Linköping with children

A visit to the Swedish Air Force Museum is an absolute must when you are in Linköping! It is rewarding and fun for all, regardless of prior knowledge, age and interest. It is not enough that the museum has an impressive collection of airplanes – but here there are also on-going events that will make your little ones’ smile. Why not bring the family along for Family Friday discovery time? Or go on a guided tour suitable for children? The calendar for the Air Force Museum varies according to week or season – but keep a close eye on what is happening in the near future on their own website!

At the Air Force Museum, you can come along on an unforgettable journey through the flight history of the 1900s up to today’s JAS39 Gripen. In addition to the many world-unique airplanes – from pioneering days to today – there is a Gripen simulator where you can try out how it feels to be a pilot. On a sortie you can try taking off, flying and landing the airplane – read more and book on the Air Force Museum’s website. Also discover the flight lab, the museum’s science centre, where you can learn more about flight at exciting experimental stations. Round off your visit with lunch or a snack in the cosy restaurant Calle C. What is good to know, is that the restaurant offers a special children’s menu with children’s portions that will fill tummies nicely when they begin to rumble.

Visit the Air Force Museum's website

Take the children on a historic journey back to old Linköping – the place where history becomes reality. Gamla Linköping Open Air Museum shows how Linköping was around the turn of the century 1900, where you and your family can come along on a memory-rich journey in time, and experience the town, forest and country as it was a hundred years ago!

During the summer the quarter comes alive. Between June and the middle of August there is “Summer Time” when the area becomes even more lively and is filled with family activities.  Dress up in the clothes of the era and visit the play and learning centres, Barnens Bod, the Brewery yard and Rope-making building. See what it was like to sit in a school room when the last century was young, walk into the old provision store, which sells among other things, sweets in paper cones, visit the children’s book shop, see theatre, or ride in a horse drawn wagon. If you arrange your visit during this period, you will also get the chance to chug round the area on the Choo-Choo train! If you are wondering about eating options before your visit there is no shortage – eat waffles or local home cooking, or take the opportunity to bring a basket with a pancake picnic.

When snow lies heavily in December make a family pilgrimage here to experience a real Christmas feeling. Christmas stalls appear and there is a market during the holidays. You can buy everything from handicrafts to food, with jingling choirs singing Christmas music in the background. It is impossible not to get carried away with the lovely atmosphere Christmas brings in this magical environment.

To make your visit into a whole day is no problem – regardless of season. There is plenty to discover all year round!

Visit Gamla Linköpings website
 

En nyhet i Gamla Linköping är Linköpings (och världens) första LasseMajas Deckarhus som slog upp dörrarna under 2023. Baserat på Martin Widmarks ikoniska böcker om dunderduon som löser brott har nu det första deckarhuset gjort entré. 

På deckarhuset hjälps man åt med att lösa mysterier i Valleby tillsammans med sin grupp och LasseMajas detektivbyrå. Samla in ledtrådar, hitta bevis och lös olika uppgifter för att ta fast de skyldiga i mysterierna i Valleby. Ni kan välja mellan tre olika mysterier och en grupp består utav 3-5 personer. Biljetter köps på deras webbplats innan besöket. 

Att hjälpa polismästaren att lösa mysterier och ta fast bovar kan man bli väldigt trött av. Vilken tur att Café Panini och Bernard ligger granne med polisstationen. Både stora och små detektiver kan behöva fylla på med energi och på caféet finns varmkorv, smörgåsar, småkakor och glass. Vad mer kan man önska efter att ha använt energiknölarna konstant i två timmar? Kom förbi och smaka! Du behöver inte ha löst någon mysterium eller köpa entrebiljett för att besöka cafeet eller bokhandeln.

Besök LasseMajas Deckarhus webbplats

If you continue to explore Gamla Linköping Open Air Museum, you will also discover Vallagård farm and Valla Museums which portray Linköping’s rural history. This wonderful place lies just a short walk from the town quarter. Here you will have close encounters with both animals and nature. During summer time do not miss challenging each other on Östergötland’s largest mini-golf course which has two 18-hole courses to choose between. Also do not forget to pack a picnic basket because here there are loads of great green spaces. During the school terms, riding for children is organised on Sundays at Vallagård. When the glistening snow reaches Linköping and winter arrives – then it is Vallamassivet that beckons for fast-paced fun on the huge sledging slopes. Then there is only one thing to say… ONE, TWO, THREE – GO!

Linköping’s largest play park is also here, children’s paradise, Lilla-Valla, which is perfect for play and fun. The play park has three large play areas with everything from rope-lines to slides. Your children really get an outlet for their energy if they have lots of it to run off!

Visit Gamla Linköpings website

You don’t have to go far to enjoy the possibilities the seasons bring, you can do it in the heart of Linköping – The Horticultural Society Park, Trädgårdsföreningen, is a lovely oasis located centrally in town. There are large open spaces offering the opportunity to run and play. For the very smallest of children there is a play park with swings and climbing frames and other fun things. In the winter a little skating rink is laid out in the park and in summer time it is beach volleyball that attracts big and small. There are in fact three fully equipped courts for hire by the hour for a small fee.

