Malmö - what this city is all about

It may not be as pretty as Stockholm, or as exciting as Amsterdam, but it will be .... one day soon. Malmö is growing and undergoing massive change. From an industrial city to a city of fast-paced commerce and rising house prices. It has all the important ingredients to make it a city Sweden is proud of - easily accessible, (we have great rail links, a harbour, an international airport and an excellent motorway system where driving is easy), wonderful shopping, green parklands, an abundance of restaurants, nightlife and cultural attractions.

The opening of the Øresund Bridge between Malmö and Copenhagen has had a huge impact of the growth of commerce and the transportation routes in and out of Sweden.

All positive. If city living is for you, then Malmö has many international hotels. Otherwise the attractive surrounding smaller towns and countryside along the coastlines of the Baltic Sea make summer in the south of Sweden idylic.

A stone's throw from the attractive older city, there is one particular area in Malmö that has undergone a drastic transformation. Västra Hamnen, or the western harbour, was once an old shipyard. Now it's known as the City of Tomorrow. The character of the area has changed with the building of new university buildings,
commercial offices and fantastic residential apartments with views over the Baltic ocean.

Architect Santiago Calatrava's created a spectacular apartment building in the area. It reaches 190 metres high, and is called the Turning Torso. It is the tallest building in Sweden. The Turning Torso consists of nine cubes, making up 54 floors. It has a 90° twist from the bottom to the top. Viewed at a distance, the entire building looks as if it's rotating.

Malmö is currently constructing an underground tunnel system for the railway. This will make moving around the city even easier, and lessen the traffic levels in the centre of the city.

Without doubt, the best way to see Malmö is to walk it. Plus hop on a bus for a few of the sights outside of the city. But first of all, I'm going to walk you through the best shopping in town.