Uppsala Tourist Attractions, Landmarks, Monuments and Sightseeing

(Uppsala, Uppsala County, Sweden)

Along the banks of Uppsala's Fyris River are a number of popular tourist attractions and hard-to-miss landmarks, worth getting your camera out for. The Fyris River has long played an important role in the history of Uppsala, creating two distinctive districts, with a mainly residential and business area on the eastern banks, and an appealing historical quarter of the western side, where many of the best tourist attractions await.

The historical quarter is the best place to begin your sightseeing and here you will soon encounter the Uppsala Cathedral (Domkyrka), which makes quite an impact on the city's skyline, since it is Scandinavia's tallest church. Close by is the Uppsala Castle, which boasts a long and interesting history, and has today become the official residence of the city's governor. Near to the castle hill are the city's rather beautiful Botanical Gardens, which more than deserve a stroll on a sunny, summer's afternoon.

Uppsala Castle (Slott)

Tel: +46 018 727 2485
In a rather dramatic and eye-catching pale shade of pink, Uppsala Castle is hard to miss and dates from the middle of the 16th century, when it was built by King Gustav Vasa. The castle has played an integral part in Swedish history, since it houses the elaborately decorated State Hall, where many of Sweden's kings have been enthroned over the years. Situated just a stone's throw from the Storatorget and standing high above the Svandammen, the Uppsala Slott was sadly damaged by fire at the beginning of the 18th century and needed to be rebuilt, taking on its present appearance in 1757.
Open hours: daily guided tours
Admission: charge, discounts for children under 18 years old, children under six are free

Uppsala Cathedral (Domkyrka)

Address: Domkyrkoplan, Uppsala, Sweden, SE
Tel: +46 018 18 7173
One of the most important of all the religious buildings and churches in the whole of Sweden, the Uppsala Cathedral is known locally in Swedish as simply the Domkyrka. Construction of the actual cathedral commenced at the end of the 13th century and lasted almost 150 years, finally being inaugurated in 1435. Finishing touches were made over the following decades and during the Great Fire of 1702, the cathedral sadly suffered considerable fire damage, and it was at this stage that its Renaissance-style architecture was remodelled. The Uppsala Cathedral is an especially imposing landmark and its twin towers reach up into the sky for almost 120 metres / 394 feet. Inside, the attractions are plentiful and include a splendid vaulted ceiling, a huge church bell (Storan) and a cathedral museum (Skattkammaren), where many valuable medieval treasures and textiles reside.
Open hours: daily - 08:00 to 18:00
Admission: free, charge to enter the cathedral's Treasure Chamber (Skattkammaren), free guided tours take place each Sunday at 12:30

Uppsala University

Address: Uppsala, SE-75105, Sweden, SE
Tel. +46 018 471 7571
Scandinavia's most historic of all its universities, Uppsala University first opened its doors in the late 1470s and has grown in stature ever since. Currently home to more than 40,000 students and almost 4,000 staff, the university is one of the city's most significant landmarks. Much of the university complex is close to the cathedral itself and is spread around the western banks of the Fyris River, where it presides over the historic town centre. The University Park is where many of the main buildings are to the found, such as the Dean's House, the Gustavianum, the Old Consistory and the University Hall itself.
Open hours: daily
Admission: free

University Library (Carolina Rediviva)

Address: Dag Hammarskjölds Väg 1, Uppsala, Sweden, SE
One of the main attractions within Uppsala's university complex is the library, which is perhaps better known as the Carolina Rediviva and is currently the biggest of its kind in Sweden. Sited directly north-east of the city's castle, the University Library features over 30,000 manuscripts and many additional priceless documents, artefacts, historic attractions and the surviving piece of the 'Codex Argentus' (AD 520), which is actually written on purple vellum, using silver ink. The building itself was completed in 1841, after just over 20 years of construction work.
Open hours: mid-June to mid-August, Monday to Friday - 09:00 to 17:00, Saturday - 10:00 to 17:00, Sunday - 11:00 to 16:00; mid-August to mid-June, Monday to Friday - 09:00 to 20:00, Saturday - 10:00 to 17:00
Admission: charge, children 12 years old and under are free

Botanical Gardens

Address: Villavägen 6-8, Uppsala, Sweden, SE
Tel. +46 018 471 2838
The city's celebrated Botanical Gardens are just one of the many attractions below the castle hill and contains a spectacular collection of some 10,000 different plant species. These gardens are at their very best on a sunny, summer's afternoon, when many locals come here to stroll around the colourful and fragrant flower borders, to visit the recently restored tropical greenhouse, or to enjoy the exotic plants within the garden's Linnaeum Orangery, which dates back around 200 years.
Open hours: daily, May to August - 07:00 to 20:30; September to April - 07:00 to 19:00
Admission: free