Humble, happy and quick-witted Lund is the academic powerhouse of southern Sweden, home to the country’s largest university and an unrivalled conglomeration of Scandinavian literary and artistic luminaries. Its image as the Boston MA of Scania is carried on by the red-brick frontispieces and ivy-painted façades of the various institutions that pepper the town, all bustling day-to-day with the ebb and flow of learned folk and students.
In many ways Lund itself is like the white-bearded professors that move in and out its myriad lecture halls, for it derives a certain measure of prestige from its ancient roots in the 12th century, when the travelling Danish King Canute first marked the spot. Today, that heritage lingers on, at every nook and cranny of the two-towered Lund Cathedral and its magnificent Romanesque decorations.
If you’ve come here to discover the energy of a real Swedish student town, then be sure to get the lowdown on the best drinking spots from your Lund tour guide, perhaps starting the night with a snappy shot of chilled Scandinavian vodka!