A Design Lover’s Guide to Malmö

Interiors, craftsmanship, architecture, and a slower Scandinavian design journey just across the bridge from Copenhagen

Malmö is one of Scandinavia’s most quietly compelling design cities. Just across the Øresund Bridge from Copenhagen, the city offers a different rhythm: historic streets, contemporary architecture, independent shops, thoughtful cafés, and a strong tradition of craftsmanship and creative living.

For visitors attending 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen, or anyone interested in Scandinavian interiors, Malmö makes an easy and rewarding design excursion. The train from Copenhagen Central Station to Malmö Central Station takes approximately 35 minutes, making it possible to experience two design cities in one day.

This guide is an invitation to explore Malmö through the lens of design, interiors, objects, and atmosphere.

Start with the City Itself

Malmö’s design character is found in its contrasts. The city combines medieval squares, late 19th-century buildings, waterfront architecture, public art, and contemporary urban planning. Begin around Malmö Central Station, then walk toward Stortorget and Lilla Torg, where the historic center offers cobblestone streets, old façades, restaurants, cafés, and independent shops.

From there, continue through the city center and allow time to wander. Malmö rewards slow looking.

Visit Form/Design Center

Located near Lilla Torg, Form/Design Center is one of Malmö’s key destinations for architecture, design, and craft. Its exhibitions often explore contemporary Scandinavian design, material culture, sustainability, and the relationship between objects and everyday life.

For anyone interested in design beyond surface aesthetics, it is an essential stop.

Discover BON TON goods

A short walk from Malmö Central Station, BON TON goods brings together handmade ceramics, fine jewelry, fragrance, textiles, antiques, and decorative objects with a focus on craftsmanship and timeless interiors.

The collection includes pieces from makers and maisons such as Astier de Villatte, Trudon, Lisa Corti, Erik Bendtsen, Ted Muehling, Antoinette Poisson, and Mikkel Brøgger Jewelry, alongside carefully sourced estate and antique objects.

More than a shop, BON TON is a place to discover objects with history, atmosphere, and intention. It is especially suited to visitors interested in collected interiors, European craftsmanship, handmade ceramics, design-led gifts, and objects that feel personal rather than mass-produced.

Explore Malmö’s Architecture

Malmö’s architectural story stretches from historic brick buildings to ambitious contemporary landmarks. The Turning Torso in Västra Hamnen remains one of the city’s most recognizable silhouettes, while the waterfront district offers a clear example of Malmö’s transformation from industrial port to modern urban landscape.

For a more intimate architectural experience, spend time in the older streets of the city center, where scale, texture, and patina create much of Malmö’s charm.

Make Time for Coffee, Lunch, and Slow Looking

Malmö is a city best experienced between destinations. Stop for coffee, linger over lunch, visit a gallery, browse an independent shop, then continue walking. The city’s design culture is not limited to formal institutions. It appears in cafés, storefronts, courtyards, apartments, public spaces, and the relaxed way people move through the city.

This is part of Malmö’s appeal: design feels lived with, not merely displayed.

For Visitors to 3daysofdesign

If you are visiting Copenhagen for 3daysofdesign, Malmö offers a natural extension of the experience. After days of exhibitions, showrooms, launches, and installations, crossing the bridge brings a refreshing change of pace and a different view of Scandinavian creativity.

The best design discoveries are not always on the official map. Sometimes they are found in a quieter city, on a beautiful street, inside a shop filled with objects chosen one by one.

Plan Your Visit

BON TON goods
Baltzarsgatan 41
211 36 Malmö
Sweden

Located in central Malmö, within walking distance of Malmö Central Station.

Plan your visit to BON TON goods

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Timeless Objects. Thoughtfully Chosen.