Brantevik was once one of the largest fishing harbours in Sweden — the village had its own merchant fleet of more than a hundred sailing ships in the 19th century and was richer per head than Stockholm. The fleet has gone but the houses remain, low whitewashed cottages clustered around the harbour with rose bushes and hollyhocks against the walls.
The little harbour is now a marina, and the village has a couple of well-regarded restaurants and a small ice cream shop. A pleasant coastal path runs north towards Simrishamn through a string of equally pretty fishing villages. The pond behind the village is famous for one of the oldest known European eels, said to have lived there for over 150 years.