Villas in Dalarna

Rättvik and Tällberg suit lakeside summers on Siljan, Sälen suits skiers, and Särna is the base for Fulufjället's big waterfall. Dalarna is the Swedish heartland of Midsummer maypoles and the Vasaloppet ski race. Our choice of cottages is small and spread thinly, so pick the area first. Most visitors drive from Stockholm, or fly to Sälen in winter.

Where

Villas: 20
From, per week: £181
Cheapest month: October
Nearest airports: Stockholm Arlanda is the year-round choice: about two and a half hours by car to Falun and three to three and a half hours to Rättvik and Mora. Flights from London take around two and a half hours. In winter, Scandinavian Mountains Airport near Sälen has had weekly direct flights from Gatwick and Manchester.

Where to stay in Dalarna

Rättvik and Tällberg (Lake Siljan)

Rättvik sits on the eastern shore of Siljan, and its 628-metre wooden pier, Långbryggan, runs far out into the lake. Dalhalla, an open-air concert stage in a former limestone quarry, is just outside town. Tällberg, between Rättvik and Leksand, is a hillside village of old timber houses looking over the water. Trains from Stockholm stop at Rättvik, and Arlanda is about three hours by car.

Best for: Midsummer celebrations and swimming in Siljan

Not for you if: You want quiet roads at Midsummer: the Siljan villages are the busiest in the region that weekend.

Falun and Svärdsjö (south-east)

Falun's copper mine was worked for around a thousand years until 1992 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with guided tours down into the old workings. The red Falu paint on cottages all over Sweden comes from here. Svärdsjö is a lakeside village around half an hour north-east. Falun has shops, restaurants and trains to Stockholm, and Arlanda is about two and a half hours away.

Best for: A proper town base and the shortest drive from Stockholm

Not for you if: You want mountains: this is rolling farmland and forest.

Särna and Fulufjället (north-west)

Särna is a small village on Route 70, about 35 kilometres from the car park for Njupeskär in Fulufjället National Park. The waterfall drops 93 metres, reached by a marked path of around two kilometres through old forest. Idre Fjäll, a family ski resort, is about half an hour north. Scandinavian Mountains Airport near Sälen is roughly an hour and a half away by car.

Best for: Walkers who want a national park and one of Sweden's highest waterfalls

Not for you if: You want nightlife or a big ski area on the doorstep: Särna is a quiet village.

Sälen (ski area near the Norwegian border)

Sälen is a string of ski areas on the fells west of the village, including Lindvallen, Högfjället, Tandådalen and Hundfjället. Scandinavian Mountains Airport, opened in 2019, is between 10 and 45 minutes from the slopes, and Trysil in Norway is close by. The Vasaloppet ski race starts at Berga, near Sälen, on the first Sunday of March. In summer the fells are used for walking and mountain biking.

Best for: Families who want a big ski area and a short airport transfer

Not for you if: You want empty slopes in February: the Swedish sports holidays fill Sälen for weeks.

Sollerön and Orsa (around Mora)

Sollerön is an island in Siljan, joined to the western shore by a bridge, with a late Viking-age burial field of around 100 to 150 graves. Orsa sits on its own lake north of Mora, with the Grönklitt ski hill and forest trails above the town. Mora, between the two, is where the Vasaloppet finishes, and Dala horses are carved and painted at Nusnäs just outside. Arlanda is around three and a half hours away.

Best for: Lake beaches with Mora's shops and the Dala horse workshops nearby

Not for you if: You want a choice of cottages: we have one in each place.

When to go to Dalarna

Midsummer, on the Friday between 19 and 25 June, is Dalarna's big weekend, with maypoles raised around Siljan, and July is the busiest month. The lakes are warm enough for swimming from late June. Ski season around Sälen and Idre runs from December to April, peaking in the February and March sports holidays and at Easter, and Vasaloppet week fills the route in late February and early March. Mosquitoes are heavy in the north-west forests in early summer, and midwinter days are short.