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 Travel TipsSweden
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Here you will find the most important informations
about Sweden
| Sweden most important informations |
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Area
449,964 sq km (173,732 sq miles).
Population
8,975,670 (official estimate 2003).
Population Density
19.9 per sq km.
Capital
Stockholm.
Population: 761,721 (2003).
Government
Constitutional monarchy. Gained independence from Denmark in 1523.
Head of State: King Carl XVI since 1973.
Head of Government: Prime Minister Göran Persson since 1996.
Language
Swedish. Lapp is spoken by the Sámi population in the north; there are also Finnish-speaking minorities. English is taught as the first foreign language from the age of nine.
Religion
Around 86 per cent of the population belong to the Church of Sweden (Evangelical Lutheran), separated from the state in January 2000; other Protestant minorities constitute the majority of the remainder.
Time
GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).
Electricity
230 volts, three-phase AC, 50Hz. Two-pin continental plugs are used.
Communications
Telephone
Full IDD is available. Country code: 46. Outgoing international code: 00. Coin-operated pay phones no longer exist and they are all now card-operated. Cards are readily available from kiosks and newsagents and instructions in English are displayed in most booths. Credit card phones (indicated by a ‘CCC’ sign) are widely available.
Mobile telephone
GSM 900/1800 and 3G networks are available. Main network providers include: Comviq , Telia AB and Vodafone . Coverage is available across most of the country.
Fax
An excellent service is widely available throughout the country.
Internet
Main ISPs include Dataphone and Svenska Internet Centralen . Internet cafes exist in all main urban areas but are scarcer outside of these areas.
Telegram
Telegrams can be sent from most hotels and post offices.
Post
Post office hours: Usually open during normal shopping hours (Mon-Fri 0800-2200, Sat 0900-1500). Some branches may be closed Saturday during July. Post boxes are yellow. Stamps and aerograms are on sale at post offices and also at most bookstalls and stationers. Airmail within Europe takes three to four days. Poste Restante facilities are widely available in post offices.
Press
The provinces have their own newspapers which are widely read in their respective regions; the major dailies are confined largely to the capital and include such titles as Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Expressen and Svenska Dagbladet. Many papers are financed by political parties but independence and freedom of the press is firmly maintained. All papers are in Swedish.
Radio
BBC World Service and Voice of America can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online.
Public Holidays
Jan 1 2005: New Year’s Day.
Jan 5: Eve of Epiphany.*
Jan 6: Epiphany.
Mar 24: Maundy Thursday.
Mar 25: Good Friday.
Mar 28: Easter Monday.
Apr 30: Valborg’s Eve.*
May 1: Labor Day.
May 5: Ascension.
May 16: Whit Monday.
Jun 24: Midsummer’s Eve.*
Jun 25: Midsummer Holiday.
Nov 4: All Saint’s Eve.*
Nov 5: All Saints’ Day.
Dec 24: Christmas Eve.*
Dec 25: Christmas Day.
Dec 26: Boxing Day.
Jan 1 2006: New Year’s Day.
Jan 5: Eve of Epiphany.*
Jan 6: Epiphany.
Apr 13: Maundy Thursday.
Apr 14: Good Friday.
Apr 17: Easter Monday.
Apr 30: Valborg’s Eve.*
May 1: Labor Day.
May 25: Ascension.
Jun 5: Whit Monday.
Jun 23: Midsummer’s Eve.*
Jun 24: Midsummer Holiday.
Nov 3: All Saint’s Eve.*
Nov 4: All Saints’ Day.
Dec 24: Christmas Eve.*
Dec 25: Christmas Day.
Dec 26: Boxing Day.
Note
*Shops and offices will often close half a day early on the day before an official holiday.
Special Events
For details, contact the Swedish Travel & Tourism Council (see General Info section). The following is a selection of special events occurring in Sweden in 2005:
Jan 27-30: Kiruna Snow Festival; The Nordic Antiques Fair, Stockholm.
Feb 3-6: Jokkmokks Winter Market.
Mar 4-13: Stockholm International Boat Show.
Mar 16: World Cup Sprint, skiing event, Göteborg.
Mar 24-28: Easter celebration at Skansen.
