Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [227]
Sights & Activities
Länsmuseet Västernorrland (886 00; www.murberget.se; Murberget; admission free; 11am-5pm Tue-Sun) is an excellent regional museum dedicated to the culture and history of Ångermanland. In addition to the permanent exhibitions, which include furniture, historic photographs and Sami handicraft, the museum hosts temporary displays of more recent art and sculpture. A self-guided tour on tape (in English) costs Skr20. The open-air museum, Friluftsmuseet Murberget (admission free; 11am-5pm mid-Jun–mid-Aug), adjacent to Länsmuseet Västernorrland, includes a 19th-century shop, church and school in the style typical of this part of Norrland. Take bus 2 or 52.
Boat trips taking in the impressive coastal scenery are available in summer, with some routes journeying up to the dramatic Höga Kusten bridge – enquire at the tourist office for details.
The regional library, Härnosand Sambibliotek (Mon-Sat Aug-Jun), hosts rotating art exhibits in a cool, cutting-edge building; the stylish cafe inside offers a cheap lunch buffet with vegetarian options (from Skr70).
A shop that doubles as a handicraft museum, the classy Svensk Slöjd (51 13 27; Storgatan 25; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat), across from Hemköp supermarket, is a good place to find souvenirs; they’re not cheap but the quality is top-notch, as the shop is an outlet of the official Swedish handicraft organisation, Svensk Slöjd.
Sleeping & Eating
STF Mitti Härnösand (243 00; mitti@telia.com; Franzengatan 14; dm/s/d Skr150/225/300; reception 3-5pm; ) Directly across the street from the cathedral in a restored building that dates from 1844, this cosy, friendly place has good facilities and a handy location.
First Hotell Stadt (55 44 40; Skeppsbron 9; s/d from Skr1222/1422, discounted to Skr650/850; ) This huge, grim-looking building that looms at the edge of the harbour is at the other extreme. Rooms are spacious and pleasant, with Scandinavian-modern decor and all the usual amenities; most have views over the marina. There’s a bar in the lobby that serves snacks.
Kanalkafeet (106 66; Storgatan 18; snacks Skr35-50, meals from Skr75) In a pretty yellow building at one end of the pedestrianised shopping street, old-style Kanalkafeet serves big salads, light meals, cakes and coffee.
Hamnkrog (219 11; mains Skr75-125) The best bet for dinner is this bar-restaurant, attached to the guest harbour just across the bridge from the town centre. It has a deck with great views over the water in summer.
Getting There & Around
Länstrafiken Västerbotten bus 100 runs several times daily to Sundsvall (Skr86, one hour), Luleå (Skr423, eight hours) and points in between. Ybuss runs daily to Gävle (Skr260, 4½ hours, twice daily) and Stockholm (Skr310, six to seven hours, several daily). Local buses service Sundsvall for train connections to Gävle and Stockholm.
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HÖGA KUSTEN
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Some of the most dramatic scenery on the Swedish coastline is found here, on the Höga Kusten (meaning ‘High Coast’). The secret to its spectacular beauty is elevation; nowhere else on the coast do you find such a mountainous landscape, with sheer rocky cliffs plunging straight down to the sea, as well as lakes, fjords and islands. The region was recently recognised as a geographically unique area and listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.
The combined processes of glaciation, glacial retreat and land rising from the sea (which continues today at a rate of 90cm per century) are the combined forces that led to this stunning scenery. It’s a wonderful area for scenic drives, although the narrow twisty roads can make it difficult for whoever’s stuck behind the wheel.
Höga Kusten stretches from north of Härnösand to Örnsköldsvik, and either place makes a handy base for exploration. The regional tourist office (504 80; www.hogakusten.com) can help you with information on exploring the region by bus,