Midsummer in Dalarna

Midsummer is the great Swedish festival, and nowhere is it more traditional than in Dalarna around Lake Siljan. Villages raise the majstang, a maypole wound with birch and flowers, and gather in folk costume to dance and sing through the long, luminous evening of the year's shortest night, at Leksand before thousands.

What's there

• The maypole raising - the flower-and-birch majstang lifted to cheers.
• Folk dancing - the ring dances and fiddle music in costume.
• Folk costume - the regional dress worn for the day.
• The white night - the endless midsummer twilight over the lake.

When to go

The weekend closest to 24 June, the one time it happens; Leksand and the Siljan villages hold the most famous celebrations. Arrive early, as the towns fill.

What to expect

It is a single midsummer weekend, so a trip must be timed to it, and the region is busy and booked out. Much of the celebration is communal and outdoors, so weather matters. It is a family and village festival, so join in rather than just watch.

Nearby

Lake Siljan, the Dala horse workshops and the Dalhalla stage are all around.