If your tummy starts rumbling you can always take a break and eat at Tropikhuset. Or why not climb up to the viewing tower and Café Belvederen and quench your thirst while gazing out over the town? On really nice days you can see all the way to Lake Roxen. It is also great to enjoy a picnic in the park and sunbathe for a bit, only your imagination sets the boundaries on how you spend your day with the children in Trädgårdsföreningen.

Visit Linköping kommuns webbplats (in Swedish)

Ta med familjen ut i natursköna Ljungsbro och upplev nära möten med hästar, grisar, får, getter, ankor, höns, kaniner, katter och en åsna. Klappa, mata mys, rid, åk traktor, eller testa på att var bonde för en dag. Björkö 4H erbjuder även möjligheten till att ha barnkalas.

Besök Björk 4H's webbplats

In the southern part of Linköping municipality, more specifically in Ulrika, lies Amundebo Södergård’s Adventure Park. A place for anyone with the energy to run and play. Bouncy castles, climbing frames, peddle-car land and more are here to be explored in this beautifully situated location. Not only that – hens, goats and rabbits that children can make friends with, also live here. Or why not take a trip with Grållen – a tractor with wagon which drives in a loop through the forest?

Here Santa Clause is also at home at Christmas time! Then the Adventure Park is changed into a real winter wonderland. Bring the children and take yourselves through the troll-filled, murky winter woods leading to Santa’s castle and meet Santa Clause. After a few minutes plodding through the snow you will arrive. There sits Santa Clause by the fire, waiting for expectant children, giving hugs and taking wish lists. 

Visit Amundebo Södergårds website

If you are to visit a castle with amusements for children as well, then we recommend Ekenäs Castle. To get here you take route 35 towards Åtvidaberg. At Vårdsberg roundabout just outside Linköping is a continuation sign. The castle is circa 20 km from here. At Ekenäs, Jousting tournaments, Christmas markets, Concerts and Ghost walks are organised.

Jousting tournaments at Ekenäs Castle take place in May, and are a big attraction that draw visitors and families from the whole of Östergötland. The castle surroundings are then transformed to contemporary medieval times where tournaments take place, there is a historic market and the medieval village Carnis. During this holiday there are many different activities going on – Bouncy castle of straw, Knight and Princess school, Fencing with soft weapons and much more.

Visit Ekenäs slotts website

During the summer Mutebo-Aspnäs Railway & Café is open. Travelling through the countryside is a completely unique experience in a chugging coal-fired miniature stream locomotive. The tour takes circa 15 minutes for a stretch of 1 km. When the trip is over you can enjoy a snack at the café next to it, where home-baked temptations and ice-cream are served. To get here take the car, or bus 540, get off at Mutebo.

Visit Mutebo-Aspnäs website (in Swedish)

Those who love to inline, skateboard or BMX should come to the town district of Ryd. There Hangaren Hot Sport Center is found where you can also try climbing the 14-meter-high climbing wall.

In the gymnastics hall you can trampoline, and the young people who live here in Linköping can partake in different types of dance courses here. Discos are also arranged a couple of times every autumn and spring term. In the summer you can come here with friends and play beach volleyball. For those who have forgotten a pack-lunch there is an outdoor serving area.    

Visit Hangarens website (in Swedish)

For the slightly older children there are several different facilities in Linköping for fun activities. For instance, we have one of Sweden’s largest outdoor parks, Fun Skate Park, where you can practise your tricks and fine-tune your kick-flip. Fun Skate Park is an outdoor skate park in concrete which is a full 1,451 square meters in size. It is located in Ekholmen, in southern Linköping. Skaters come here from near and far to get to grips with the bumps, steps, banks, gaps, rails and ledges that we have. The park is constructed so that the skaters can choose different ways to go round. The majority have their own equipment, but there is also the option to borrow from the recreation centre close by.    

Visit Fun Skate Parks website (in Swedish)

Med utgångspunkt i Linköping, har du hela Östergötland som din spelplan för att hitta de där perfekta familjeaktiviteterna med barnen! Efter att ni redan hunnit bocka av några av Linköpings höjdpunkter såsom Flygvapenmuseum och Friluftsmuseet Gamla Linköping, kanske ni fortfarande har ett sug efter mer, finns några närliggande spännande barnäventyr.

Linköping ligger nämligen mitt emellan Sveriges vildaste och barnsligaste attraktioner - Kolmården och Astrid Lindgrens Värld. Med cirka en timmes bilresa till varje kan man besöka båda två och vila ut på ett av Linköpings många familjevänliga hotell däremellan.

When in Linköping, you have the whole Östergötland as your playing ground to find those perfect family activities with the children! After you have already checked of some of Linköping's highlights such as the Air Force Museum and the Open Air Museum Old Linköping, you may still have a craving for more. You're in luck! There are some nearby exciting children's adventures.

Linköping is located in the middle of Sweden's wildest and most childish attractions - Kolmården and Astrid Lindgren's World. With about an hour's drive to each destination you can visit them both and rest at one of Linköping's many family-friendly hotels in between.

Visit Kolmården     Visit Astrid Lindgrens värld