Things to do in Sweden

Sweden does big nature numbers: 100,000 lakes; 27 million hectares of forest; tens of thousands of islands; over 2000 national parks and nature reserves. Northern Sweden claims mainland Europe's most remote point - near Lake Råvejaure – amid lonely mountains and vast taiga ripe for year-round exploration. Sweden's top hiking route is here, 450km across Lapland from the Abisko National Park to Hemavan, getting wilder as it goes.

But don't think wilderness is just a northern thing. Bohuslan's coastline is a symphony of dark rocks and seductive secluded coves. Distinctive archipelagos front each Swedish coast with thousands of uninhabited islands ripe for Robinson Crusoe fantasies: rugged Ostgota in the east, sandy Oland to the south, woody Lulea by the west. Bird-filled marshes, ancient monuments and sylvan woods vie for attention along the Skaneleden trail on Sweden's southern coast.

If you judge by iconic wildlife, then central Sweden scores high. A multitude of elk share the land with wolves around Bergslagen, just two hours from Stockholm - while Hälsingland is a bear hot-spot three hours north of the capital.