In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Malmö is about 35 minutes from Copenhagen Central Station, with a train every 20 minutes. Carry your passport: the Swedish police check identity at Hyllie, the first station in Sweden, and EU citizens can use a passport or a national ID card. Sweden has notified controls on the Danish border for 12 November 2026 to 11 May 2027. Take the passport back too: the Danish police can make spot checks. Prices in Sweden are in Swedish kronor (SEK). Monday is the wrong day: Malmö Museer and Moderna Museet Malmö are both closed. You cannot buy a ticket on the train. The Copenhagen Card does not cover Malmö. Or book a tour: the Lund and Malmö 2-country tourad is DKK 925 for 9 hours, and the half-day train tourad DKK 650 (GetYourGuide).
The border
Sweden has temporary border controls with Denmark, and the police carry them out on the Øresund trains, the bridge and the ferries from Denmark.
- Going to Sweden: the Swedish police check at the border, usually at the first station in Sweden, Hyllie. Passengers who get off there are checked on the platform and the others on board. The operator’s timetable says border control takes place at Hyllie and asks you to bring valid ID.
- What counts as ID: EU and EEA citizens need a valid passport or national ID card. UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens need a valid passport, issued in the last 10 years and valid for at least three months after they leave Sweden. Children are checked too.
- Coming back: the Danish police ended their fixed passport control at Kastrup on 12 May 2023, but they can carry out periodic checks, so carry the passport on the return.
- The dates: Sweden’s notified controls on its internal borders, including the land border with Denmark, run to 11 November 2026, and a new notification covers 12 November 2026 to 11 May 2027. Denmark’s own notified controls are on its German border.
- Going on to Stockholm: a traveller continuing north by train crosses the same border, so carry the passport. Stockholm: what to book before you go has Sweden’s entry rules and the city’s closed days.
Visit Copenhagen’s Malmö page still describes a Danish ID inspection at Copenhagen Airport. The operator’s own notice says that ended in 2023. See the UK Foreign Office’s advice for Sweden and the Øresunddirekt border-control page.
Tickets and the train
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Journey | About 35 minutes from Copenhagen Central Station to central Malmö, every 20 minutes. A direct train also runs from the airport. Triangeln, one stop before Malmö Central, has an arrival hall |
| Ticket | DSB’s Øresund Ticket, from a DSB machine, a 7-Eleven in Greater Copenhagen or the DSB ticket office at Central Station |
| Family | The Øresund Family Ticket, for two adults and up to three children under 16, is 20% cheaper than two adult tickets. Two children under 7 travel free with an adult |
| Rejsekort | Works to Malmö C, Hyllie or Triangeln, at the same price as the Øresund Ticket |
| On board | No tickets sold on the train. An app ticket must be activated before the train’s original departure |
| Seats | No seat reservations |
| Copenhagen transport | A single ticket to or from Denmark also covers the day’s Copenhagen transport in zones 1, 3 and 4: S-trains, buses, the harbour bus and the metro |
| Tourist ticket | Skånetrafiken’s Tourist ticket Öresund is SEK 599 for 48 hours of unlimited travel in Skåne and on the Danish side, metro included, in its app |
| By car | The Øresund Bridge toll for a car is DKK 470 at the toll station, DKK 420 online and DKK 182 with an ØresundGO contract, each way |
The DSB fare shows when you search the route. Timetable: DSB changes it on 13 December 2026, and the times here are for the timetable to 12 December.
The Øresund Bridge from the air. Photo: Nick-D, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tours worth paying for
Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price per adult in Danish kroner. All cancel free.
| Tour | Length | From | Rating | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lund and Malmö 2-country tourad | 9 hours | DKK 925 | 4.7 from 4,742 | Guided day trip to Lund and Malmö, with a ferry over the Øresund, Hamlet’s castle and the Øresund Bridge |
| Across the Øresund Bridge to Lund and Malmöad | 6 hours | DKK 800 | 4.7 from 737 | Crosses the bridge to Lund and its cathedral, then Malmö and the Turning Torso |
| Malmö half day with the trainad | 4 hours | DKK 650 | 4.9 from 46 | Small-group walking tour by train, with a Swedish fika |
| Malmö self-guided tour with transport ticketsad | Self-paced | DKK 448.50 | 4.3 from 82 | A map, a leaflet and the transport tickets |
The tours include the transfer and a guide, and the 9-hour one adds Lund. The self-guided ticket comes with a map, a leaflet and the public transport tickets. On your own you pay the train, SEK 100 for the castle area and SEK 50 for Moderna Museet, and you carry the passport either way.