Apr 7-10: Stockholm Art Fair The Nordic Gardens, Stockholm .
Apr 30: Walpurgis Eve.
Jun 3-12: Restaurants Festival - 'A Taste of Stockholm'.
Jun 4: Stockholm Marathon.
Jun 16-18: Hultsfred´s Rock Festival.
Jun 24: Midsummer Eve/Solstice Celebrations.
Jun 27-Jul 3: Åre Adventure Festival.
Jul: Music at Lake Siljan.
Jul 8-9: Hälsinge Hambon.
Jul 14: Victoriadagen.
Jul 16-23: Stockholm Jazz Festival.
Jul 17-31: Skoklosterspelen, historical event.
Aug 3-7: Stockholm Pride.
Aug 5-13: Göteborgskalaset.
Aug 19-26: The Malmö Festival.
Nov 10-20: Stockholm International Film Festival.
Dec 13: Lucia, the coronation of Lucia, bearer of light, nationwide.
Contact Information:
Location
Northeast Europe, Scandinavia.
Country dialing code
46.
Swedish Travel & Tourism Council
PO Box 3030, 10361 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: (8) 789 1000. Fax: (8) 789 1031.
E-mail: info@swetourism.se
Svenska Turistföreningen (Swedish Tourist Federation)
PO Box 25, 101 20 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: (8) 463 2100. Fax: (8) 678 1958.
E-mail: info@stfturist.se
Embassy of Sweden
11 Montagu Place, London W1H 2AL, UK
Tel: (020) 7917 6400. Fax: (020) 7724 4174 or 7917 6475 (visa section) or 7917 6477 (press information).
E-mail: ambassaden.london@foreign.ministry.se or ambassaden.london-visum@foreign.ministry.se
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1230 and 1400-1600 (general enquiries); Mon-Fri 0900-1230 (visa applications).
Swedish Travel & Tourism Council
Sweden House, 5 Upper Montagu Street, London W1H 2AG, UK
Tel: (00800) 3080 3080 or 6201 5010 (within Sweden) or 7870 5604 (press department). Fax: 6201 5011 (within Sweden) or 7724 5872 (press department).
E-mail: emelie@swetourism.org.uk
British Embassy
Skarpögatan 6-8, PO Box 27819, 115 93 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: (8) 671 3000. Fax: (8) 671 9989 or 661 9766 (consular and visa section).
E-mail: info@britishembassy.se
British Consulate General
Södra Hamngatan 23, S-411 14 Gothenburg, Sweden
Tel: (31) 339 3300. Fax: (31) 339 3302.
Embassy of Sweden
1501 M Street, Suite 900, NW, Washington, DC 20005, USA
Tel: (202) 467 2600. Fax: (202) 467 2699.
E-mail: ambassaden.washington@foreign.ministry.se or ambassaden.washington-visa@foreign.ministry.se (visa section).
Consulates General in: Chicago (tel: (312) 781 6262), Detroit (tel: (734) 944 8111), Los Angeles (tel: (310) 473 3350), Minneapolis (tel: (612) 332 6897), New York (tel: (212) 583 2550) and San Francisco (tel: (415) 788 2631).
Swedish Travel & Tourism Council
Council PO Box 4649, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163-4649, USA
Tel: (212) 885 9700 (from USA and Canada). Fax: (212) 885 9764.
E-mail: usa@visit-sweden.com or annika.benjes@swetourism.com (press section).
Not open to personal callers.
Embassy of the United States of America
Dag Hammarskjölds Väg 31, SE-115 89 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: (8) 783 5300. Fax: (8) 660 5879 (consular section) or 660 9181 (commercial service).
E-mail: StockholmWeb@state.gov
Embassy of Sweden
377 Dalhousie Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 9N8, Canada
Tel: (613) 241 8553. Fax: (613) 241 2277.
E-mail: sweden@bellnet.ca
Consulates in: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec City, Saskatchewan and St Johns.
Canadian Embassy
Tegelbacken 4, PO Box 16 129, S-103 23 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: (8) 453 3000. Fax: (8) 453 3016.
E-mail: stkhm-ag@dfait-maeci.gc.ca or stkhm-cs@dfait-maeci.gc.ca (consular/passport section). |
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