Uppsala
The CouchSurfing Wiki, an informal workspace which anyone can edit.
Uppsala is the fourth biggest city in Sweden and has 190 000 inhabitans. It is also famous for being an active couchsurfing city with great pubnights.
Download and print Michael's walking tour of Uppsala here: Uppsala Walking Tour
Contents |
Uppsala's Frequently Asked Questions
All your questions about Couchsurfing in Uppsala
Emergency Information Uppsala
Hospital, rape crisis unit, police and hostels
Meetings
The Regular Couchsurfing meeting in Uppsala occurs 5:30 pm, every first monday of the month at Hugos Kaffe(Svartbäcksgatan 21, Uppsala).
Good places for CS - meetings:
There are meetings sometimes in a bar called Pipes of Scotland (Pipes of Scotland, Kungsg. 27, 75321 Uppsala ). It's practical to have meetings there, since they offer a snack buffet with a beer for 39 SEK from 5 - 7 pm Mon - Thu. There are also fika(coffee) meetings regularly in the weekends. Often at one of the student nations or at Hugos. The nations offer very cheap and good fika in weekends. You can find the address to the nations further down on the page.
The Uppsala CS Group is the best way to keep up to date. So join this group if you are coming to Uppsala or living here.
Pictures from events
Anything happening today?
Uppsala Tourism's search engine is unfortunately only in Swedish, but it is an interesting search engine which easily shows what's happening in town right now.
Upsala Nya Tidning is the local news paper and this is their search engine to find out what's happening in Uppsala any given day. Also only in swedish.
The student nations is what Uppsala is all about. On this web page they have all the information about what's happening any day on all the nations. For example lunch, coffee, pub, restaurant, student events. Available in english.
Café's
Ofvandahls Sysslomansg. 5, Tel +4618134204, Mon-Fri 8-18, Sat 9-17, Sun 10-17 is a legendary café founded in 1878 by the poet Erik Ofvandahl. Here you'll enjoy your free refill coffee on very old and beautiful furnitures. They have a wide variety of swedish pasteries and a popular choice is the apple,rhubarb or blueberry pie with vanilla sauce and coffee for 45 SEK.
Hugos Kaffe & Deli Svartbäcksg. 21, Tel +4618130083, Mon-Sun 10-20, Free Wi-Fi Here you can sit in a relaxing massage chair while sipping on exotic freshly brewed coffee. They serve by far the best brew coffee in Uppsala. But the best thing is how personal this cafe is. When entering the door the cafe personel greet you. In fact it feels like stepping into someone's home. Very open atmosphere and you can easily get involved in a conversation with the people at the next table. Hugos Kaffe is highly recommended!
Cafe Cappuccino Svartbäcksg. 26, +4618150780, Mon-Thu 9-22, Fri 9-23, Sat 10-23, Sun 10-22, Fika (Latte+Biskvi) 60 SEK A relaxed atmosphere in daytime to study and in late evening to meet friends. When it's not too cold you can sit in their pitoresque garden with your coffee next to the river. And if you manage to get one of the two tables next to the windows you can watch life on Svartbäcksgatan pass by. They have quite a wide variety of pasteries, food, icecream and nice staff.
Vardein & Co Saluhallen, S:t Eriks torg 8, +4618143070, Mon-Thu 10-18, Fri 10-19, Sat 10-16, Fika (Cappuccino+chocolate) 24 SEK The best Cappuccino in town. This strong and small cup of Cappuccino costs 20 SEK and taste lightyears better than any other Cappuccino in town. The café itself is also very italian, since it is more of a quick pit-stop to refuel the cafeine than a place to hang out. Vardein & Co is situated in the luxurious market "Saluhallen", next to the cathedral.
Majs Café Norrlands nation, Västra Ågatan 14, +4618657070, Mon-Thu 9-18, Fri 9-14, Fika (Coffee+pastery) 15 SEK Probably the cheapest Café in town. It is a student run café, which keeps the price level down, and probably the expectations low too. However, you will be surprised by the quality and service. Between 9 am and 11 am you can get a full swedish breakfast buffet for 30 SEK. The lunch is served between 12 and 1h30 pm and costs only 40 SEK. All in all it's a typical busy student place with very cheap food and fika(coffee and cakes).
Sightseeing
Wiki Travel Uppsala has lot of good information about traveling in Uppsala and all the major sights.
Wikipedia Uppsala shows you a deeper and more historic view of Uppsala, if you really want to do your homework before arriving.
Eniro Works like Google Maps, but better for Uppsala, if you wanna search for a place or a person.
