Not to be confused with Kristiansand or Kristiansund in Norway.

Kristianstad (Swedish pronunciation [krɪʃˈansta]) is a city, and a municipality in north-eastern Scania, in southern Sweden. Formerly a county seat, it is still the dominant settlement of the area. This article covers the northeastern part of Scania.

Understand

Parts of Kristianstad lie below sea level with wetland areas and are protected against flooding by dikes and water pumps. Sweden's lowest point, 2.41 m below sea level, is in Kristianstad.

The city centre stretches from the railway station and Helge å in the west to the moats that surround the centre. Tree-lined boulevards are a feature of the cityscape. The boulevards gave rise to perhaps the city's one-time nickname, Little Paris. The city's oldest profane building dates from 1654.

In the city centre there are two squares, Stora Torg in the north and Lilla Torg in the south.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Kristianstad Airport  (KID  ^IATA). The only flight ceased operation in June 2023. Check the site for future flights. (updated May 2023)

By bus

Skånetrafiken's SkåneExpressen buses arrive from Malmö, Lund, Ystad, Simrishamn and others. Svenska Buss and Swedbus Express also stop in the city.

By train

Close rail connections to Malmö, Lund, Hässleholm, Helsingborg and Karlskrona. Trains depart at least every two hours between Kristianstad and Hässleholm, which enables good connections to X2000 from Hässleholm.

Get around

By taxi

• TaxiKurir Kristianstad, ☏ +46 44 78 19 500. Smart phone app offers address based routing and calculates price according to them. (updated Aug 2020)

See

In the town

• Bastionen Konungen - at the far north end of Östra Boulevarden is a recreated 17th-century bastion.
• Tivoliparken - Stadsparken is located along Helge å, offers a pleasant walk and the city's largest and most well-visited playground.
• Sweden's lowest point is located in Kristianstad and is 2.41 meters below sea level. Turn off at traffic stop Kristianstad and turn right at Statoilmacken. Follow the signage.
• 1 The Regional Museum and the Art Gallery (Regionmuseet i Skåne), Östra Storgatan 27b. Sep–May: Tu–Su 11:00–17:00; Jun 27–Aug 27: daily 11:00-17:00. Permanent exhibitions about Kristianstad and its history as well as changing exhibitions with, among other things, art. Located in the old royal stables at Stora Torg. Free. (updated May 2023)
• 2 Holy Trinity Church (Heliga Trefaldighets kyrka). Built on behalf of the Danish king Christian IV. Completed in 1628, it has been called Northern Europe's most beautiful Renaissance church.  
• 3 The Railway Museum (Kristianstads järnvägsmuseum), Västra Storgatan 74. 17 Jun–27 Aug: daily 11:00-16:00; 2–3 Sep and 9–10 Sep: 11:00–16:00.  At the old Kristianstad Södra station is the Railway Museum. At the museum's railway station, you can see station buildings, locomotives, carriages and railway objects from a bygone era. Free. (updated May 2023)

Nearby

• 4 Åhus. A beach resort towns on the coast.  
• 5 Svarta Bergen ("The Black Quarry") (take road 15/119 southwest from Lönsboda and look out for the signs towards "Svarta Bergen"). Svarta Bergen is a former quarry of black dolerite. Today with a small museum. 
• 6 Nytebodaskogen ("Nyteboda forest") (take the road straight south from Lönsboda). Nyteboda forest has been left untouched for close to 200 years, and has some very large pines aged more than 250 years. Interesting plant life including some very rare orchids. 
• 7 BRIO Lekoseum, Osby (50 m from Osby train station; by car on route 15, follow the signs). 12 April – 18 June: museum W–Su 10:00-16:00; shop W-F 10:00-18:00, Sa Su 10:00-16:00. 19 June – 20 August: museum daily 10:00-17:00, shop daily 10:00-18:00. Closed Midsummer weekend 23-25 ​​June. Toy museum for the famous Swedish brand of wooden toys, particularly the labyrinth game. Adult 100 kr; child 2-17, senior or student 80 kr; family (2 adults + max 3 children) 350 kr; child 0-24 months free. (updated May 2023)
• 8 Hovddala Slott ("Hovddala Manor"). Fortified manor house from early 12th century. 
• 9 Sporrakulla Gård. Museum farm from around 1700. In summer demonstrations of production of charcoal and tar.