Enköping is a city in western Uppland in Sweden with about 20,000 inhabitants, branding itself "Sweden's nearest city". It is the seat of Enköping municipality with about 40,000 inhabitants.

Understand

Enköping is located along Enköping stream (Enköpingsån) near its outlet in Lake Mälaren. It is the second largest city in Uppsala County. It is known for its many beautiful parks.

Some of the best preserved Bronze Age rock carvings in Svealand have been found in the Enköping region. During the Viking era the site where Enköping stands today was an important market place. The city was founded in the 13th century and soon became an important trade centre, connecting mining products from the north with Lake Mälaren and Stockholm. In the early 17th century Enköping lost its position as a centre of trade many burgers took to farming instead.

Enköping remained a rather small city of about 1000 inhabitants until the construction of Mälarbanan, a railway which connects Västerås with Stockholm and passes by Enköping, was constructed in 1876. By the end of the 19th century Enköping became a major producer of horseradish. Notable industries which emerged in the city were Bahco, manufacturer of hand tools, and Nordströms linbanor, producers of aerial lifts.

Since 1943 it has been an important military garrison for the Swedish army.

Tourist office

• 1 Enköpings turist­information, Rådhusgatan 3, ☏ +46 171-62 50 40, turism@enkoping.se. Tu–F 10:90–16:00; Sa 11:00–15:00. In the same building as Enköping museum. (updated Apr 2017)

Get in

Enköping is along Mälarbanan which runs several trains from Stockholm and Västerås daily. There are also frequent buses buses to and from Uppsala as well as buses to Strängnäs. Apart from stopping at the railway station the buses also stop in the town centre.

Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (Sigtuna) is 60 km from Enköping.

Highway E18 stretches in a west–east direction north of lake Mälaren and connects Enköping with Stockholm a one-hour drive to the east and Västerås, Örebro, Karlstad and Oslo in the west. The smaller south west-north east road 55 connects Enköping with Uppsala 40 minutes to the north east and Norrköping, 2 hours to the south. Finally, road 70, lead from Enköping towards Borlänge and Idre in Dalarna.

• 1 Enköpings Centralstation (Enköping railway station), Bangårdsgatan 12. (updated May 2021)

Get around

Central Enköping is walkable. The countryside is best accessed by car.

See

Enköping is famous for the many parks which are scattered around town.

• 1 Ekolsund Castle, ☏ +46 171-47 22 00. In Enköping municipality. It was the summer residence of King Gustavus III. It has a famous arboretum which can be seen during booked tours.  
• 2 Enköping Konsthall, ☏ +46 705-33 62 19. Sa & Su 12:00-15:00; W 17:00-19:00. A local art exhibition hall. 
• 3 Enköpings Museum, Rådhusgatan 3, ☏ +46 171-62 54 00. A museum of local history. 
• 4 Grönsö Manor, ☏ +46 171-870 84. The garden is open daily. Tours are on Sa & Su 25 May–17 Sept, and daily 24 June–13 Aug at 13:00. 17th-century castle by Lake Mälaren which is the private residence of the von Ehrenheim family. The palace interiors are only accessible through guided tours. Garden: 40 kr, guided tour: 150 kr.  
• 5 Haga Castle, ☏ +46 171-41 47 00. Castle near Enköping which is today a conference hall, hotel, spa and restaurant. (Not to be confused with Haga of Solna!).  
• 6 Kvekgården, Fröslunda Kvekgården, ☏ +46 171-46 16 05. An open air museum showing a traditional 19th-century Uppland farm. Available for booked tours. 
• 7 Rock Carvings of Boglösa (Brandskogsskeppet) (In town of Boglösa, 6 km southeast of the city). A complex of Bronze Age petroglyphs, including the 4.13 m long and 0.6 m high Brandskogsskeppet (Brandskogen Ship) petroglyph. (updated May 2021)

Do

Take a boat trip on lake Mälaren! Four shipping companies run ships from Enköping; Bryggholmen (+46 171-814 80), who run to the island with the same name, Rederi Mälarstaden (+46 21-13 51 71), who run to Grönsöö slott, Sigtuna and Birka, Stromma, who run day trips to Birka, and Arboga Rederi (+46 73-9197584), who offer "shrimp eves" on the ship M/S Tor during summer.

• 1 Enköping Golf, Åkersberg 1, ☏ +46 171-364 84. (updated Apr 2017)

Buy

Several of the old port warehouses by Hamngatan are today craft workshops were you can buy locally produced goods.

Eat

Several local farms including Resta gård (+46 171-46 62 80) outside of the city sell their own products.

• 1 Bombance, Kungsgatan 27, ☏ +46 171 275 20. French restaurant. 
• 2 Hamnmagasinen, Hamngatan, ☏ +46 171-218 92. Restaurant in an 18th-century port warehouse. Open in the summer. 
• 3 Mister Uno, Kungsgatan 10, ☏ +46 171-388 18. A pizzeria. (updated Oct 2017)
• 4 Vita elefanten, Kungsgatan 41, ☏ +46 171-365 35. Mixed Chinese, Thai, Japanese and Malaysian cuisine. (updated Oct 2017)

Drink

• 1 All in, Kungsgatan 21-23, ☏ +46 171-47 97 79. Night club and bar. 
• 2 The Players Inn, Källgatan 15 D, ☏ +46 171-308 60. English pub. 

Sleep

The nearby castles, including Ekolsunds Slott and Haga Slott, offer lodging.

• 1 Anno 1799, Kryddgårdsgatan 6, ☏ +46 73-214 59 01. B&B in central Enköping. (updated Oct 2017)
• 2 Enecopia Bed & Breakfast, Vårfrukyrka-Åkerby 3, ☏ +46 70-744 66 78. (updated Oct 2017)
• 3 First Hotel Park Astoria, Kyrkogatan 7, ☏ +46 171-47 80 80, park.astoria@firsthotels.se. From 800 kr. 
• 4 Gula Villan Vandrarhem, Kryddgårdsgatan 44, ☏ +46 73-065 43 23. A hostel run by people with disabilities. (updated Oct 2017)
• 5 Gårdshuset 51, Fjärdhundragatan 51, ☏ +46 171-336 23. Rent an entire house in central Enköping. (updated Oct 2017)
• 6 Kompassen, Kaptensgatan 4, ☏ +46 171-15 33 90. Conference hall with hotel. From 1000 kr. 

Go next

• Uppsala – the largest city in Uppsala County. It was the religious and political centre of Viking era Sweden, and is the home of the oldest university and the tallest cathedral in the Nordic countries.
• Västerås – is the closest major city. It is easily accessible by train or car.
• 8 Skokloster Castle, ☏ +46-8-402 30 60. May & Sep: Sa & Su 11:00–16:00; Jun–Aug: Daily 11:00–17:00. Located on a peninsula in Lake Mälaren in the southern part of Uppsala County, it is one of the world’s finest baroque castles and the greatest private palace ever constructed in Sweden. Admissions to the castle are free for the ground floor while guided tours are 80 kr and audio guides are 40 kr.  

Routes through Enköping

Oslo ← Västerås ←

W  E

→ Bålsta → Stockholm