Uppsala Walking Tour by Michael
Excursions
Eckerölinjen, 10 min walking northeast on Hjalmar Brantingsgatan from the train station, next to Willy's, 80 SEK, no reservation needed. Do you want to take a daytrip to Finland? Take this lovely bus and boat excursion to Åland. The big purpose of this trip for many swedes is the tax free alcohol available on boats between Finland and Sweden. But why not use the cheap trip to enjoy the island of Åland? Take the morning boat and return in the evening, all for 80 SEK!! The bus leaves from Uppsala at 8h00(recommended) and 13h00. You’ll be back in Uppsala 16h15 or 21h15(recommended). Don’t miss the amazing Swedish smorgasbord on the boat for 99 SEK, there you’ll find all the food and desserts you’re expecting to find in Sweden. The "bus and boat ticket" from Uppsala takes you to Eckerö which is the abandoned side of the island where you can enjoy the beautiful nature, swim if its hot outside and just explore the forests. If you wanna go to the city Mariehamn on the island ask the driver about the ticket all the way there, already upon entering the bus in Uppsala or take a local bus once arriving at the port of Eckerö.
Entertainment
Poetry
Poetry slam Ofvandahls,Sysslomansg. 5, Tel +4618134204, first wednesday of the month, 19 pm Their motto is "You can't compete in poetry, that is why we are doing it". Poetry slam is a tradition that spread from Chicago as a counterforce against "boring" poetry reading. The idea is to compete with a 3-minute poem against others in the café, whilst the audience decide who wins. It is usually open-stage so bring your own poem and be brave enough to read it! All languages are allowed, although most of the poems are read in swedish.
Movies
Slottsbiografen Uppsala Nedre Slottsgatan. 6, Tel +4618101101 from 1914. Ingmar Bergmans grandmother lived a block away from this cinema on Trädgårdsgatan. When she brought little Ingmar to a movie here he climbed up into the machine room and saw the projectors creating magic on the white cinema screen. The movies schedule
Fyrisbiografen S:t Olofsg. 10, Tel +4618150346 from 1911. This small cinema is in the student neighbourhood and shows high quality european movies. 80 SEK every day or 60 SEK student price mon - thu
Swedish Cinema V. Agatan. 12/16, Tel +46771111213 It is the biggest one showing mainly hollywood blockbusters and occasional swedish movies. Although at Royal they show a bit more alternative movies.
Music
Katalin - and all that Jazz Roslagsg. 1, Tel +4618140680, Mon-Thu 11-24, Fri 11-02, Sat 13-02, Sun closed Music venue in Uppsala. They don't just play jazz, there are for example salsa evenings and concerts with various artists (often Swedish). You can buy tickets for the concerts through the website and find a program for concerts.
Pub 19 Svartbäcksg. 19, Tel +4618122680, Mon 11-23, Tue-Thu 11-24, Fri 11-02, Sat 14-02, Sun 13-17 A nice pub next to our favorite cafe Hugos. They have free concerts Thursdays 19:00 and Sundays 13:00.
Crazy Mondays @Grand, Trädgårdsgatan 5, Tel +46187275183 , every monday 16-21 A great way to start your week, cheap fika and free concerts! They even have a pool table and fussball you can enjoy.
Kulturoasen @Tant Gröns Skafferi, Hågavägen 190, Tel +4618462579 , every sunday 14-17 And why not end your week here to get even more free music and some ecological food on top of that? Kulturoasen is based in Tant Gröns Skafferi which is an ecological store and café beautifully situated in the valley called "Hågadalen".
Hijazz Centralstationen, Tel +4618126614, Mon-Wed 17-24, Thu-Sat 17-02, Sun closed, Concerts 60 SEK A hidden gem in Uppsala. With music from all cultures of the world and daily concerts in this centrally located pub they have a great concept. You can find everything from maroccan to music from zimbabwe here.
Sports
Watch
Almtuna HockeyGränby Ishall Råbyvägen 70 SEK Adult/50 SEK Student Uppsala's ice hockey team who plays in the second highest division, Allvenskan. Ice hockey is a faster and more violent sport than soccer which you should check out if you have never heard of it before.
Play
Fyrishov Recreational Center and Waterpark Idrottsg. 2, Tel: +4618246400, Mon-Fri 6.15am - 9pm, Sat-Sun 7.30am - 9pm Fyrishov is an arena for recreation, sports and events in Sweden. There is a large indoor pool and recreation area, a large sports complex and a camping area with chalets. There is a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. A good place to try out a sauna! The website is available in other languages.
Uppsala University
Our university was founded 1477 and has to date 40 000 students registrered yearly. There are 20 Master programs and 300 courses in english. There are exchange student agreements with 500 foreign universities in 50 different countries.
The Nations
The Nations is what makes Uppsala a unique student town. After arriving at the train station in a totally ordinary small swedish city you just have to cross the river to get into a CHEAP buzzling nightlife and CHEAP daytime cafes, restaurants and free internet. All this in (sometimes)beautiful buildings from 17th century scattered out in central Uppsala.
Student Guest Card To access the nation pubs and night clubs you need to apply for a student guest card. But it is worth the 60 SEK to get access to tax-free alcohol, live music and a great student ambience.
