Things to Do in Malmö, Sweden: Copenhagen Day Trip

Have you ever visited a new country just for the day? It’s mind-blowingly easy to do when you’re travelling in the European Union. Many border cities in the 27 EU countries offer quick and direct transport options so you can often hop from country to country in an hour or less.

And on my solo trip to Denmark in April 2022, I crossed the Øresund Bridge from Copenhagen to Malmö in Sweden in 39 minutes. This guide will walk you through all the things to do in Malmö on a Copenhagen to Malmö day trip based on my own experience.

The Øresund Bridge (or the Öresund Bridge if you’re from, well, the other side of the bridge…) stretches 16km across the narrow sea border between these two Nordic cities. It’s the longest combined road and rail bridge in the world and has been since it opened in 1999. For locals, this means being able to see friends and family in either country and increased job opportunities. But for travellers, this means you can tick another country off your list (N.20 for me!) and explore a city you might otherwise have had no intention of visiting.

The city of Malmö, or at least the heart of it, is compact. It’s made for this style of day trip. Scenic parks, old cobbled squares, cafes with piles of pastries in their windows and futuristic skyscrapers are all within easy walking distance. Malmö is worth a day of your holiday in Denmark, and here’s exactly how to do a Copenhagen day trip to Malmö.

Copenhagen Day Trip to Malmö Itinerary

Things to Do in Malmö, Sweden on a Day Trip

Breakfast: St. Jakobs Stenugnsbageri

Leaving my hostel dorm in Copenhagen at the ungodly time of 7:40, I walked to Copenhagen Central train station and bought a ticket to Malmö on an empty stomach. I’d spent the last day or so cramming as many so-good-this-should-be-illegal Danish pastries into my body as I could. I wanted to give Sweden’s sweet treats a fair shot which meant delaying my breakfast. All in the name of research, you know?

St. Jakobs Stenugnsbageri is a light and airy cafe next to Malmö station with cottagecore decor inside a glass building that looks like a shopping mall. There are a few other St. Jakobs around the city but it doesn’t appear to be a big national chain. I chose a traditional Swedish kanelbullar (cinnamon bun) with crystalised sugar sprinkled on top from the display to go with my black coffee. What can I say, it was as delicious as it looked.

I savoured it while sinking into a large velvet olive green armchair that wouldn’t have looked out of place at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Upon reflection, those first 30 minutes in Sweden might’ve been the best first 30 minutes I’ve ever spent in a country.

St. Jakobs served a broad selection of pastries, coffees and breakfast food. It was quiet, the staff were friendly and I’d absolutely go back.

See Malmö Old Lighthouse and the Turning Torso

After refreshments, it was time to start exploring all the things to do in Malmö, Sweden on the northern side of the city. This meant taking numerous snaps of the photogenic Malmö Old Lighthouse (dating back to 1878), the Knotted Gun Anti-Violence Monument and the bridges around the docks.

Walking west, I noticed the city seemed eerily quiet. But I was visiting on a weekday so that perhaps wasn’t out of the ordinary and it’s not a very touristed part of the city. I spotted a few runners, a couple of fathers walking with their young kids through Varvsparken and a lot of new apartment complexes and office buildings.

It’s imperative that you visit this urban yet suburban part of the city on a Copenhagen to Malmö day trip because it’s where you’ll find the Turning Torso. The Swedes also call this skyscraper by its English nickname. Standing at 190 metres, it’s the tallest building in Scandinavia.

Wander through Kungsparken

Heading south, I wandered along the canal towards Kungsparken. This is the city’s main park and you cannot miss it when you visit Malmö. It’s where you’ll find Malmö Castle and an instagrammable windmill called Slottsmöllan or Castle Mill. There’s also a large pond, gardens, woodland and cafes so it is well worth a stroll through. It was a sunny albeit windy April morning when I visited so I couldn’t have asked for better spring weather.

I didn’t, but you can also head inside Malmö Castle to learn more about Swedish royalty during the renaissance and under Danish rule. 

Lunch: Korvhuset Hotdog Diner

With my early start and, let’s be honest, unsubstantial breakfast, I decided to head for an early lunch. Hotdogs! The backbone of Scandinavian street food and cheap dining. I’d heard from several sources that Korvhuset was inexpensive and delicious and they were right.

Entering the empty restaurant, I felt like I’d accidentally opened a door to a parallel universe. Matching ketchup and mustard bottles sat on baby blue diner-style tables and retro coca-cola ads plastered the walls. I felt like I was intruding as I interrupted the older gentleman behind the counter, possibly the owner, in the middle of reading his newspaper. He likely wasn’t expecting customers at 11:30 on a Friday. But as with literally every person I encountered in both Denmark and Sweden, his English was as good as his welcome.

I ordered a vegetarian hotdog (it’s not on the menu but don’t be too shy to ask, they have them!) with mashed potatoes. A classic accompaniment. Grab a bottle of Cocio chocolate milk if you wanna have a super touristy Scandi lunch. You can get your food to takeaway too. Don’t fancy hotdogs but still want a cheap yet delicious lunch? Badran’s Super Falafel has great reviews and it’s right down the street.

Enjoy a Late Fika at Lilla Kafferosteriet

As I left Korvhuset, the “sunny albeit windy” weather I’d left behind was now a swirling hail storm that showed no signs of letting up. You can predict that spring Scandinavian weather will always be unpredictable, right?

