What I love (and don’t love) about Malmo

Biking through so much green space!

I was really looking forward to visiting Malmo, simply to check Sweden off of my bucket list since I have always wanted to go. I was interested to find out what to expect from Sweden, besides less of a focus on bike infrastructure than Denmark, which was a comment mentioned by one of our tour guides in Copenhagen. However, unlike many other people in our group, I am a big fan of Malmo. 

Hope's big crash in front of IKEA.

Malmo does lack in terms of connectedness with bike infrastructure. Yesterday a couple of us biked to IKEA (in Sweden, isn’t that crazy?!), and the navigator had us follow the walking instructions instead of the biking instructions, which resulted in traveling through some not-so-bikable areas. I think if we had used bike instructions specifically we would have been able to find safer, better-connected routes that took us where we needed to go. However, in one instance, while following a bike path, the path ended and spit us out onto a decently busy road, which was both uncomfortable and surprising. While wandering Copenhagen I felt that I could go anywhere on a bike and no matter what there was infrastructure there for me. This was not the case in Malmo. I think if I knew the city better and the bike routes I would be able to travel throughout the city very efficiently by bike, but while wandering as a tourist I would say that is not the case.

The only one-way, two-sided bike lanes I saw in Malmo.

Malmo also has two-way bike paths on only one side of the street, which I do not enjoy as much as separated one-way bike paths like in Copenhagen. This type of path makes for problems when biking in a group or even a partner, and during heavily trafficked times, as well as turns and crossings. 

In terms of people and way of life, I think there is a larger focus on little details, such as stormwater drainage. I found this gorgeous stormwater drainage feature (or fountain?) that really made for an appealing and pleasant surrounding. I also noticed several patterned sewer grates which I thought was such a cute and fun detail. 

I will admit that I think I have some bias when it comes to Malmo vs. Copenhagen because big cities overwhelm me. So while I did love the bike infrastructure and time visiting Copenhagen, I am a lot calmer in Malmo and can effortlessly enjoy it. Being a smaller area, I also think Malmo has some really great characteristics, such as more aware car drivers (I have not felt unsafe at all around cars and busy streets in Malmo), lots of green space to both walk and bike through, which Copenhagen definitely lacked, and the same focus on kids and people with playgrounds and public spaces to enjoy. 

Aside from bike infrastructure, I think Malmo checks off a lot of boxes. In Copenhagen, I felt that bikes almost had this power over cars and pedestrians, which often made the other two modes of transportation less focused. In Malmo, I feel as though the way of life as a whole is pretty equal, in terms of all modes of transport and abilities. I was especially impressed by the pedestrian infrastructure when relating the city to Copenhagen, I feel that there is a lot more accessibility, especially for disabled people. Flat pavers as sidewalks make walkability easy and evident in many areas. Also small ‘ramps’ are present along the bike path and sidewalk in many instances when, on rare occasions, the path and sidewalk aren’t on the same level. These ramps allow for an easy transition from biking to walking. 

One highlight where I really applaud Malmo is their phenomenal public transit. This morning three of us traveled to Lund, about a 20-minute train ride. The trains seemed to come slightly less frequently than Copenhagen, but still very often, and were definitely less confusing than Copenhagen. The transit system from Malmo was fast, efficient, and easy to understand. I wish so badly that we had transit like this in the U.S. I love Malmo :)

Lastly, here are some examples of simpler but similar bike infrastructure in Malmo as in Copenhagen.