Umeå, Sweden

Guitars and the great outdoors.

Umeå is a town in Norrland on the east coast of Sweden. I had a few days there as a stopover on my way from Stockholm up to the Arctic Circle, and Umeå seemed a perfect place to escape the city and wander into the Swedish countryside.

One of the main attractions in Umeå is Guitars: The Museum. This is a nightclub, bar, cafe and music shop, which also has an outstanding collection of guitars in its museum. A must-see for any guitarist. This was my first time seeing and playing a string bender guitar.

Umeå town centre has a fairly typical selection of shops, bars and restaurants on offer – including the northernmost place I’ve now eaten Indian food – but the other main attraction is escaping into the countryside. A short walk along the Ume river, while not the most picturesque, feels incredibly remote even just a few minutes outside of town. If you’re there in winter, there’s a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights if the activity is higher than average.

There’s a nice Instagram feed (everydaybeautynorrland) which shows off the scenery around Umeå and Västerbotten in a better way than the photos below. It looks particularly stunning in winter.