Scandinavia rarely comes to mind when imagining an island vacation with fine sand beaches and clear blue waters. But in-the-know Swedes realized long ago that Gotland, the largest island in the Baltic Sea, offers precisely that during the gloriously long, lazy days of summer.
A quick trip from mainland Sweden— about a forty-five minute flight from Stockholm— Gotland is easily reached by plane or ferry. Either way, everyone arrives in Visby, a beguiling medieval city ringed by ancient stone walls. Most visitors are content to stay within those walls, strolling along quaint cobblestone streets lined with pastel cottages, rose bushes, and Viking-era ruins. But this enchanting island deserves a deeper dive.
From north to south, the island’s dusty country roads lead not only to sun-warmed stone farmhouses and meadows of grazing sheep, but also to bucolic garden cafes, curated vintage boutiques, magnificent limestone cliffs, and hidden beaches. Add to that a blossoming culinary scene, which alone is worth a detour from Stockholm. But like most good things in life, the summer season on Gotland is fleeting, and some hotels and restaurants open only from late June to mid-August. Here’s how to make the most of that brief window.
Stay
Fabriken Furillen
On a windswept islet off the northeastern coast, a former limestone refinery is now the unlikely home of a distinctive boutique hotel, the brainchild of the Swedish photographer Johan Hellström. Amid a stark landscape of untamed grass and mountains of loose gravel, the Brutalist hotel features minimalist, gray-toned design and an airy restaurant run by a roster of Swedish guest chefs. Surrounded by over 1,000 acres of untouched nature, the hotel also offers the more rustic lodging option of hermit huts— tiny, remote cabins with Hästens beds and wood-fired stoves, but no electricity or running water.
Hotel Stelor
Beside the sea about a half-hour south of Visby, this seven-room property occupies a handsome farmhouse built in the 1820s that has been lovingly renovated and furnished with local art and antiques. During the summer, the kitchen opens for nightly three-course harvest dinners made from produce plucked from the garden, while the estate’s old barn transforms into a stylish event space hosting an annual summer concert series with a lineup of top Swedish artists.
Eat
Rute Stenugnsbageri
As with most of Gotland’s gems, this beloved bakery is in the middle of nowhere: on a dirt road surrounded by fields of grazing sheep. During the summer season, when it’s open, visitors queue for slices of almond cake and buttery cardamom buns for fika, the Swedish pastime of coffee and conversation. In the evenings, sourdough pizzas are thrown into the wood-fired oven, and families gather around picnic tables outside or in the glass-roofed greenhouse.
Lilla Bjers
A few miles south of Visby, this family-run farmstead grows organic, sustainable produce that is also served at an idyllic summertime restaurant, where tables are set in a greenhouse and the areas surrounding beneath fields of cherry trees. Daily lunch and dinner menus follow what has been harvested in the surrounding fields, such as fresh new potatoes, crisp stalks of asparagus, sun-ripened tomatoes and bread made with the farm’s emmer wheat, all of which can also be bought in the farm shop, located in the red barn next to the restaurant.
Krakas Krog
The reason to visit the tiny village of Kräklingbo is this polished country restaurant run by Ulrika Karlsson, who welcomes guests to dinner with an aperitif in the garden. The leisurely evening then continues in a rustic dining room, where a handful of tables sit with glimmering candlelight atop worn, wood-plank floors. Nightly tasting menus spotlight Gotland’s natural bounty, from its black truffles and foraged herbs to pickled rowanberries and local lamb, and are thoughtfully paired with wines from small-scale and biodynamic producers.
