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.
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.
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. Kalmar centralstation 📍 is just a few blocks from the central square.
Flying to Stockholm (Skavsta) is another option, and driving down the E22. Kalmar airport 📍 have connections from Stockholm Arlanda Airport.
Kalmar has a beautiful harbour with good facilities for the visitor. Occasionally cruise ships call at Kalmar.
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.
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.
The past couple of years many shopping malls and establishments have opened in Kalmar. The main shopping areas are
In the museum Länsmuséet you can buy many Christmas articles, some made after designs by Jenny Nyström, a famous Swedish artist born in Kalmar.
Hotell Kalmar (dead link: January 2023) has info on all hotels in Kalmar.
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.