In 60 seconds
For a thousand years the Great Copper Mountain at Falun financed the Swedish realm, roofed Europe's palaces in copper and gave Sweden its signature Falu rödfärg red cottage paint. Today the vast open pit of Stora Stöten, its underground drifts and the preserved miners' districts of Elsborg, Gamla Herrgården and Östanfors form a UNESCO World Heritage site. Fifteen minutes north-east in riverside Sundborn stands Lilla Hyttnäs — the colourful Arts-and-Crafts home of painters Carl and Karin Larsson that defined the Swedish domestic ideal.
Best for
Known for
Skip if
You only want lakeside resort relaxation — pair Falun with nearby Lake Siljan for beach and boat days.
Your match
Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Falun & Sundborn fits them. Choose interests
See
The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.
UNESCO-inscribed historic copper mine, 1687 collapse crater and underground guided drifts
Take the helmeted underground tour sixty-seven metres below ground and walk the rim path around Stora Stöten.
Preserved family cottage and studios of artist Carl Larsson and textile pioneer Karin Bergöö Larsson
Pre-book a timed guided tour through the rooms immortalised in Carl Larsson's watercolours.
Regional museum of Dalarna folk painting (kurbits), traditional costumes, Dalecarlian horses and Selma Lagerlöf's study
Start here to understand Dalarna's folk art, fiddle music and literary history.
Eat
A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?
Where to eat the food this city is actually known for.
Traditional Swedish lunches and seasonal Dalarna dishes in the former mine inspector's manor at Falu Gruva
Dine right on the rim of the UNESCO mine precinct.
Riverside lunch restaurant steps from Carl Larsson-gården in Sundborn
Enjoy Dalarna fish and local greens overlooking the Sundborn river.
Too few picks yet for their own heading, so they share this list.
Classic brasserie set inside an ornate 19th-century bank hall in central Falun
Order Swedish classics beneath the vaulted ceiling.
Artisanal fika and sandwiches inside a historic mine foundry building
Sit outside facing the Great Pit with a cinnamon bun.
Beyond the obvious
Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.
Three preserved 17th- and 18th-century Falu-red wooden miners' neighbourhoods
Walk the quiet lanes of slag-stone foundations and red-ochre timber cottages spared by the 1761 town fires.
14th-century brick-and-copper church where miners worshipped before descending into the shafts
Notice the green copper roof plates and medieval wooden sculptures inside.
Restored Baroque master-miner's homestead with terraced kitchen gardens and views tower
Climb Klackberget behind the garden for a sweeping view over Lake Runn.
After dark
Central Falun pubs pouring Oppigårds and Dalarna craft ales
Ask for a pint from Oppigårds Bryggeri, brewed thirty minutes south in Hedemora.
Orientation
How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.
The UNESCO mine basin and adjacent Falu-red miners' cottage quarter
Walk directly from the town centre over the river into Elsborg's historic wooden lanes.
Riverside Dalarna parish thirteen kilometres north-east of Falun
Dedicate a half-day to Lilla Hyttnäs, Sundborn Church and Stora Hyttnäs manor.
Stay
Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.
Walkable to Dalarnas Museum, the railway station and Falu Gruva
Best base if visiting by train.
Historic mine buildings right beside Stora Stöten
Atmospheric overnight option within the UNESCO World Heritage zone.
Practical
Plan this trip — useful links
Context
Enough to make what you are looking at legible.
King Magnus Eriksson grants the oldest preserved royal charter to the master miners of Stora Kopparberget.
On Midsummer Day, underground pillar workings collapse without a single fatality, creating the vast Stora Stöten open pit.
Carl and Karin Larsson transform Lilla Hyttnäs in Sundborn into a light-filled home celebrated in Ett hem (1899); UNESCO inscribes Falun in 2001.
Further out
Worth a day if you have one to spare.
Meteorite-crater lake surrounded by Dalarna folk villages and Zorn's Mora
Combine Falun's industrial and artistic heritage with Lake Siljan.
1504 lofted timber storehouse where young Gustav Vasa escaped Danish soldiers
Visit one of Sweden's oldest national monuments on its peninsula in Lake Runn.
