Varberg

Varberg grew up around its fortress and harbour on a low headland roughly halfway between Gothenburg and Halmstad, and the town still reads that way: a compact old core wrapped around the bastion walls, a working harbour, and a seafront that turns from swimming pier to surf beach as you walk south. It's the most visited town in Halland after Halmstad, helped by a direct rail line from Gothenburg and, since 2024, an ongoing project to move the railway itself underground and free up the seafront it currently cuts through.

What makes Varberg distinctive is the range packed into a small area: serious history at the fortress, an eccentric bathing culture at the kallbadhus, and — a few kilometres south — one of the most consistent surf breaks on Sweden's west coast at Apelviken.

No other town in Halland combines a genuinely major historical site with a beach scene this active. Varberg Fortress alone would justify a stop; add the cold bath house, the bird-rich Getterön reserve just north of the centre, and the surf and kite culture at Apelviken, and Varberg covers more ground — literally, from medieval prison to surfboard rental — than anywhere else in the county.

Varberg Fortress dominates the seafront: a medieval castle rebuilt into a star-shaped bastion fortress and later used as a prison, it now houses the county museum, whose star exhibit is the Bocksten Man — a body from around the 14th century found in a nearby bog in 1936, still wearing what is thought to be the most complete surviving set of medieval everyday clothing in Europe. On the water below, Varbergs kallbadhus is a Moorish-style bath house from 1903, rebuilt after a 1970s fire, open year-round for sex-segregated open-air bathing and sauna — a genuinely local institution rather than a tourist prop. Inland, the beech forests of Åkulla and the wine estate at Ästad Vingård make an easy half-day out from the centre. History enthusiasts with a car should also budget time for Grimeton Radio Station, a UNESCO World Heritage Site just outside town — the world's only preserved Alexanderson alternator longwave transmitter, still fired up on special occasions.

South of the fortress, Apelviken is Sweden's best-known surf and kitesurf bay, with schools and board rental clustered around the beach — it works for beginners on smaller days and draws a real crowd when the swell is up. Closer to the centre, Getterön beach gives easy town-adjacent bathing, while the Getterön nature reserve on the same peninsula is one of northern Europe's best wetlands for birdwatching, with a Naturum visitor centre and hides looking out over the mudflats. A short drive south, Träslövsläge is a working fishing harbour with its own beach and a marina; further north, Frillesås offers quieter sandy coves.

Varberg's restaurants cluster around the harbour and the pedestrian streets of the old town, with a strong bias toward seafood given the working fishing fleet still landing here. The town also has a handful of breweries and bars worth a stop after a day at the fortress or the beach, and its cafés are a reliable option for coffee and a bun (fika) between sights. For something more rural, the vineyard and farm shops around Åkulla and Ästad make a good detour if you have a car.

Varberg sits directly on the Västkustbanan, with frequent SJ trains to Gothenburg (under an hour) and south to Falkenberg, Halmstad and beyond — note that the station is mid-move as part of the town's rail-tunnel project, so check current platform arrangements before you travel. By car, the E6 runs just inland of the town. Varberg also has a Stena Line ferry connection to Grenaa in Denmark, useful if you're combining Halland with a Jutland trip. Gothenburg Landvetter is the nearest major airport, under an hour by car or bus-and-train combination.