Skåne Travel: Ystad

Charlottenlund Castle Exterior

Something I probably should have checked out more thoroughly before embarking on this little half-day trip to Ystad was that it's an area, not just a station (whoops... my bad). Ystad Station leads itself to a small tourist area, where the main attractions include:

• Klostret i Ystad (Greyfriar's Abbey)
• Ystad Art Museum 
• Cineteket Ystad Film & experience center
• Charlotte Berlin's Museum (this looked really good but was closed on Sunday so I didn't get a chance to visit!)

 Entrance to Museum and Greyfriar's Abbey (SEK50)

Interior of the Abbey

Off the beaten track (i.e., further away from the town centre):

• Marsvinsholm Castle
• Ystad Liman Park

Svarte, the station just before Ystad is where a beach is located, plus: 

• Disa Ting Stone Circle ("Disa's Thing")
• Charlottenlund Castle 

Disa's Thing:

[Signpost Inscription]

"Tradition has it that a maiden named Disa once conducted legal hearings, a so-called "thing", on this site. The remains consist of a rectangle, 13m x 16m, made of stones. An archaeological excavation of part of this area was performed in 1920. Inside the stone framework the excavated found a layer of cobbled-stones with scattered, burnt human bones. These finds were interpreted as the remains of a grave from the Iron Age, approx. 500BCE - 400CE. To the west of Disa's Thing there was a Stone of Bronze Age settlement, as well as a grave-field from the later part of the Bronze Age."

 Honestly the perfect day for the beach - sun out, soft sand, not too crowded either!

My itinerary for the day was basically: hit Ystad, check out the Abbey + museum and out-of-the-way castle and then head home. Instead, I ended up just going to the Abbey and departing for Svarte, where I sought out Disa's Thing and Charlottenlund Castle. I (very sadly) did not prepare for the beach, so I ended up just taking a few photos and walking 10 minutes to the Disa ruins and another 30 minutes to Charlottenlund. Honestly - it was disappointing, since I found out upon arrival that the Castle was privately owned and not a museum that I could enter into and look around. Most of the museums in Ystad were closed, and I chose between visiting the Art Museum and Abbey (I went with the latter) - and quickly went through the small exhibition space and gift shop. In my opinion, the entrance fee of SEK50 was not worth it. 

If I were to do this again: I'd just hit up Svarte for the beach.