Umeå University is one of the larger Swedish universities, with about 35,000 students, and its campus a few kilometres from the city centre has an energy and infrastructure that explains much of the city's youthful character. The campus includes the Umeå Arts Campus, where several art and design schools are housed in converted industrial buildings, and the Academy of Fine Arts, which has produced a number of internationally known Swedish artists.
A walk through the campus is worthwhile even for non-students. The architecture ranges from 1960s functionalism to ambitious contemporary buildings, and the Arts Campus in particular is an interesting cluster of creative spaces. The university also drives the city's unusually good restaurant and cafe scene — where there are students, there are cheap, good places to eat. The campus is directly served by bus from the city centre.