Luckily there was another recommended place to visit in Malmö for pastries on my list that I wanted to try. I dove into a convenience store to buy some postcards and stamps and to check directions to Lilla Kafferosteriet.

This is quite a large cafe where you can buy light lunches as well as coffees and pastries. It’s the kind of coffee shop where they will ask you what kind of beans you want but they won’t judge you if you couldn’t care less, like me. They have beautiful dark, rustic wood furniture and I enjoyed the 45 minutes I spent here writing postcards.

I ordered a Kardemummabullar (the cardamom version of the bun I had for breakfast) with my medium roast coffee which was so doughy and delicious.

Stroll through Lila Torg and Malmö Old Town

One of the most popular attractions in the city which tops every “What to See in Malmö” list is Lila Torg. It means Little Square or something like that. This tiny cobble-stoned square is in the centre of the city. It has a few medieval-style buildings, a very Accidentally Wes Anderson phone box and some touristy bars. Walking through Gustav Adolfs Torg (another square) is also something you should probably do in Malmö.

Branching off from Lila Torg is a bigger and more modern square, Stortorget. This is where you’ll find the cool old advertisements on the side of one of the buildings that you may have seen before and Malmö Town Hall with Swedish flags flying outside.

And branching off from there is St Peter’s Church. It’s a Gothic church dating back to the 1300s and it’s quite beautiful inside. There are lots of frescoes in the alcoves and the colour scheme is a dazzling bright white with golden ornaments. I think it’s open every day (check if you’re visiting out of season) and there’s a small entrance fee/donation. They had the queer pride and trans pride flags displayed on the reception desk which gave me warm fuzzies. 

Sail Along the Malmö Canals With Rundan Sightseeing

When you’re doing a Copenhagen to Malmö day trip, I’d recommend hopping on a canal boat tour with Rundan Sightseeing if you’re able. It departs from a jetty near the train station, costs around 185 SEK/£15 and lasts 50 minutes. They operate from April 1st – September 25th but they only run every day in the summer. Unfortunately, when I visited in early April, they weren’t sailing on Fridays. But in summer, the boats depart roughly every 20 minutes between 10:30 and 18:30.

Malmö’s Old Town is essentially a floating island surrounded by a canal network so I imagine this is a really great way to see the whole city. And a great alternative to a walking tour! I love joining walking tours as a solo traveller because I like to know a little about the history of places I visit. But because there were no tours when I visited, I am now woefully underinformed.

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Dinner: La Soupe Adelgatan

Immediately after I left St Peter’s Church, the clouds quickly darkened and I knew it would soon be pouring down in Malmö again. I was a little tired and wanted to head back to Copenhagen in time to visit the cinema, so I didn’t eat dinner in Malmö. If I did, I’d have eaten at La Soupe Adelgatan. Yes, it’s a restaurant that specialises in soup! Reasonable prices, great reviews and lots of local and veggie options. Perfect for solo and budget travellers.

Other Fun Things to Do in Malmö, Sweden

If I’d have spent longer in the city, here are some other things to do in Malmö that I would have done:

• Ribersborgs Kallbadhus – This is an open-air traditional Swedish bath just south of the city centre on the coast. The spa offers massage treatments and has an on-site restaurant. But the main activity here is to raise your body temperature by sweating in the sauna before plunging into the sea. It only costs around 75 SEK/£6 for a one-time visit and they are open year-round.
• Öresundsbron Viewpoint – You’d need to hop on a bus to get here but I think it would have been worth it. I personally think the Øresund Bridge is fascinating and I’d love to see it close up. Sibbarp in Malmö supposedly has one of the best views of the structure.
• Disgusting Food Museum – Because aren’t you intrigued to smell the world’s smelliest cheese? Is it really that smelly?! There’s another Disgusting Food Museum in Berlin but I’d have visited the one in Malmö if I had time.

How to Travel to Malmö from Copenhagen: Train and Bus

Unless you have accessibility needs, most people will be able to walk around Malmö with no problems so won’t need public transport in the city. But you will need it to travel from Copenhagen to Malmö (or if you’re doing a day trip from Malmö to Copenhagen too). Don’t rent a car, you won’t need one. And by taking public transport you’ll be doing as the locals do.

The most popular method is to take the train. It is incredibly easy. Trains leave approximately every 20 minutes and you don’t gain much by booking your tickets in advance. Simply show up at Copenhagen Central Station and locate one of the ticket machines. Switch the programmed language to your own and state that you want to go to Malmö Central Station. The machine will generate a list of scheduled trains and you can just choose the next one. I’m sure you can get a return but I bought a single ticket and paid around 91 DKK/£10 each way. 

Or, you can book a seat on a FlixBus service. My pal chose this option because they said it was cheaper than taking the train. FlixBus are a popular international bus company travelling all over Europe and they depart from just outside of Copenhagen Central Station. From what I can tell, it’s actually not cheaper than taking the train unless certain times of year/advanced bookings are way less pricey. Plus, it takes 75 minutes to cross the bridge instead of the train’s 35 minutes. I would just take the train.

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Accommodation in Malmö: Hostels & Hotels

Obviously, I didn’t stay the night in Malmö so I can’t offer any suggestions. However, if you’re planning to spend a couple of days there then I recommend looking at Booking.com for hotels and Hostelworld for hostels. These are both of my go-to booking sites because I love their free cancellation policies.

And those are things to do in Malmö, Sweden based on my day trip there from Copenhagen! Are you planning to do a day trip to Malmö from Copenhagen too? Let me know in the comments below!

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