Tourist attractions in Sweden are many and very varied. From Santa Claus in the north to crayfish parties, Viking adventures, the Midnight Sun and the ubiquitous smörgåsbord, this is a land of many contrasts; the tourist attractions in Sweden will not let you down. Here are 7 tourist attractions in Sweden, in no particular order, that are each well worth the visit.

1. Stockholm is the capital, and it is a great place to visit. This city will amaze you for its cleanliness and its feeling of being safe. It will amaze you for other things too. It has some wonderful museums, large peaceful parks, a nightlife that will take your breath away - literally, and architecture that sets the scene for a purely Swedish experience.

2. Forget Loch Ness in Scotland; come to Storsjön in Jämtland province. This huge lake has a legend to rival Loch Ness, a monster that even enjoys the protection of the law! And if you fail to spot the monster, the general area around Storsjön is still worth the visit; the scenery alone will simply astound you.

3. Inlandsbanan is the inland railway. If you are a train lover, then this is a train ride not to be missed. You can travel across the Arctic Circle, get off when you want, get back on again - it's your choice. The 1,300 kilometer journey goes all the way up to Lappland in the north, and to Kristinehamn further south.

4. You probably associate European beaches with the Spanish Costas, or the Greek islands, but Sweden has plenty to offer too. The island of Gotland in the Baltic has some excellent beaches, and coupled with the surprisingly warm summer weather they can expect most years, this is definitely a destination for those who want to be in a northern country, but still lounge on the beach.

5. If you like traveling on water, why not take a trip on the Göta Canal. You can travel southeast to northwest across the country from Gothenburg to Stockholm on an old ship. You will cross a river, eight lakes and three canals. You will also pass through 66 locks and travel, albeit briefly, on two seas. There are few journeys that can boast that degree of variety!

6. If you enjoy hiking, then this will be one of your favorite tourist attractions in Sweden; the famous hiking trail of Kungsleden. The trail snakes over 500 kilometers from Hemaven to Abisko. It is well marked out and extremely popular. There are cabins along the route of the trail, but in the holiday season these can become very popular and crowded.

7. If you love rugged scenery in a rural natural setting, then Bohuslän is for you. This is the area. More or less, between the Norwegian border in the north, to Gothenburg to the south. There are a multitude of small rocky islands with little fishing villages nestled in between. The scenery is almost surreal and well worth a visit. This must rank as one of the better of the tourist attractions in Sweden.

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Intrested in Sweden?  There's a wealth of information that can be found at http://www.swedenhistory.net/index.html

In Sweden, weather is a much talked about subject. That is how it usually is in many of the northern countries because the weather is often not very good, especially in winter. The country is long-shaped, roughly north to south, and because of this the weather can be very different at either end.

The Sweden weather you experience depends on where you are. It is actually possible to have snow in summer, but also sunbathe at midnight - all in the same country. The southernmost tip of the country is around 55 degrees latitude north and the northernmost tip around 69 degrees north, inside the Arctic Circle.

The Sweden weather in winter ranges from around -40 degrees Celsius to 2 degrees Celsius. In summer it tends to be from around 15 degrees Celsius to 32 degrees Celsius - sometimes even hotter.

January through to March is when snow can be expected, though in the far north this is more variable and less contained. It can rain at any time, and rather unfairly, it is the warmest months of July and August that gets the most rain.

The Sweden weather is mostly temperate. This is mainly because of the Gulf Stream waters that lap its shores and bring temperate winds from the west. Southern Sweden can be surprisingly warm and a lot less cold than many would expect for its northern position. In the mountains of the north, however, a bitterly cold sub-Arctic climate prevails most of the time.

Some 15 percent of the country is within the Arctic Circle. This means that from around the end of May until the middle of July that part has no night. This is the Midnight Sun. Any traveler who is not used with this amount of continuous daylight will most likely have difficulty in sleeping in the north of Sweden during the summer months.

The converse is true for the northern 15 percent; in winter they have perpetual darkness from the middle of December until the end of the first week of January. During this time, Stockholm, the capital to the south, has only five and a half hours of daylight.

The Sweden weather is enhanced by two major factors. One we have touched on already; the effects of the Gulf Stream, which brings pre-warmed winds over the land providing a temperate climate. The other factor is the continental high pressures that develop to the east. These create Sweden weather that is sunny, often quite hot in summer, and while cold in winter, they do relieve a dark days considerably.

In winter in the far north, the average Sweden weather temperatures can plunge to -40 degrees Celsius. In summer in the southern parts it can exceed 32 degrees Celsius on occasion. This is a vast temperature range that few countries can equal, and it aptly demonstrates the great diversity of weather to be found within Sweden.

The Sweden weather has a lot of precipitation throughout the year. The rainiest season is during late summer, especially in the southeast where they get around 24 inches of rainfall a year. By contrast, in Lappland in the north the annual rainfall is only half that amount.

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Intrested in Sweden?  There's a wealth of information that can be found at http://www.swedenhistory.net/index.html