Uppsala: cobblestones, medieval
 houses, and a great gothic
Cathedral. Being a university
city, Uppsala is very friendly
to cyclists and pedestrians.
Photo © Home At First.
 

THE LOCATION: Home At First’s Uppsala Hotel is in the geographic and cultural heart of Uppsala, 1 block from the city’s Central Station, shops, services, and restaurants. Nearby are jogging trails, a fitness center, a golf course (the hotel can arrange for tee-times), museums, galleries, nature trails, indoor & outdoor swimming, tennis, and theater. Uppsala Cathedral (Scandinavia’s biggest) and Uppsala University (Scandinavia’s oldest) are nearby, as are the botanical gardens and Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala), with roots extending back to nearly 200AD, and several large, important burial mounds with connections to early Swedish kings.
          This little (pop. 150,000) university city is the ideal base location for touring throughout Uppland county and north by car into the traditional Dalarna region rich in history and Swedish folk arts. Convenient high-speed rail connects Uppsala with Sweden's beautiful capital city on the water, Stockholm (trains at least twice hourly; about 40 minutes journey time). In between Uppsala and Stockholm is Arlanda Airport, Sweden’s largest, less than 20 miles from Uppsala.

Hourly rail and frequent bus shuttle services connect Arlanda Airport with Uppsala (journey time: 17 minutes).

which divides the city into eastern and

western halves, flows by the hotel, which is on its east bank. The eastern half of Uppsala has undergone extensive renovation since World War II and today is the city’s busy commercial and administrative center. The western half of Uppsala maintains something of the flavor of the medieval city, with winding cobbled alleyways, colorful old houses, serene parks, the 19th century "new" university building, the 17th century "old" university building (the Gustavianum, which now houses Nordic and Egyptian museums), the 16th century Uppsala Castle (also housing museums), and, most dramatically, the 13th-15th century Domkyrka, Uppsala's great gothic cathedral, largest church edifice in

 

Pedestrian bridge crossing the Fyris River into
Uppsala's Old Town. Uppsala's small size makes it
a very walkable city. Its history and university
traditions make it culturally vital and attractive.
Photo © Home At First.

Scandinavia.

 

Home At First's Uppsala Hotel is across a
tree-lined street from the Fyris River.
Photo © Home At First.
 

THE LODGINGS: Home At First’s Uppsala Hotel is a four-star-rated hotel built in 1906 in the center of one of Sweden’s oldest and culturally richest towns, the university town of Uppsala. Recently having been completely renovated, the hotel’s facilities are modern, comfortable, and new. And, with 36 rooms on four floors, the hotel provides the kind of personal service not possible in larger establishments.
        All rooms are smoke-free and come with private bath with shower, satellite TV, mini-bar/refrigerator, clock radio, hair dryer, modem jack, and tea/coffee service. Guests enjoy the hotel’s delicious breakfast buffet smorgasbord daily. The hotel has its own lobby bar that serves light bar meals, plus parking for guests with rental cars, laundry/dry cleaning facilities, and an eager, polite, and cheerful young staff that takes great pride in being your hosts.

ACTIVITIES: Visitors come to Uppsala for its medieval university atmosphere — in stark contrast to the commercial rush of modern Stockholm. Uppsala is eminently walkable — and bikeable. There are several museums — especially in the Gustavianum and the castle — worthy of a few hours visit. A visit to the cathedral is more than a religious experience. The cathedral is important architecturally as one of Europe’s major gothic churches, and historically as the resting place of kings and notables including Sweden’s great King Gustav Vasa and its great botanist Carolus Linnaeus. Just outside of town 3 miles are the remnants of Gamla Uppsala, the pre-Christian old city, now centered around three royal burial mounds from Viking times and related museums.

Uppsala Cathedral is one of Northern Europe's grand gothic
churches architecturally, spiritually, and culturally.
Photo: Kalbar/Uppsala Tourism.

 

Lenna Cat steam tourist train at Marielund station.
Photo Lenna Jerväg.
 

       Railfans and anyone interested in visiting rural Sweden at a slower, pre-modern time will enjoy traveling by the narrow-gauge "Lenna Cat" restored steam train from Uppsala Östra (East Station, just east of Uppsala Central Station) into the pretty countryside east of Uppsala. The Uppsala Tourist Office (open year round), between the hotel and the cathedral on the cathedral side of the river, helps visitors with Lenna Cat rail tickets and plan other activities like visiting castles, walking, and touring.

NOTE: Our cooperating Uppsala hotel is one of many small, quality lodgings through Sweden, Norway, and DENMARK that participate in Home At First’s SCANDINAVIA travel program. With Home At First’s help, guests choose from among many locations to design a very personal Scandinavian travel experience.

AVAILABILITY: For current availability information, call Home At First at (800)

 

Double room at Home At First's Uppsala Hotel.
 

523-5842, or contact us by e-mail at:

info@homeatfirst.com.