Shopping in Uppsala: Bookshops, Design and Second-Hand Finds

What shopping in Uppsala is like

Uppsala is a university town first, and its retail reflects that: small independent shops, a high concentration of bookshops and a department store on the main square. Most of what a visitor wants sits in the streets around Stora Torget, and the city's own destination guide treats the university town's bookshops as a highlight. You can cover the core on foot without a bus or taxi.

Allow more time than the shop count suggests. The English Bookshop alone stocks roughly 17,000 titles across floor-to-ceiling shelves, and the antiquarian shops reward slow digging rather than a quick scan. If shopping is one part of a wider sightseeing day, pair it with the walks in our things to do in Uppsala guide so the browsing doesn't swallow the afternoon.

Stora Torget and Åhléns: the one-stop option

Åhléns occupies a position directly on Stora Torget at Stora Torget 5, which makes it the simplest single stop when your time in Uppsala is short. The department store spreads fashion, beauty and homeware across its levels, so you can pick up a gift or a replacement without tracking down individual shops.

Treat it as convenience rather than a destination in itself. The surrounding square and pedestrian streets are where the independent character of Uppsala shopping shows, and the bookshops described below are a better use of a spare hour.

Bookshops worth the detour

The English Bookshop on Svartbäcksgatan is the standout. It stocks all its English-language titles across floor-to-ceiling shelves in a shop that won the international Bookstore of the Year award at the London Book Fair in 2018, and it was founded almost 30 years ago in the same location it occupies today. The knowledgeable staff are happy to recommend titles, and the shop hosts occasional evening events.

Uppsala Bokhandel on Sysslomansgatan suits anyone who reads poetry or wants local interest: it carries the city's most extensive poetry selection and a dedicated shelf of books about Uppsala and Uppland. Läslusen is the children's specialist, aimed at readers up to about 13, with a reading nook behind a curtain and a downstairs section for young adult fiction.

The walk between these three is short and passes the pedestrian streets and the River Fyris. If you are building a route around the centre anyway, our Uppsala walking tour is a sensible framework to hang the bookshop stops on.

Antiquarian and specialist bookshops

Fantastikbokhandeln specialises in science fiction, fantasy and horror, in Swedish and English, and sits on a cobbled street beside the cathedral. Omnikvariatet combines a second-hand book collection with a gallery, a cultural venue and a bar, so it works as a pause as much as a purchase. Antikvariat Thomas Andersson, in the Övre Slottsgatan area among university buildings and student nations, leans towards academic books, dissertations and mathematics and science titles.

These are browsing shops, not quick errands: stock is curated and rotates, so there is no reliable way to predict what will be on the shelf on a given day. The cathedral neighbour is a natural pairing with the old town streets, covered in our Uppsala old town guide, and makes a good half-day loop with the antiquarian stops.

Second-hand and charity shopping on Kungsängsgatan

Myrorna on Kungsängsgatan is the practical second-hand stop: a charity shop from a long-established Swedish chain selling donated clothing, housewares, books and small furniture, with profits going to social work. The stock changes constantly, which is the appeal and the caveat — go in without a specific item in mind and you will enjoy it more.

Bring a bag and allow half an hour to an hour. Kungsängsgatan also has mainstream retail, so the charity shop slots neatly into a circuit rather than needing its own trip.

Comics, games and music around Kungsgatan

Prisfyndet on Kungsgatan has served Uppsala since 1977 and covers American comics, manga, board games, card games, miniatures and role-playing titles, with organised events such as Magic: The Gathering tournaments. A few doors along, Uppsala Music Workshop handles new and used instruments, accessories and repairs, and runs the occasional workshop for players.

Both are the kind of shop where a browse turns into a conversation, so budget more time than the shopfront suggests. They also give non-clothing shoppers a reason to walk this street, which is otherwise mostly everyday retail.

Swedish design and homeware on the shopping streets

The streets around Kungsängsgatan, Kungsgatan and Svartbäcksgatan hold the everyday mix of Swedish and international chains plus smaller design and homeware shops. Åhléns on Stora Torget stocks fashion, beauty and home goods, and The English Bookshop also sells literature-related gifts and merchandise alongside its books.

For souvenirs with a local twist, the books themselves are the most portable option: Uppsala Bokhandel's Uppland shelf and the antiquarian shops both beat generic gift shops for something tied to the city. The children's shop Läslusen stocks literary toys and merchandise alongside its books.

Practical points: time, opening days and payment

Plan around weekdays and Saturdays if shopping is a priority. Published hours for The English Bookshop run Monday to Friday, Saturday and a shorter Sunday, and Prisfyndet opens weekdays and Saturday, but these are individual shop hours rather than a city-wide pattern. Confirm on the shop's own page before making a journey for one store.

No source in this guide gives prices for these shops, so check tags in store rather than budgeting from a web listing. Two to three hours covers the bookshops and Stora Torget comfortably; add an hour if you want the antiquarian shops and Myrorna as well.

Build a bookshop circuit first

If you only have an afternoon, start at Stora Torget for Åhléns, walk to Svartbäcksgatan for The English Bookshop, then loop via Sysslomansgatan for Uppsala Bokhandel and the cathedral-side antiquarian shops. That route gives you the department store, the best bookshop and the specialist browsing without retracing your steps.

Add Kungsängsgatan and Kungsgatan if you want charity rails, comics or instruments, and keep the shopping to a half-day so the rest of Uppsala still gets its time.