This is what you can do in Linköping with children

In Linköping, there are a variety of activities to explore if you are young and curious. How about, for example, taking the children on a discovery tour in the historic Linköping? Or maybe you prefer to go to the swimming pool and splash around? Here are some lovely tips on how you and your children can unleash your playfulness in Linköping!

Air Force Museum – A mecca for aviation and technology enthusiasts

A visit to the Air Force Museum is an absolute must when you’re in Linköping! It’s rewarding and fun for everyone, regardless of prior knowledge, age, and interests. Not only does the museum have an impressive collection of aircraft – but there are also constant events that will make your little ones smile. Why not bring the family to the Family Friday discovery hour? Or go on a guided tour suitable for children? The calendar at the Air Force Museum varies by week and season – but get a great overview of what’s coming up soon on their own website!

At the Air Force Museum, you’ll embark on an unforgettable journey through 20th-century aviation history up to today’s JAS 39 Gripen. In addition to the many world-unique aircraft – from pioneer times to the present day – there’s a Gripen simulator where you can experience what it’s like to be a pilot. During the flight session, you can try taking off, flying, and landing the aircraft – read more and book on the Air Force Museum’s website. Discover also the Flight Lab, the museum’s science center, where you can learn more about aviation at exciting experiment stations. Round off the visit with a lunch or coffee in the cozy restaurant Aviatören. It’s good to know that the restaurant offers a special children’s menu with portions that are just right when their tummies start to rumble.

Gamla Linköping – where history comes alive

Bring the children on a journey through time in Gamla Linköping – the place where history comes alive! The open-air museum Gamla Linköping depicts Linköping around the turn of the 20th century, where you and your family can experience city, forest, and countryside, with wooden houses and cozy cobblestone alleys, animals, and nature.

The museum area is accessible with activities year-round, but during Times’ Summer, from the week after Midsummer to mid-August, there’s even more happening, with a wide range of fun family activities every day. You can, for example, visit the play and learning environments Barnens Bod, Bryggaregården and the play barn, watch theater, try how it was to attend school when the last century was young, or help the detectives Lasse and Maja solve mysteries in LasseMaja’s Detective House. If you time your visit during this period, you can also take the chance to ride the chug-chug train that puffs around the area! You can also visit some of the small shops, and if you get thirsty, hungry, or peckish, there’s no shortage here – everything from shops with all kinds of treats to cafes serving pastries, waffles, ice cream, sandwiches, and “real food” is available.

During Times’ Christmas, the weeks around Christmas, families flock here to get into the true Christmas spirit. Especially during the popular Christmas market, where you can shop for unique Christmas gifts and experience old-fashioned Christmas bustle to the tunes of jingling Christmas choirs. You can’t help but be drawn into the lovely atmosphere that Christmas brings in this magical environment.

Making your visit a full-day experience is no problem at all – regardless of the season. There is much to discover year-round!

LasseMajas Detective House

In Old Linköping, you’ll find the world’s first LasseMajas Detective House. It is based on Martin Widmark’s iconic books about the dynamic duo solving crimes; now the first detective house has made its entrance.

At the detective house, you help solve mysteries in Valleby together with your group and LasseMajas Detective Agency. Gather clues, find evidence, and solve different tasks to catch the culprits in the mysteries of Valleby. You can choose between three different mysteries and a group consists of 3-5 people. Tickets are purchased on their website before the visit.

Helping the police chief solve mysteries and catch criminals can be very tiring. What luck that Café Panini and Bernard are located next to the police station. Both big and small detectives may need to replenish energy, and the café offers hot dogs, sandwiches, cookies, and ice cream. What more could one wish for after using your energy knots non-stop for two hours? Come by and taste! You don’t need to solve any mystery or buy an entrance ticket to visit the café or the bookstore.

Valla Farm and Lill-Valla

If you continue to explore Gamla Linköping, you will also discover Valla Farm and the Valla Museums, the rural part of the open-air museum. Just a short walk from the town quarters, through the Vallaskogen nature reserve, lies this wonderful place. Here you can have close encounters with both animals and nature. In summer, you can challenge each other on Östergötland’s largest mini-golf course with two different 18-hole courses. Don’t forget to pack a picnic basket, there are plenty of cozy green areas here. When the sparkling snow reaches Linköping, the Valla massif invites fast-paced games in the two sledding hills. Then there is only one thing to say… ONE, TWO, THREE – GO!

Valla Farm is also home to Linköping’s largest playground, the children’s paradise, Lill-Valla, which is perfect for play and frolic. The playground has three large play areas with everything from zip lines to slides. Here, children can really express their energy if they have the urge to run! By the playground, there’s a small animal facility with rabbits and chickens. Horses, goats, and sheep live in the pastures around the playground and in Vallaskogen. In the forest, there are many walking trails and several family paths, where you can learn more about animals and nature.

Trädgårdsföreningen

You don’t need to travel far to enjoy the opportunities the season brings, but you can do it right in the heart of Linköping – Trädgårdsföreningen, a lovely oasis centrally located in the city. Here are large open spaces that offer opportunities for running and play. For the very youngest children, there is a playground with swings and climbing frames and other fun activities. In the winter, a small ice-skating rink is set up in the park, and in the summer, beach volleyball attracts both young and old. There are in fact three fully equipped courts available for hire per hour for a fee.

If you start to feel hungry, you can always take a break and eat at Tropikhuset. Or why not strive up to the observation tower as well as the café Belvederen to quench your thirst and gaze out over the city? On really fine days, you can see all the way to Lake Roxen. It’s also possible to enjoy a picnic in the park and sunbathe for a while; only your imagination sets the limits on how you spend your day with the kids in Trädgårdsföreningen.

Björkö 4H Farm

Take the family out to picturesque Ljungsbro and experience close encounters with horses, pigs, sheep, goats, ducks, chickens, rabbits, cats, and a donkey. Pet, feed, ride, take a tractor ride, or try being a farmer for a day. Björkö 4H also offers the opportunity to have children’s parties.

Ekenäs Castle – Jousting, Christmas Market, and Ghost Tours

If you want to visit a castle with plenty of fun activities for children, we recommend Ekenäs Castle. At Ekenäs, jousting, Christmas markets, concerts, and ghost tours are organized.

The jousting at Ekenäs Castle is held in May and is a major attraction that draws visitors and families from all over Östergötland. The castle grounds are transformed into a period-appropriate medieval setting with tournaments and a historical market. During this weekend, a variety of activities take place – hay bale bouncy castles, knight and princess school, fencing with soft weapons, and much more.

Tinnerbäcksbadet – Sweden’s largest swimming facility

Sweden’s largest swimming facility has opened in Linköping, and despite the cold weather, a swim is always suitable! Tinnerbäcksbadet offers a 50-meter pool and a 25-meter pool. Diving pool with a diving board at 1, 3, and 5 meters. Teaching pool and rehab pool, both with adjustable floors, as well as a family pool with a children’s pool, wave pool, 3 water slides, jacuzzi, steam sauna, dry sauna, and an outdoor café and sun terrace.

Tinnerbäcksbadet suits visitors of all ages, but keep an eye on those in your company who are not as experienced swimmers.