Business contacts
Mobile phone hire Cellhire (partners with the Swedish telephone company Telia) Tel: 020 798 802 or visit www.cellhire.com. Car hire Try Avis car rentals Tel: 778 30 or visit www.avis.se, or Europcar, Tel: 716 40 or visit www.europcar.se.
Office rental Call Slagthuset in Malmö AB, tel: 699 8020, Email: info@malmoslagthus.se, or contact Bjurö Kontorshotell, Tel; 699 8000, or Email: info@bjuro.com.
Secretarial services
Contact Manpower on 670 1770 or Email: info@manpower.se. Regus, Tel: 664 3500, Website: www.regus.se also offer secretarial services.
Weather and climate
Statistically Malmö has more then 1,500 hours of sunshine a year, mainly thanks to the often splendid summers. From mid-May to late August temperatures can reach the late 20Cs. Strong ocean winds make for rapid changes in climate during the rest of the year, with temperatures down to -10C from November to early March.
Local press
A common saying in Malmö is that it hasn’t happened until you have read about it in Sydsvenskan, the city’s biggest newspaper. It features a free entertainment magazine called Dygnet Runt every Friday, which you can use to get the gist of listings, even if you don’t speak Swedish. The same goes for the Nöjesguiden, which is published once a month and includes reviews of local restaurants, nightclubs, bars and other events. The free daily newspaper Metro is available in stands all over town and covers essential national and international news.
Tourist traps
At night, especially during weekends, unlicensed taxi drivers gather outside the popular bars and nightclubs of Lilla Torg and Möllevångstorget in search of naive customers. Not only are they often expensive, but they are also unsafe.
Tipping etiquette
VAT is included on hotel and restaurant bills. Service is often included both for taxis and restaurants. Nobody expects you to tip bar staff in pubs or nightclubs—although they won’t mind if you do! The same goes for hotel bellboys and porters.
Internet cafes
There are Internet cafés all over Malmö. Try PhantaCity AB (Gustav Möllersgata 2a, Tel: 123 716), Twilight Zone HB (Stora Nygatan 15, Tel: 611 2099), Surfers Paradise Café (Amiralsgatan 14, Tel: 121 512), Cyberspace Café (Engelbrektsgatan 13, Tel: 611 0116), or Kajplats 305 (Bassängkajen 8, Tel: 342 574).
Gifts to buy
David Design (Stortoget 25) and nearby Form Design Centre (Lilla Torg) are havens for those interested in the latest—and often also the most expensive—in contemporary design. Pick up furniture, interior decoration, glass, textiles and more.
Five O’Clock The-handel (Skomakaregatan 1) sells a great selection of teas from all over the world, as well as biscuits, jams and sweets in special gift wrappings.
At Älgamark (Östra Rönneholmsvägen 4) you will find original Nordic arts and crafts, modern silver jewellery, Sami (native people of the arctic circle) handcrafts, as well as replicas of ancient Nordic jewellery in bronze, pewter, silver and gold.
Remember that if you are a non-EU resident VAT is refundable. Look for the ‘taxfree for tourists’ sign in shops.
Lilla Torg Just around the corner from Stortorget is Malmö’s most beautiful and charming square, where the old and the new come together in a blend of cobbled streets, half-timbered houses, hip bars and first-class sushi joints. Lilla Torg is the obvious centre of Malmö’s nightlife, especially in summer when the outdoor bars and restaurants take possession of every square metre. A lunch of Grekens faki soup at Saluhallen is a must.
MöllevångstorgetIn many ways this square is the complete opposite to Lilla Torg. It’s where the young and creative live and hang out and where alternative is the order of the day, both for personal style and thinking. During the day, the fruit and vegetable market occupies the entire square and helps draw customers to the numerous mini-markets that sell unusual foods and spices from all over the world. At night, rustic and tastefully downtrodden bars and restaurants such as Nyhavn, Möllan, Tempo and Metro serve medium-priced drinks, as well as decent food.
Gamla Väster West of Lilla Torg lies the old town of Malmö, where the intellectual cream of the city live. Among the charming, renovated old houses tucked away down narrow alleys you’ll find the cosy Café Siestaand the gourmet restaurant Trappaner. This is an area to stroll through on a sunny day.
Västra Hamnen Malmö’s youngest district is the result of a bold architectural experiment in 2001. At the foot of celebrated Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava’s spectacular 190m building lies a swarm of houses in all shapes and styles, framed by a long beach walk and lots of open green spaces.
Ribersborg Beach The perfect place to get a break from traffic and crowded squares, even though the seaside solitude at Ribersborg is within walking distance of the centre. After a walk along the sandy beach, the bathing house Kallbadshuset, built in 1898, offers everything from a woodfired sauna to food and coffee, or perhaps a cold beer on one of the two verandas facing the sea.