Gotland in Summer: Sweden's Best Island Holiday

Every summer, thousands of Swedes make the same pilgrimage: a ferry from the mainland, a short crossing of the Baltic Sea, and then the island appears – low and green on the horizon, the towers of Visby's medieval walls rising above the harbour. Gotland is Sweden's most beloved summer destination, and after one visit, you'll understand why the whole country comes back year after year.

For international visitors, it remains something of a secret. Which means the beaches are yours.

Visby: A Medieval City That Still Works

Visby is the kind of place that shouldn't exist in the 21st century. A complete medieval walled city, UNESCO World Heritage listed, with cobblestone streets, 13th-century church ruins and lime-washed buildings painted in shades of yellow, ochre and white. The city walls – 3.4 kilometres of them, largely intact – date from the 12th and 13th centuries and are some of the best-preserved in all of northern Europe.

But Visby isn't a museum. People live here. There are excellent restaurants, a craft beer scene, boutiques selling locally made ceramics and textiles, and a café culture that makes it very easy to lose an afternoon. In summer, the streets fill with visitors but never feel overwhelmed – the city is good at absorbing people.

The Raukar: Gotland's Alien Coastline

The most otherworldly thing about Gotland has nothing to do with the middle ages. Along sections of the island's coast, ancient limestone has been carved by the sea into dramatic standing formations called raukar – some resembling hooded figures, some like mushrooms, some abstract and surreal. The best concentration is at Langhammars on the northern peninsula of Fårö, a smaller island connected to Gotland by ferry.

Fårö is worth a separate day or two entirely. The film director Ingmar Bergman fell so completely in love with it that he spent the last decades of his life here and is buried on the island. There's an annual Bergman Week festival in July. The landscape – windswept heathland, raukar coast, pale beaches – has a desolate beauty unlike anywhere else in Sweden.

Medieval Week

If you can time your visit for Medieval Week – held in early August each year – do it. For one week, Visby transforms entirely. The streets fill with merchants, knights, jesters and fire-eaters in historically accurate costume. There are jousting tournaments, markets selling period crafts, theatrical performances inside the church ruins and a general atmosphere of exuberant, enthusiastic anachronism. It's one of the most distinctive festivals in Europe and draws around 40,000 visitors to an island of 60,000 permanent residents.

The Beaches

Gotland has around 800 kilometres of coastline for an island that's only about 175km top to bottom. The beaches vary from broad sandy bays on the west coast to rockier, wilder stretches on the east and north. The water is unusually warm for the Baltic in July and August – consistently reaching 20–22°C in a good summer, warmer than many Mediterranean destinations before June.

Tofta, just south of Visby, is the most popular family beach and has all the facilities. For something quieter, head to the east coast near Ljugarn – long sandy beaches with almost nobody on them even in peak season.

Food on Gotland

Gotland has an unusually good food culture for an island of its size. Lamb is the local speciality – Gotland lamb is considered among the finest in Sweden, raised on the island's wildflower meadows and available everywhere in summer. Saffron is grown here too, giving the local cuisine a faintly exotic twist. Gotland has its own craft brewery, winery and several excellent cheesemakers.

In Visby, the restaurant scene has genuinely world-class ambitions. Several restaurants source everything from the island and change their menus daily according to what's available. Book ahead for dinner in July – the city fills up and the best tables go early.

Getting There

Gotland is reached by ferry from Nynäshamn (south of Stockholm) or Oskarshamn on the mainland. Stena Line and Destination Gotland run the routes; crossings take around 3 hours. There are also summer flights from Stockholm Arlanda that take 40 minutes.

On the island, a car is helpful but not essential for a Visby-centred stay. Bikes are excellent – the island is largely flat and has a well-developed cycling network with over 800km of marked routes.

Timing Your Gotland Visit

July is peak season and unmissable for atmosphere – but also the most expensive and crowded. Early June and late August are significantly quieter with the same weather and lower prices. Medieval Week (first week of August) is special but book everything months in advance. May and September are the island at its quietest and most genuine, though some summer businesses will be closed.