Swedes love a fika

In Sweden, fika is more than just a coffee or tea break with buns and biscuits – it’s a social institution. Whether in factories, offices, schools or hospitals, Swedes take regular fika breaks. But the best place to enjoy it is in a café with friends or family, and in West Sweden you’ll find no shortage of cosy spots.

Cafés in Sweden are what pubs are to the British – social hubs. Unlike in Italy, Swedes prefer to sit down with their coffee, gather around a table and catch up on news, gossip and good company.

A traditional Swedish fika is coffee with a cinnamon bun, though tea or juice is also common. Fika changes with the seasons: gingerbread biscuits and saffron buns at Christmas, semla and waffles in spring, strawberry tart and rhubarb pie in summer. In the past, fika often included seven types of biscuits and pastries.

Guided Fika Tour in The Capital of Fika – Alingsås 

You are never far from a quality café or bakery in West Sweden so join the locals for a fika – they will all be doing it.

The town of Alingsås proudly calls itself the fika capital of Sweden, with more than 30 cafés to choose from. You can go on a guided tour of them with a local expert who would be delighted to tell you all about the history of the Swedish fika. And, of course, you get to have a fika.  

Did you know?

• Refills are for free at most cafés
• At most workplaces in Sweden fika is at 3.00 pm, on the dot
• After Finnish people Swedes consume the most coffee in the world – 9.19 kg per person, per year. That’s about 3 ½ cups of coffee per day
• In their leisure time Swedes fika an average of 24 minutes per day/or 12 minutes at work. Men do it more than women, but women do it for longer. The people of West Sweden fika more than any other Swedes. In total a west Swede fikas for 11 days per year. Wow.
• The word fika arrived on the scene somewhere around the start of the 20th century. No-one is really sure where it comes from.

More about Swedish Fika and where to enjoy it