It’s easy to shop for self-produced, locally grown and home-made products around Uppsala. The area is teeming with fantastic farm shops, or farm boutiques, which sell everything from meat and vegetables, to furnishings and handicrafts. Treat yourself to a unique shopping experience by visiting one of these authentic shops.
Axel & Gren
A recent start-up on Uppsala’s farm shop scene is Axel & Gren. This summer shop can be found in the peri-urban town of Stabby, and offers an enticing potpourri of products during the warmer months of the year. The reward for an 8 km trip from Uppsala, for example, can be locally-made ice cream, beautiful home furnishings, and Swedish artisan food. The menu changes from week to week, so visit several times during the summer to try different kinds of home-baked pastries.
Linnés Kammare with Vasilis och Sigrid Mathantverk
Historical Linnés Kammare, which one of the most eminent scientists of Uppsala visited every year with his students, houses a gem of a farm house. Apart from handicrafts, a café and designer Kerstin Landström’s woollen blankets, which make you dream of cooler days, Vasilis och Sigrid Mathantverk (artisan food shop) is also here. The Greek-Swedish couple produce everything from cheeses and jams from Greece to tempt you, and can also pride themselves on their home-pressed extra virgin olive oil. Thanks to their cooperation with local food producers, they are able to offer a selection of products to attract large numbers of foodies.
Vreta gård
Mary had a little lamb… that might have felt at home in the Vreta gård farm shop. Sheepskin that features on TV programmes, woollen yarn with a knitting description for a warm hat, and lamb for the autumn are some of the things on offer on this authentic farm near Västerås. If you’re interested in farming activity closer to home, you can also apply for courses for keeping hens, growing crops and, naturally, breeding sheep.
Tantens Gröna Skafferi & Garderob
Fair-trade, organic and environmentally friendly. This farm shop is keen to be green, and it practises what it preaches. And what it’s called (“Auntie’s Green Pantry and Wardrobe”). Tantens Gröna Skafferi & Garderob has been offering a unique range of products with various markings for over two decades. From fair-trade children’s clothing to organic food. The shop also sells products online, and is the perfect place to look for birthday presents for that person who has everything. Book a visit to this environmentally accredited shop, just a 30-minute bus ride from central Uppsala.
Resta gård
Are you looking to visit a genuine farm shop in the Uppsala area, while shopping for locally-grown, organic and eco-labelled products at the same time? Then we would strongly recommend Resta gård. Heritage vegetables and naturally reared lamb, whole milk and soured-cream butter. These are just a few of the treats you can buy from this farm shop, which practises ethical stockbreeding and maintaining traditional varieties of vegetables and threatened agricultural breeds. You can also get to know the animals – cows, chickens and pigs – and learn more about they’re kept on the farm.
Ekbolanda gård
There are even more cows to make friends with at Ekbolanda gård, half an hour from Uppsala. In addition to these peaceful ruminants, there are also home-baked treats in the café, and shops selling artisan food, flowers and furnishings, as well as eco-labelled beef products.
Väsbylund Byggnadsvård & Gårdsbutik
Are you one of those who sit watching programmes on property renovations for hours on end? Then maybe you too have a weakness for home maintenance. At Väsbylund Byggnadsvård & Gårdsbutik (Väsbylund Building Maintenance and Farm Shop) you can find everything you need for internal and external house renovation, furnishing for different types and styles, as well as locally produced delicacies, such as game. The shop is worth a visit just to get a feel for the old Väsbylund elementary school, which was last used for teaching in 1963.
Fredrikslund: Butiken på Landet
Our last tip this time is for the rural fashionados amongst you. Butiken på landet has a fine selection of quality clothes, such as oil skin coats, which are just as practical in the country as they are fashionable in the city. The shop dates back to the 1700s, and has a comfortable leather settee, where those who are tired from shopping can sit and drink a cup of coffee. If clothes are not your thing, there is also a wide selection of gifts and food products, such as game and mince from the farm’s own livestock.