The Turning Torso above Malmö’s waterfront. Photo: OleNeitzel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
What to see
Prices are in Swedish kronor. The sights below are the ones with an operator’s prices and hours.
- Malmö Museer. One museum area: Malmöhus Castle, the Aquarium, Malmö Art Museum and the Technology and Maritime Museum. The combined ticket is SEK 100 for an adult (pensioners and students SEK 50, under 20 free) and covers the castle area and the Technology and Maritime Museum for the whole day. The castle area alone is SEK 60. A lift at the castle is being replaced, which closes some exhibitions or makes them hard to reach without stairs.
- Moderna Museet Malmö. SEK 50; free for ages 25 and under. It is at Ola Billgrens plats 2-4.
- Malmö Saluhall. The food hall, open Monday to Thursday 11:00 to 20:00, Friday and Saturday 11:00 to 21:00 and Sunday 11:00 to 17:00, with some traders on other hours.
On Thursday both museums stay open until 19:00, and the Saluhall is open all week for lunch.
Malmöhus Castle across its moat. Photo: Jorchr, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Hours
| Place | Monday | Tuesday, Wednesday | Thursday | Friday to Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malmö Museer | Closed (open 11:00 to 17:00 in Malmö’s school holidays) | 11:00 to 17:00 | 11:00 to 19:00 | 11:00 to 17:00 |
| Moderna Museet Malmö | Closed | 11:00 to 17:00 | 11:00 to 19:00 | 11:00 to 17:00 |
| Malmö Saluhall | 11:00 to 20:00 | 11:00 to 20:00 | 11:00 to 20:00 | Friday and Saturday to 21:00, Sunday 11:00 to 17:00 |
Malmö Museer is closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January. The thing that ruins a visit is a Monday: both museums are shut, so go Tuesday to Sunday.
Which to book
- A day on your own: the Øresund Ticket, the passport and SEK 150 for the two museums, on a Tuesday to Sunday.
- A guide and Lund as well: the 9-hour Lund and Malmö tour, DKK 925.
- Less time: the 4-hour small-group walk with the train, DKK 650.
- The tickets handled: the self-guided tour, DKK 448.50.
- With a Copenhagen Card: Malmö is not covered; the card page shows what is.
Day trips from Copenhagen compares Malmö with the trips on the Danish side, Copenhagen airport to the city says where the airport train to Malmö leaves from and what to book before you go to Copenhagen has the entry rules for Denmark. For a longer trip on to Sweden’s capital, Stockholm has its own guide with the entry rules for Sweden, and Stockholm public transport says where rail journeys from Copenhagen end.
Common questions
Do I need a passport to go from Copenhagen to Malmö?
Yes. The Swedish police check identity at the border on trains from Denmark, usually at Hyllie, the first station in Sweden, on the platform or on board. Carry a passport; EU citizens can show a passport or a national ID card. Non-EU citizens need a passport issued in the last 10 years and valid for at least three months after leaving.
How long does it take to get to Malmö from Copenhagen?
About 35 minutes by train from Copenhagen Central Station to the centre of Malmö, with a train every 20 minutes, according to Visit Copenhagen. A direct train also runs from Copenhagen Airport.
Do I need a passport coming back?
Carry it. The Danish police no longer have a fixed passport control at Kastrup on trains from Sweden, since 12 May 2023, but they can make periodic checks on board or on the platform.
What currency does Malmö use?
The Swedish krona (SEK). Danish kroner do not work in Sweden, and the prices in this guide for Malmö are in kronor.
Where do I buy a ticket from Copenhagen to Malmö?
The Danish ticket is DSB's Øresund Ticket, from a DSB ticket machine, a 7-Eleven in Greater Copenhagen, the DSB ticket office at Central Station or the DSB app. You cannot buy a ticket on board an Öresund train, and an app ticket must be activated before the train's original departure.
Is Malmö open on Monday?
Mostly not. Malmö Museer, which includes Malmöhus Castle, the Aquarium and the Art Museum, and Moderna Museet Malmö are closed on Mondays. Malmö Museer opens on Mondays during Malmö's school holidays. Malmö Saluhall, the food hall, is open every day.
Is the Copenhagen Card valid for Malmö?
No. Malmö is outside the Capital Region and not covered by the Discover or Hop cards.
