That time I didn’t visit the Turning Torso in Malmö

As I mentioned in my article about Malmö Castle, I arrived in the Swedish city without great expectations. I did not have a specific plan on what I was going to do, with one exception. I wanted to see and visit the twisted tower of Malmö.

The Turning Torso is probably the most popular attraction in Malmö. Built 10 years ago, it is 190 metres (623 feet) high, has 54 stories, and is the tallest tower in Scandinavia. You can even see it from Copenhagen, on the other side of the Öresound! But what is special about the Turning Torso is not so much its height as its strange architecture … The tower turns on itself at 90 degrees!

Its concept was developed by the Spanish engineer Santiago Calatrava and has won several international architecture awards. The Turning Torso was created with the idea of giving a distinctive emblem to the cityscape of Malmö. A pretty successful idea I think!

I have seen the tower several times from Copenhagen. If there was one thing I wanted to see in Malmö, it was the Turning Torso. I was trying to imagine what the view from up there looked like. Was there a breathtaking view of Copenhagen and the Öresound? Could one see up to the Swedish city of Lund?

So after my visit to Malmö Castle, I headed for the tower. The Turning Torso is located west of the old district of Malmö, closer to the sea. It is about a 20-minute walk from Malmö Central Station. It’s hard to get lost, as the tower is quite visible, even from a distance. I walked towards the tower, enjoying how it seemed to change shape as I approached. I arrived at the foot of the tower at the same time as a tourist bus from which dozens of tourists got off and started taking pictures of the tower. As I made my way to the front door, I noticed a small sign that stopped me immediately.

For security reasons, it is impossible to visit the Turning Torso.

The Turning Torso is a residential building. So unless you live there, tourists cannot enter to go to the top of the tower. Crap.

The tourist bus went away, and I did the same. I realized I should have done more research before going there, but hey, the tower was still worth looking closely …