Event schedule Once again: On this web page they have all the information about what's happening any day on all the nations. For example lunch, coffee, pub, restaurant, student events. Available in english.
CS Uppsala in the news
UNT City 26/9 - 2008 This article covered 4 pages in this local weekly newspaper and the front page. Based on short interviews with three different hosts and surfers.
Transport
Getting around
Buses: A 30 day bus card cost 500 SEK. One-year card 4300 SEK. 30 SEK if you buy the ticket on the bus. 20 SEK if you buy the ticket from a machine before boarding the bus. 15 SEK if you have the discount card, which you can buy for free at Pressbyrån. You have to put 100 SEK of value on the card plus pay a deposit of 75 SEK. When you sell the value card back to Pressbyrån you get back resting value and deposit. Walking and bicycling is often faster than buses.
Tuk-Tuk is highly recommended. If you see this guy come cycling by when you have been standing at the bus stop for 20 minutes in the cold, call out for him and he will save you on his bicycle tuk-tuk. But don't don't go to far, it is 10 SEK per minute! If he is nowhere in sight, just give him a call: 070-8833968.
Getting in and out
Stockholm
Trains are much faster and more comfortable than the Buses. The price to Stockholm by train is around 70 SEK, 38 minutes and by bus it's 54 SEK, 55 minutes. However if you buy the ticket early online you can get the train ticket for 39 SEK and the bus ticket for 45 SEK. The cheapest way to Stockholm is to buy a 10-trip ticket for 390 SEK at Anderssons Livs, Dragarbrunnsg. 63. Its valid for ten trips between Stockholm and Uppsala with the bus 899 (swebus express).
Uppland
The buses can take you almost anywhere in Uppland. The price for different zones are 40 SEK, 80 SEK and 120 SEK. However if you buy a 10-trip card for 240 480 or 720 SEK you will always travel much cheaper than that. You can buy travel cards here: • Upplysningen, Vaksalagatan 5 och Resecentrum • ICA Kvantum, Gränby Centrum • ICA MAXI Stormarknad • SJ Resebutik, Train station
Arlanda Airport
Upptåget is the easiest way to and from Arlanda, it takes 18 minutes. The price is 120 SEK and you buy the tickets at the train station before boarding. If you have the 20-trip-card mention above you can use that and add 60 SEK when you come to Arlanda.
Otherwise you can also take the normal SJ train(130 SEK, 18 minutes) and also buses(100 SEK, 40 minutes) from the train station.
Arlanda is between Stockholm and Uppsala and is slightly closer to Uppsala than to Stockholm.
Västerås Airport
From Västerås Airport you can fly to London and to Poznan with Ryanair and Wizzair.
The bus 804 takes you from Uppsala to Västerås. Ask the bus driver to drop you off at Hässlögatan. This is the cheapest way to go if you have the 20-trip-card I mentioned above. Otherwise it will cost 120 SEK.
Air Porter, 200 SEK round trip, 130 SEK one way, will be much easier for a person without the 20-trip-card since it will leave you just outside the entrance to the airport.
Skavsta Airport
My guess is that you arrive at Skavsta Airport more likely than at Arlanda. From Skavsta you can fly with the low budget Airlines like Ryanair and Wizzair. But how do you get all the way to Uppsala from Skavsta?
Trains will take you to Uppsala in 2 hours. Take the local bus from Skavsta Airport to Nyköping Train Station (Nyköping C),bus schedule,21 SEK, 10 minutes. Take a train from Nyköping C to Uppsala C. Buy that ticket one month in advance for 79 SEK or the same day as departure for around 150 SEK. The latest train from Nyköping to Uppsala leaves at 8 pm. Do you arrive too late to catch it?: 1. Couchsurf in the beautiful city of Nyköping. 2. Take the bus to Stockholm for 200 SEK round trip or 150 SEK one way. (From Stockholm there are trains to Uppsala until midnight, 72 SEK)
Sweden
SJ Aktion is a train ticket auction web site where you can find tickets for as low as 1 SEK. It's difficult to sign up on the website without a swedish personal number and you could ask your host with help on buying a ticket. From Uppsala it's quite easy to get a 1 SEK - ticket to Falun. It is also possible to find a cheap ticket to Sundsvall. If you buy a ticket from Stockholm there are more options but don't forget it will cost you 58 SEK to get to Stockholm.
The train can also be very cheap if you buy ticket well in advance. It is for example possible to get to Kiruna, Malmö, Oslo or Köpenhamn for 95 SEK from Uppsala. If you buy the same ticket just a couple of hours in advance it can be up to 1000 SEK or more.
The buses are a much safer option if you are traveling without plans. You can always buy the tickets on the bus and it will not be extremely expensive even if you just buy the ticket on the bus. For example if I would go to Oslo today it would cost 464 SEK if I buy the ticket now.
Flying is also an option. However very polluting. So save the environnement and take the bus or the train instead! If I would buy a ticket for going to Kiruna by plane today it would be 2500 SEK.
