Weather

Sunshine junkies should visit Sweden between late May and late July, scooting out before the August rains. Monthly average temperatures in Stockholm are highest in July at about 22°C (70°F), when you can rely on nine hours of tan time. The average temperature in the northernmost mountains at this time is about 11°C (52°F), but you should be prepared for occasional sub-zero temperatures and snowfalls, even in summer; the range of temperatures north of the Gulf of Bothnia is almost 30°C (86°F).

Sweden's northern latitude means that it never gets really dark from mid-May to late July, with the trade-off being a pervasive December dimness. Annual rainfall is greatest around Gothenburg at well over 700mm (28in) and falls mainly as snow in Lapland, blanketing the region for 200 days of the year. Many coastal ports are frozen all winter, while the Stockholm archipelago can be iced in for a couple of months.