Umea Holmsund, Sweden
Sweden
7
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Frequently Asked Questions
At Holmsund, an outer port on the Gulf of Bothnia about 18 kilometres south of the city. Central Umeå is therefore not walkable from the ship: you need the shuttle, a taxi or the regional bus.
Most cruise lines run a shuttle. Independent passengers take a taxi, about twenty-five minutes, or the regional bus, which links Holmsund to Umeå in roughly forty minutes. Once there, everything is walkable: the city core is compact and flat, between the Umeälven river and the shopping avenues.
Because after the great fire of 1888 it was rebuilt with wide avenues planted with birch trees, designed as living firebreaks. Björkarnas stad, the city of birches, became its nickname and its entire visual identity.
A contemporary building with undulating façades facing the river, built in the wake of the city’s 2014 European Capital of Culture year. You can walk in freely for an exhibition, to browse the library or simply to watch local life through the glass.
The region’s main museum institutions, about twenty minutes on foot from the shopping streets. The Västerbotten Museum traces the province’s history from prehistoric camps to industrial towns, with a remarkable collection devoted to skiing, a practice thousands of years old here. Around it, an open-air museum gathers wooden farms, bell towers and mills.
Yes, and it is the surprise of the call: one of the largest guitar collections in the world, assembled by two brothers from the city who have been obsessed since their teens. More than 500 instruments, including very rare 1950s and 1960s models, right in the middle of the shopping streets.
Count the transfer from Holmsund in your budget, which leaves three or four usable hours. Gammlia park and the Västerbotten Museum are the main piece; the Umeälven riverside walk, the Väven centre and the guitar collection round out the day.
Along the Umeälven, on the landscaped path following the river: contemporary sculpture, terraces that fill at the first sunshine and bridges over wide, quiet water. In summer the evening light stretches very late at this latitude, and locals make full use of it.
Not really, and that is the appeal. It is a university city whose cafés overflow with students and whose cultural scene is surprising for a place this size. What you see is a northern Sweden that is educated and creative, well off the standard Baltic circuit.
Summer. At this latitude evening light lasts very late, the riverside terraces are running and the Gammlia open-air museum is seen in good conditions. Outside the season, daylight shortens quickly.
