Guided walking tour of Umea

City walking tour of Umeå, the City of the Birches
Umeå has always been a progressive and innovative city. It is the largest city in northern Sweden and a candidate for the European Capital of Culture 2014. Your city walking tour of the downtown area will take around 90 minutes and you will see many of Umeå’s historic buildings and monuments and cultural attractions, which have made the city such a popular place to visit and live, as well as the largest city in northern Sweden. Your qualified guide will show you historic buildings and monuments and explain the different periods of the city’s development and why they are significant. The founder of the city, king Gustavus Adolphus the Great, wisely chose this site in 1622. From that time, the city has played a strategic role in the economic and cultural development of northern Sweden. Learn about the early trade with the Saami people, the utilization of the river Umeälven for the expansion of the wood industry and ship building, as well as for the development of hydroelectric power. You will hear how the city has evolved from a sleepy town of a few thousand inhabits to the most dynamic and innovative city in northern Sweden with two universities, the NorrlandsOpera and the Symphony Orchestra.

Your city walking tour will start at the Umeå Tourist Centre. Wear weather-appropriate clothing and comfortable walking shoes.