmö.

Stena Line ferries operate between Varberg and the Danish town of Grenå (Click here); the ferry dock is next to the town centre.

Bike hire from Erlan Cykel (144 55; Västra Vallgatan 41) costs from Skr80/350 per day/week. For a taxi try Varbergs Taxi (165 00).

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Central Sweden

* * *

UPPLAND

UPPSALA

NORTHERN UPPLAND

SÖDERMANLAND

NYKÖPING

ESKILSTUNA

VÄSTMANLAND

VÄSTERÅS

SALA

ÄNGELSBERG

NORA

NÄRKE

ÖREBRO

ASKERSUND & AROUND

VÄRMLAND

KARLSTAD

SUNNE

TORSBY

DALARNA

FALUN

LAKE SILJAN REGION

SÄLEN & AROUND

IDRE & GRÖVELSJÖN

* * *

A compact wonderland of painted wooden horses marching across green hills dotted with little red cabins, central Sweden is such a perfect distillation of all the Swedish highlights that it could almost be one of those Las Vegas theme parks. It’s an easily explored area right in the middle of the country, which means that even travellers on a tight schedule can see a lot of what makes Sweden so Swedish.

The area around Lake Siljan – all idyllic wooden villages and evergreen forest – represents the country’s heartland, as mellow as it is adorable. Moving further north, the landscape gets wilder and more rugged, a teaser offering hints of Lappland and the far north.

The main cities in the central region – especially Uppsala and Örebro – are lively and youthful cultural centres with plenty of well-preserved historical buildings and some great museum collections, dining, shopping and nightlife. Active travellers and outdoorsy types will have plenty to do, too, as the region is rich with opportunities for cycling, mountain biking, dogsledding, horse-riding, birdwatching, hiking, skiing, rock climbing and canoeing.

Several defining episodes in Swedish history also happened here: there’s an important pre-Viking burial ground and more than one castle whose stone walls enclosed royal murders and gruesome