Falun and the Falu Copper Mine

Falun is the town copper built, and its mine is the reason to come. Here’s what the underground tour is really like, what you can see without going down, and how to fit in Carl Larsson-gården, Lugnet and Falu red paint.

When you need this

You’re planning a day in Falun and want to know whether the underground tour suits you, your children or your knees — and what to wear. Maybe you want to know what you can see at the mine without going down, or without a ticket. Or you’re adding Carl Larsson-gården, Lugnet or Falun’s famous red paint to a Dalarna trip, coming without a car, or eyeing late February 2027, when the ski World Championships come to town.

Falun and the mine at a glance

Falun (Falu kommun, 59,961 inhabitants in mid-2026) is Dalarna’s county town. Its mine at Stora Kopparberget, the town and the mining landscape around it became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001. In the mid-1600s the mine produced two-thirds of the world’s copper, and the oldest surviving document about it dates from 1288. The last blast, in December 1992, ended centuries of unbroken mining.

Everything at the mine sits around one address, Gruvplatsen 1, about 1 km from Falun’s train station (Resecentrum) and bus station (Knutpunkten).

By our own route measurement (pure driving time), Sundborn and Carl Larsson-gården are 13 km away, about 15 minutes; Mora is 87 km, about 1 h 25 min; Stockholm is 223 km, about 3 h 10 min.

The underground tour: what it’s really like

The guided tour (guidad visning under jord) runs almost every day of the year, in Swedish and English. It takes about an hour and goes through passages, large halls and past deep shafts — among them Creutz schakt, from the 1600s and 208 m deep, and Allmänna Freden, the rock chamber whose wall serves as the mine’s royal guestbook.

It’s cold and wet. It is about 6°C underground all year, July included, and it drips. Bring a warm jacket or sweater and shoes you don’t mind getting wet and dirty. The mine lends you a helmet and a rain cape, and both must be worn for the whole tour.

It’s a lot of stairs — and nobody agrees how many. The operator’s rules page says about 400 steps, its own FAQ says about 700, and the Lucia concert page says about 600 down and up. The English tour page says you walk down and come back up by lift, but everyone must be able to climb out by the emergency stairs if needed. If stairs are a struggle, plan on the higher number.

Book ahead. You can buy tickets on site, but only a pre-booked ticket guarantees a place on a tour. Prices vary by season, tour and school holidays, and the booking system shows the price before you pay.

Watch the winter calendar. From 28 September to 30 April the visitor centre (besökscenter) is open Tuesday–Sunday 10:30–16:00 and closed on Mondays, and the museum opens only on Saturdays and Sundays (11:00–16:00) and in school holidays. Check the booking calendar before planning a Monday.

Above ground: museum, Stora Stöten and the trails

If the tour isn’t for you, you still get most of the story. The museum tells a thousand years of the mine — copper plate from Falun roofed the 1600s palace of Versailles, and coins and cannons aboard the warship Vasa were Falun copper. It has ramps and a lift, companions of disabled visitors go in free, and its cinema shows a 30-minute film made to replace the mine tour, with Swedish speech and English subtitles.

Stora Stöten (the Great Pit) is the hole you came to see. It formed at Midsummer 1687, when the walls between two open pits collapsed; it is 95 m deep and 1.6 km round, and not one miner died, because they had the day off. The walk round the rim is just under 2 km, with QR-code films and a viewing tower opened in 2025. Bring a picnic: there are marked tables and barbecue spots round the pit, but nowhere indoors to eat your own food.

Is the walk free? Falu Gruva lists the walk, the tower, the historic buildings and the World Heritage House films as included in every ticket; its pages don’t say whether you may walk the rim without one. What is clearly free: the 30 km of trails starting at the mine’s trail centre — including Vattnets väg, which follows the ditches dug to bring water power to the mine — and the children’s bike park behind the World Heritage House.

Falu red paint

Falun’s red paint has coloured Swedish wooden houses for centuries. Falu Rödfärg is still made at the mine, beside Stora Stöten, from the weathered waste rock (varp) left by centuries of mining, and production on the site has run since 1764. The name is legally protected: only paint containing pigment from the Falun mine may be called Falu Rödfärg. On the walk from the station you pass Elsborg, the old miners’ quarter of falurött (Falun-red) cottages.

Carl Larsson-gården in Sundborn

Carl and Karin Larsson’s home, Lilla Hyttnäs, is in Sundborn, 13 km from Falun. You can only see the house on a guided tour of about 45 minutes, and it isn’t a summer-only sight — it’s open all year, with far fewer tours in winter.

