Traveleriences
A yellow wooden house from the stories at Astrid Lindgren's World in Vimmerby

Vimmerby, Sweden

Ideal: 1–2 daysBest: Jun–AugPrice: Moderate
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In 60 seconds

Vimmerby in 60 seconds

Astrid Lindgren, the author of Pippi Longstocking, was born in 1907 on a farm at Näs on the edge of Vimmerby, and the small wooden town of Småland and the farms around it fill her books. Astrid Lindgren's World, an outdoor theatre-park of life-size sets from the stories, puts on short plays all day in summer; at Näs you can visit her childhood home and a thoughtful exhibition about her life. Out in the countryside, the three red farmhouses of Sevedstorp were the Bullerbyn of The Children of Noisy Village, and Gibberyd played Katthult in the Emil films. Vimmerby itself has a long main street of old wooden houses and the Åbro brewery. It is a children's pilgrimage, but grown-ups who read the books will be moved too. Summer only for the park.

LiteratureCountryside

Best for

  • Families
  • Hidden gems

Known for

  • Astrid Lindgren's World
  • Astrid Lindgren's Näs
  • Bullerbyn
  • Pippi Longstocking

Skip if

You are travelling without children and have no attachment to the books, or out of season, when the park is closed.

Your match

Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Vimmerby fits them. Choose interests

See

Must experience

The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.

Eat

Where to eat

A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?

More places to eat

Too few picks yet for their own heading, so they share this list.

Restaurant at Näs

Moderate

Classic Swedish dishes beside her childhood home

Meatballs, sandwich cake and berry pies, with a terrace in the apple orchard; open in the summer season.

NäsSummerSwedish

Beyond the obvious

Hidden gems

Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.

Bullerbyn (Sevedstorp)

The three farms of Noisy Village

Three red farmhouses in a row, the model for The Children of Noisy Village, with a café in a barn in summer.

SevedstorpCountrysideLiterature

Storgatan

The old wooden main street

A long, gently sloping street of 18th- and 19th-century wooden houses running up to the square.

CentrumFreeHistoric

Orientation

Neighbourhoods

How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.

Vimmerby town

Square, Storgatan and the brewery

A small, walkable town centre with cafés along Storgatan and the Åbro brewery nearby.

Stay

Where to stay

Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.

Vimmerby

Moderate

Hotels, cabins and camping

In July everything near the park fills up with families; book well ahead.

Book aheadFamilies

Practical

Know before you go

Getting in
Trains run to Vimmerby via Linköping; by car it is about three and a half hours from Stockholm or Gothenburg.
Season
Astrid Lindgren's World is open from late spring to late summer; Näs from May to September.
Language
The park's plays are in Swedish, but the stories are told largely in action and song; children follow them easily.
Taste locally
Småland ostkaka with jam and cream, isterband sausage and Åbro's beer.
Combine with
Glasriket, Kalmar and Öland, and Eksjö's wooden old town.

Plan this trip — useful links

Vimmerby — official site (opens in a new tab)

Context

History in 5 minutes

Enough to make what you are looking at legible.

  1. 1907

    Astrid Lindgren is born at Näs, just outside Vimmerby.

  2. 1945

    Pippi Longstocking is published and becomes a worldwide success.

  3. 1981

    The park that becomes Astrid Lindgren's World opens in Vimmerby.

Further out

Nearby escapes

Worth a day if you have one to spare.

Glasriket

Glassworks in the forest

Watch glass blown at Kosta and Målerås — Glasriket has its own guide.

1 hr 15 min by carDesignGlass

Kalmar

Castle town on the Baltic

A Renaissance castle and the bridge to Öland — Kalmar has its own guide.

1 hr 30 min by carCastleCoast