Book a weekend in the northerly Swedish county of Norrbotten and enjoy adventure, relaxation and shopping in both summer and winter.
Pitea is Norbotten's largest town, and it is located in the vicinity of Lulea and Skelleftea. One of the most famous places to visit in Pitea is Pitea Havsbad which is known as the Swedish Riviera. Whether your holiday to Pitea takes place in summer or in winter, you always find something exciting on offer here.
Pitea is all about the outdoors. In winter you can try both downhill and cross country skiing at Lindbacksstadion or in less snowy conditions you can try roller-skis or go hiking along marked trails. Borrow a Swedish "spark" or a pair of ice skates at Pitea ICE Arena and finish off your day with a barbeque in the wild. If you want to go dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh, you can contact for instance the family run business LO Lundgrens Hastskjuts. If you would rather try a dog sleigh you can do that at Svedjekojan.
In summer you can practice your swing at the scenic Pitea Golfbana with its 27 courses, or at the smaller 9 course option at Pitea Havsbad. Here you also find miniature golf for the youngest family members. Kids will also go wild over the play area Skeppet with its playground and ten-pin bowling lanes. Dare devils and motor heads alike can head straight to Pitea Motorstadion to go go-karting or watch motor racing.
If you want to do some shopping on your trip to Pitea you have three shopping centres to choose from: BackCity, Gallerian Pitea and Smastaden all offer a good selection of shops, cafés and restaurants. For traditional Swedish, fruity delicacies, stop at Alterhedens Rabarberi och Gardsbutik which is open all year and sells home-made squash, mulled wine, marmelade and jam. Have something to eat in the dining room or on the terrace, and if you are lucky you will find the northern Swedish specialty "pitepalt" on the menu.
Pitea's closest airport is Lulea Airport, which is mainly served by domestic destinations Stockholm and Gothenburg, apart from a few charter routes. Get here by plane in around 1.5 hours from one of Sweden's two largest cities, or take a combination of trains and buses. The latter option is rather time consuming and works best if you want to see a lot of the country on your way up.
If you want to see more on your trip to Pitea, why not visit Haparanda, close to the Finnish border and only a 170 km drive to the north.