Tours in English, German, French, Hungarian, Finnish and Dutch can be requested in advance, subject to availability. Large bags, backpacks, umbrellas and ice grips can’t go in, and there’s no photography inside. The house has high thresholds and a staircase, so it doesn’t suit wheelchairs, rollators or pushchairs — the garden mostly does, and it’s free. Buses 234 and 235 run from Falun Resecentrum or Knutpunkten on weekdays only; at weekends you need a car, a bike or a taxi.

Lugnet and the 2027 World Championships

Lugnet is Falun’s sports area, with its ski-jump towers and ski stadium, a short walk from the centre. The jump tower reopened to visitors in summer 2026, with fixed departures and ten places each. The funicular (bergbanan) normally runs 08:00–21:00 in season, but it closed on 31 August 2026 for about three months of statutory servicing in Austria — don’t count on it before December.

From 24 February to 7 March 2027 Lugnet hosts the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. That fortnight overlaps Vasaloppet week in Mora, so beds and trains across Dalarna will be scarce. Book as early as you can.

Getting there

Falun’s station is about 1 km from the mine; both the mine and Carl Larsson-gården point visitors to SJ for trains and Dalatrafik for buses. Plan Stockholm–Falun in a journey planner, as times change with each timetable — our train travel guide explains booking. From the station, walk through Elsborg: follow Bergshauptmansgatan onto the footpath into the mine area. Dalatrafik buses take card (Visa or Mastercard), a travel card or the app; cash isn’t listed.

By car, the mine is signposted from the E16 and road 293, with four EV chargers and motorhome and coach parking via road 293. From 1 December to 31 March winter tyres are required by law whenever there are winter road conditions, foreign cars included.

Season by season

Practical information

FAQ

Can you go down into the Falun copper mine?

Yes. Falu Gruva runs guided underground tours almost every day of the year, in Swedish and English. The tour takes about an hour and covers 750 metres of passages down to 67 metres. You must be at least three and able to walk the whole way, and children under twelve need an adult. Book ahead to be sure of a place.

What should I wear in Falu Gruva?

Dress for about six degrees Celsius, whatever the season: a warm jacket or sweater and sturdy shoes you don’t mind getting wet and dirty, because it drips underground. The mine lends you a helmet and a rain cape, and both must be worn for the whole tour. Expect hundreds of steps, and leave pets above ground, where leashed dogs are welcome.

Is the Stora Stöten walk free?

Falu Gruva lists the walk round Stora Stöten, the viewing tower, the historic buildings and the World Heritage House films as included in every ticket. Its pages do not say whether you may walk the rim without one. The trail network starting at the mine and the children’s bike park are free, and parking is free outside June to August.

Can wheelchair users or small children do the mine tour?

Not wheelchair users: the tour cannot be made accessible, because everyone must be able to climb out by emergency stairs. Children must be at least three and walk the whole way; they may not be carried. Instead, the museum has ramps and a lift, and its cinema shows a 30-minute film made to replace the tour, with English subtitles.

How do you visit Carl Larsson-gården from Falun?

Carl Larsson-gården is in Sundborn, 13 km from Falun, about 15 minutes by car. The house is seen only on a guided tour of about 45 minutes; tours run daily in summer and from October to April on weekdays at 11:00 and weekends at 13:00, plus English at 14:15. Buses 234 and 235 run on weekdays only. The garden is free.

How do you get to Falun from Stockholm?

Falun is 223 km from Stockholm, about three hours and ten minutes of pure driving by our measurement. By rail, SJ serves Falun, and the station is about one kilometre from the mine, so you can walk there through the old miners’ quarter of Elsborg. Plan the train in a journey planner, as times change with each timetable.

What is Falu red paint?

Falu Rödfärg is the red paint on Sweden’s wooden houses, and it is still made beside Stora Stöten from weathered waste rock left by the mine. Production on the site has run since 1764. The name is legally protected and may only be used for paint containing pigment from the Falun mine. The factory stands at the edge of the pit.

Related guides

• Dalarna — the county hub: Lake Siljan, the mountains and where to base yourself.
• Mora and Lake Siljan — the Zorn collections and the Vasaloppet finish, 87 km away.
• UNESCO sites in Sweden — Falun among the country’s other World Heritage sites.
• The Vasa Museum — the warship that carried Falun copper.
• Accessible Sweden — step-free planning when the mine tour isn’t an option.

Facts verified 2026-10-01. Sources: Falu Gruva (Stiftelsen Stora Kopparberget), Carl Larsson-gården, Falu Rödfärg, Lugnet i Falun AB, Skid-VM i Falun 2027, Visit Dalarna, Riksantikvarieämbetet, SCB, Dalatrafik, Transportstyrelsen, OSRM route measurements — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.