Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
EATING, DRINKING AND ENTERTAINMENT
There is a fair selection of places to eat in Ystad, with some atmospheric
cafés
and fine
restaurants
; most of the latter
are on or around Stortorget. Ystad stages its annual
opera festival
through most of July. You can get information on
performances and book tickets at the tourist office.
5
Bröderna M
Hamngatan 11
T
0411 19 99 99.
This is the pizzeria which features in the
Wallander
novels,
though today it's a cosy lounge bar and restaurant. Mains
such as honey and chilli-marinated chicken with mango
chutney are 175-199kr. Burgers and pizzas, too.
Mon &
Tues 11.30am-9pm, Wed & Thurs 11.30am-10pm, Fri
11.30am-11pm, Sat noon-11pm, Sun 2-9pm.
Helsa på
Per Helsas Gård, Besökaregränd 3.
Find the
door to the courtyard and you'll discover a curiously old-
fashioned yet bohemian café set in a half-timbered house
with outdoor seating in summer. They bake all their own
produce and the café is also licensed.
Mon-Fri
11am-5pm, Sat 11am-3pm.
Lottas
Stortorget 11
T
0411 788 00.
Justifiably the
most popular restaurant in town, packed each evening in
summer and serving beautifully presented, scrumptious
fish and meat dishes such as oven-baked chicken with
couscous and cod in white wine sauce for 142-226kr.
Mon-Sat 5-10pm.
Lottas Källare
Stortorget 11
T
0411 788 00.
In the
cellars below
Lottas
restaurant, this cosy bar offers several
English beers including the so-called “Manchester United”.
It's a great place to come to meet local people as this is the
most popular watering hole in town.
Mon-Sat 5-10pm.
Restaurang Östergatan
Stora Östergatan 1
T
0411
55 55 88.
The place for fine dining in Ystad, with linen
tablecloths and chandeliers. This elegant restaurant serves
expertly cooked French cuisine such as beef bearnaise with
haricots verts and haddock poached in milk served with
tangy horseradish. Mains 155-275kr.
Mon-Thurs noon-
10pm, Fri & Sat noon-midnight.
Steakhouse Bryggeriet
Långgatan 20
T
0411 699
99
. The rough, beamed interior dominated by two copper
beer casks creates a welcoming ambience at this meat-
lover's treat. The well-cooked steaks and other meat mains
are 159-215kr and there are even a couple of vegetarian
dishes, too.
Mon-Fri 11.30am-11pm, Sat noon-11pm,
Sun 1-10pm.
Store Thor
Stortorget 1
T
0411 185 10.
Located in the
cellars of the fourteenth-century Rådhuset but has tables
in the square in summer. Serves a decent herring platter for
109kr, chicken breast with vegetables for 195kr and lamb
wrapped in bacon at 245kr.
Mon-Fri 11.30am-2pm &
5pm-1am, Sat 5pm-1am.
The Österlen coast
The landscape of the southeastern corner of Skåne, known as
Österlen
, is like a
Mondrian painting: horizons of sunburst-yellow fields of rape running to
cobalt-blue summer skies, punctuated only by white cottages, fields of blood-red
poppies and the odd black windmill. Along with the vivid beauty of its
countryside, Österlen has a number of engaging sights, notably picture-perfect
villages, plenty of smooth, sandy beaches, and the Viking ruin of
Ales Stenar
. It's
not surprising the area has lured writers and artists to settle here more than
anywhere else in Sweden.
Ales Stenar
From Ystad take either bus #322 or #392 to Kåseberga (20min) from where it's a signed walk of around 200m
Above the harbour of the old fishing village of Kåseberga is
Ales Stenar
, an
awe-inspiring Swedish Stonehenge. Believed to have been a Viking meeting place, it
consists of 56
stones
forming a 67m-long boat-shaped edifice, prow and stern denoted
by two appreciably larger
monoliths
. The site was hidden for centuries beneath shifting
sands, which were cleared in 1958; even now, the bases of the stones are concealed in
several metres of sand. It's difficult to imagine how these great stones, not native to the
region, might have been transported here. Ales Stenar stands on a windy, flat-topped
hill, which most of the tourists snapping away don't bother to climb; once at the top,
though (it's a steep 10min hike), there's a majestic timelessness about the spot that
more than rewards the effort.
