Discover Falun: World Heritage, Mining Culture and Waterside Trails

Falun combines an exceptional mining history with museums, historic buildings and a variety of opportunities for active days. The Falun World Heritage Site includes the mine, the town of Falun and the surrounding mining landscape. Those looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home in Falun can therefore plan their stay in many different ways: with culture and urban history, hiking and cycling tours, or winter sports and activities on the water.

Mining Culture and World Heritage in Falun

A central point of interest is Falu Gruva. Guided tours are offered there underground, taking visitors through large chambers, winding passages and deep shafts. Above ground, the impressive Stora Stöten open pit stretches out, surrounded by historic buildings painted the distinctive Falun red. Falu Gruva is located one kilometre from the centre of Falun. This clear connection between the town and the mining area makes Falun particularly interesting for travellers who do not want to spend all their days exclusively in nature.

In the centre of Falun, directly on the Faluån River, is the Dalarnas museum. As the provincial museum of Dalarna, it focuses primarily on cultural history. The permanent exhibitions cover, among other things, traditional dress and textiles, Dalarna painting, Dala horses, the World Heritage town of Falun and the industrial landscape. Hagström 4ever, Selma Lagerlöf, as well as art, handicrafts and design are also among the exhibition themes. This makes it possible to learn about the region's history not only through mining, but also through everyday culture, design and regional identity.

Thunströms Köpmansgård at Slaggatan 31 and Vass Britas Gård offer further historical insights. Thunströms Köpmansgård is an authentic merchant's shop with an adjoining living area dating from the mid-19th century in the centre of Falun. Vass Britas Gård is Falun's only surviving loft building and dates back to the late 17th century. At Styraregatan 28, a house from the mid-18th century contains a café open in summer and an exhibition about Ernst Rolf. The house also has a green courtyard with seating.

Hiking, Cycling and Winter Activities in the Surrounding Area

For a trip combining different interests, the routes around Falun offer several clearly distinguishable highlights. The hiking trails of Vattnets väg till Gruvan cover a total of just over 30 kilometres and are divided into four different circular routes. Along the way, you can see medieval hut sites, miners' farmsteads, dams and dam houses in distinctly Nordic natural surroundings. The various circular routes allow you to adapt your daily plans to the desired length of the hike without losing sight of the connection between the landscape and the mining history.

The historic surroundings can also be explored by bicycle. A 15-kilometre cycling route around Lake Varpan runs north of the centre of Falun. Several miners' farmsteads, slag heaps and remains of former smelting works lie along the route. Those looking for more athletic challenges will find marked and well-maintained mountain biking trails for cross-country and downhill riding in Lugnet.

In winter, Lugnet Skidstadion adds well-prepared cross-country ski trails of various lengths to the range of activities. They can be used from the first snow early in autumn until well into spring. Another option is Gruvspåret, a local cross-country ski trail in the centre of Falun that begins at the Falu Gruva World Heritage Site. This allows cultural and winter sports interests to be combined on the same trip without losing sight of the town's character.

Family Excursions and Activities on the Water

Stabergs bergsmansgård is a cultural reserve and is also part of the Falun World Heritage Site. Smörblommas stig, a 1.5-kilometre circular children's trail, runs at Stabergs bergsmansgård. It complements the historical impressions with a manageable route and can be taken into account when planning a day with younger travellers. Which other activities you include depends on whether history, exercise or a combination of the two is the main focus of your trip.

At Sjöboden by Roxnäs udde, various kayaks and fishing kayaks for one to three people, Canadian canoes for two to four people, and SUP boards for juniors and adults accommodating one to five people are available for hire. Guided tours are also offered in summer. When choosing accommodation in Falun, it may therefore be useful to first decide on your preferred travel rhythm: would you like to combine central cultural attractions with hiking and cycling tours, focus on winter sports, or also set aside time for an experience on the water? The places and routes mentioned offer different opportunities for this, while Falun as a destination closely links cultural history and landscape.

More Destinations for Planning Your Trip

If you would like to discover more destinations besides Falun, you can also include Sågmyra, Linghed, Sundborn, Bjursås, Svärdsjö and Enviken in your selection. This allows you to base your accommodation choice on the places that are of particular interest to you during your trip.

Back to the higher-level travel overview: Falun.