The city’s main railway station, known locally as “Malmö C”, is often the first place visitors see when arriving in this part of Sweden, even if they’ve flown into nearby Copenhagen. Malmö C is conveniently connected to the Danish capital’s Kastrup Airport via the Öresund Bridge, a trip that takes about 22 minutes.

Like many historic facilities that have been regularly expanded and reconfigured to keep up with modern times, Malmö Central Station is a fascinating mix of “old & new.” Originally built in 1856, the old terminal building is now a well-preserved and charming food court with the cuisine of many cultures on offer. A 130-meter “Glass Hall” with fast-food options and shops connects the old building to the subterranean platforms below the station. These were completed in 2010 as the finishing touch on the five-year City Tunnel Project, which also produced new rail stations at Triangeln and Hyllie.

I lived in Malmö during the construction of the six-kilometre tunnel running underneath the city, and I still marvel at the engineering feat. You can get a feel for the scale by walking the 320-meter length of any of the four underground platforms at Malmö C, which feature a permanent, multi-projector video art installation that evokes the perceptual experience of being on a train. 

The exit on the far end of these platforms takes you up to Anna Lindhs Plats, a large plaza on the edge of the Malmö University campus named for the Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister who was assassinated in Stockholm in 2003.