Malmö, Sweden
Shopping for Modernist design in a 16th-century town square. Aquavit and herring left by the fireplace for Santa.
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WHERE TO STAY The largest hotel in town, the Scandic Hotel St. Jörgen Malmö has bright, cheery guest rooms. Stop for a nightcap at the Times Bar, open on Christmas Day. WHERE TO EAT Get out your calendars: Swedes actually celebrate Christmas on the 24th, and many restaurants are shut tight until just after the holiday. So book early for Petri Pumpa's festive spread in the stately Elite Hotel Savoy—it's open only until December 21. The fish-and-meat-centered feast includes a dozen varieties of herring and salmon; ham with red, brown, and green cabbage; and köttbullar (Swedish meatballs). There's also the traditional lutfisk, whitefish that has been salted and dried, soaked in lye and water for days, and then cooked and served with a creamy white sauce. BEST GIFTS The Form/Design Center shop, located on Lilla Torg (the town square) in an 1850 seed warehouse, sells pieces by Scandinavian designers, including plastic-coated fabric tote bags by Stockholm-based team 10-Gruppen. Or go to David Design for the latest in Sweden's Modernist furniture and objects: a striped, knitted cushion cover by Madeleine Ahnell-Carlson; an oak-framed mirror by Swedish architect-designer Jonas Lindvall; a myrrh candle shaped like a milk bottle by up-and-comer Damian Williamson. BEST OUTING At the 1898 bathhouse Ribban Kallbadhus, sweat it out in a wood-fired sauna with a panoramic view across the water of Copenhagen and the Øresund Bridge, then run outside and leap into the sound. It's a winter rite of passage for bold and beautiful locals; bathing suits are optional. LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING On the morning of the 24th, procrastinators and bargain hunters alike swarm Hansa, a mini-department store that's perfect for everything Swedish. —Elizabeth Garnsey
The List
Scandic Hotel St. Jörgen Malmö 35 Storanygatan; 46-40/693-4600, fax 46-40/693-4611; doubles from $64
Petri Pumpa 62 Norra Vallgatan; 46-40/664-4880; dinner for two $92
Form/Design Center 9 Lilla Torg; 46-40/664-5150
David Design 25 Storgatan; 46-40/300-000
Ribban Kallbadhus Ribersborgs Beach; 46-40/260-366
Hansa Storanygatan; 46-40/77000
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