Umeå, called Ume by locals, is a city near the mouth of the Ume River. It is the capital of Västerbotten County in northern Sweden, and with about 110,000 citizens it is the largest city in Norrland. Umeå is known for its university and many birch trees, giving it the nickname "Björkarnas stad", or the "Town of Silver Birches".
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Being the regional capital of Västerbotten, Umeå is also the educational and economic capital city of the region, with no Swedish city of similar size further north. With its strategic location along the E4 national highway, most transportation to the northern part of Sweden goes through here. Umeå has the largest hospital in Northern Sweden as well as the largest university. Situated on top of a small hill overseeing the Ume river and downtown Umeå, they are by far the largest employers in the region. Due to the university, Umeå has one of the lowest average ages in the entire country with a lively night life and creative scene.
Umeå has a lot of students and bikes are common. The city offers a wide variety of bike-friendly roads and bike-only bridges. It is often both easier and faster to get around by bike rather than by car or bus. Bikes can be rented at Cykel & Mopedhandlaren (Kungsgatan 101, ☏ +46 90-140170) or Umeå Camping If you plan on staying longer, buying a used bike is a good investment - with a bit of effort you can find a good used bike for as low as 400 kr. If you prefer to use public transport, the local bus system (run by Västerbottens Lokaltrafik) has Vasaplan as its hub in central Umeå and costs 23 kr per ride for adults, 17 kr for youth below 26 and 12 kr for children below 18 (including one h…
1 Arboretum Norr, Baggböle (about 10 km upstream the Ume river from the city centre; the best way to get there is by bike, following the Ume river). Umeå universitet, Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet and Umeå kommun has laid out an arboretum with trees from places all over the world found on the same latitude. The scenery can be stunningly beautiful, especially in the fall. (updated Oct 2017) 2 Bildmuseet, Östra Strandgatan 30 B, ☏ +46 90 786 7400, info@bildmuseet.umu.se. An art museum which is part of the arts campus of Umeå University, in a spectacular modernist larch building. (updated Dec 2017) 3 Gammlia, Gammlia, ☏ +46 90-171801. Tu–F 10:00–16:00, Sa 12:00–16:00, Su 12:00–17:00.
1 Megazone, Östra Rådhusgatan 8B, ☏ +46 90-130777. Adventure centre on Rådhustorget in central Umeå. Here anyone can get their dose of action in the 600 m² area for Laserdome, Phazerzone and 26 Fort Boyard style cells with various problem solving tasks. This wonderful place also holds an arcade game centre and a large pool and snooker hall. On top of this, there is a reasonably priced grill restaurant. 2 Norrlandsoperan, NorrlandsOperan, ☏ +46 90-154300. The city has an opera house and a famous opera company. Besides opera, the building hosts a large number of other events. 3 SF cinema, Östra Rådhusgatan 2 D, ☏ +46 90-137200.
1 Fantastisk Grill, Umeå University. Kebab and hamburger meals for the students at the university. Fast food in town. About 45 kr. 2 Rådhusgrillen, Rådhustorget. "Rull"-kebab and -pizza, a local specialty. About 35 kr. 3 Droskan, Storgatan 60, Öst på stan, ☏ +46 90-135588. Lunch restaurant with "husmanskost" (Swedish food). 99-265 kr (evenings), 95-115 kr (lunch). 4 Gandhi, Rådhusesplanaden 17 B, ☏ +46 90-12 50 75. Indian restaurant. 100-150 kr. 5 Great Eastern, Magasinsgatan 17, ☏ +46 90-138838. Chinese restaurant. 90-150 kr. 6 MAX, Kungsgatan 63, Rådhustorget, ☏ +46 90-120070. Popular Swedish hamburger chain. About 50-70 kr.
Nightlife is relatively good. Clubs and pubs are either on campus or in a cluster downtown. The campus clubs are either student-only (admittance based on student-card) or offer entry fees discounts, whereas downtown clubs and pubs usually have a higher age limit for admittance. All pubs and nightclubs close at 02:00 on weekends and usually at 01:00 on weekdays. Admittance fees range between 25 and 100 kr for a regular night (100 kr and up for concerts, etc.) Additionally, a number of events occur on a regular basis, with a traditional venue being the Plaza, Universum (on campus) or Norrlands Operan (the Opera House). Downtown: 1 Allstars, Kungsgatan 50 A, ☏ +46 90145200.
All parts of Umeå are very safe; there is no reason to be worried walking around at night. Beware of cold weather during the winter; several drunk students have frozen to death after falling asleep in the soft snow.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
In Jul, Umea typically sees ~24°C daytime highs and 9 rainy days.
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