Kalmar is a city in the Småland province in southeastern Sweden, with 38,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the municipality, Kalmar kommun which has 67,000 citizens, and the county Kalmar län with some 233,000 inhabitants.

Understand

Kalmar is one of the oldest Swedish cities, dating back to the year 1027, and the foundation of the Kalmar Union, which ruled all the Nordic Countries during the 14th and 15th centuries.

In Kalmar, the Öland Bridge connects Öland to mainland Sweden.

Tourist office

• 1 Kalmar Turism, Ölandskajen 9, ☏ +46 480-41 77 00, info@kalmar.com. Oct–Apr M–F 10:00–17:00. May & Sep M–F 09:00–17.00, Sa 10.00–15.00,.Jun–Aug M–F 09:00–20.00, Sa & Su 10:00–16.00. (updated Sep 2017)

Get in

By train

There are direct trains from Copenhagen, via Copenhagen Airport and Malmö as well as trains from Gothenburg. From Stockholm, a change of trains in Alvesta is required. 1 Kalmar centralstation is just a few blocks from the central square.

By bus

• FlixBus. Service from Stockholm. 
• Silverlinjen. Service from Stockholm. 

By plane

Flying to Stockholm (Skavsta) is another option, and driving down the E22. 2 Kalmar airport have connections from Stockholm Arlanda Airport.

By ship

Kalmar has a beautiful harbour with good facilities for the visitor. Occasionally cruise ships call at Kalmar.

Get around

You can walk to all interesting locations. The city centre is relatively small, with two main squares. On one you find the cathedral (Domkyrkan) and the other is called Larmtorget. From the second one, you can walk to the Baronen shopping centre. You can also rent canoes at the low cost hotel Svanen, and you can paddle your way around the centre, which is an island.

By taxi

• TaxiKurir Kalmar, ☏ +46 480 42 41 00. Smart phone app offers address based routing and calculates price according to them. (updated Aug 2020)

Kalmar Castle

See

• 1 Kalmar Art museum (Kalmar konstmuseum), Stadsparken, ☏ +46 480-42 62 82. Opened 2008 in a new, highly controversial building. (updated Oct 2023)
• 2 Kalmar Castle (Kalmar Slott), Kungsgatan 1, ☏ +46 10 357 05 30. Daily from 10AM-6PM. One of the best-preserved Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. They offer a special activity for children during the summer called "The Children's Castle". Young visitors can take on the role of a princess or a prince and have to solve various puzzles in the castle. (updated Oct 2023)
• 3 Kalmar Cathedral (Kalmar domkyrka), Stortorget, ☏ +46 480-123 00. Dating back to 1660 
• 4 Kalmar County Museum (Kalmar läns museum), Skeppsbrogatan 51, ☏ +46 480-45 13 00. 

Do

Kalmar is an interesting town in many ways. The town was established in 12th century and the old city wall is still well preserved. The Kalmar Castle dates back to the year 1160 A.D and the tower of the castle was continuously expanded in the 13th century. Beside the castle, there is a very peaceful city park.

This town is connected to the island of Öland by a bridge, which used to be Europe's longest (6 km). Kalmar is about 45 minutes away (by car) from the Glass Kingdom (Glasriket) where the famous works of Orrefors, Kosta Boda, Nybro, Pukeberg, Målerås are located. Kalmar has a football team, Kalmar FF, that won the Swedish cup in 2007. They play in the highest division, the Allsvenskan. You can watch them play at Kalmar Arena. Newly constructed and opened in 2010.

Learn

• 2 Linnéuniversitetet (Högskolan i Kalmar), Nygatan 18B, ☏ +46 77-228 80 00. Kalmar one of the two main campuses of Linnéuniversitetet, the other one being located in Växjö. The Kalmar campus is known for its courses in seafaring, teaching and economics (Baltic School of Economics). 

Buy

The past couple of years many shopping malls and establishments have opened in Kalmar. The main shopping areas are

• 1 Baronen, Skeppsbrogatan 12 (Close to the harbour), ☏ +46 70-297 92 93. Many smaller shops and a movie theatre 
• 2 Hansa City (By the E22). IKEA, CityGross and other large stores. 
• 3 Giraffen. ICA Maxi, Onoff, CoopForum and many other stores. 
• the city centre has many small shops

In the museum Länsmuséet you can buy many Christmas articles, some made after designs by Jenny Nyström, a famous Swedish artist born in Kalmar.

Eat

• 1 Kalmar Kött & Bar, Larmtorget 2, ☏ +46 480-288 30. Voted by many as the best in town 
• 2 Kama Sushi, Västra Sjögatan 13, ☏ +46 480-548 78. 
• 3 Restaurang Larmgatan 10, Larmgatan 10, ☏ +46 480-865 25. Combination of Asian and European cuisine. 
• 4 Thai Silk Palace, Fiskaregatan 8, ☏ +46 480-281 26. 
• 5 Thai Taste, Esplanaden 6, ☏ +46 480-42 19 40. Thai food take away. 

Drink

Coffeeshops

• 1 Krusentiernska gården, Stora Dammgatan 9, ☏ +46 480-41 15 52. A wonderful coffeeshop in a beautiful garden setting. 
• 2 Kullzénska caféet, Kaggensgatan 26, ☏ +46 480-288 82. Wonderful small coffeeshop in an old building in the centre. 

Sleep

Hotell Kalmar has info on all hotels in Kalmar.

• 1 Brofästet Hotell & Konferens, Gröndalsvägen 19, ☏ +46 480-42 70 00. 
• 2 Calmar Stadshotell, Storgatan 14. Stortorget 14 - classy and centrally located 
• 3 Clarion Collection Hotel Packhuset, Skeppsbrogatan 26, Kalmar, SE, 392 31 (attached to Baronen shopping centre; railway station < 500 m; castle 1 km), ☏ +46 480 570 00. Good-quality hotel on the waterfront. Rooms are not large, but efficiently designed; some have sea view. Includes wireless internet, breakfast, afternoon tea, and dinner. 
• 4 Frimurarehotellet, Larmtorget 2, ☏ +46 480-152 30. 
• 5 Hotell Svanen, Rappegatan 1, ☏ +46 480-255 60. 
• 6 Vassmolösa Gästgiveri, Karlskronavägen 53, 388 91 VASSMOLÖSA, ☏ +46 48032280. 450-700 SEK. 
• 7 Hotel Witt, Södra Långgatan 42, ☏ +46 480-152 50. 

Connect

• Turistbyrån has Internet for 20 SEK. This is for a total of 24 hours usage to be used within 3 months and is wireless, so you need your own phone/laptop or iPad. Very cheap and fast, though only useful if you are visiting the wharf as it does not reach much more than within a 1 km radius.

Go next

Kalmar is a good starting point to experience the Swedish east coast. Swebusexpress runs between Kalmar and Karlskrona regularly and the cost of this bus trip is low. It is also possible to travel to another elegant and relaxing summer resort in the east cost, Västervik. The local bus goes to Borgholm in Öland island and it takes approximately one hour.

If you want to experience the inland of Småland nearby cities include Vimmerby, the home town of Astrid Lindgren and the epicentre of Astrid Lindgren tourism, and Eksjö, a well preserved historical wooden town.

Routes through Kalmar

Växjö ← Nybro ←

W  E

→ Kalmar