Värnamo is a small Småland town with more personality than its size suggests. It sits just off the E4 in southern Sweden, close to forests, lakes, and the wide wetland of Store Mosse National Park.
The town's best reason to stop is design. Vandalorum brings contemporary art and craft into a building based on Renzo Piano's barn-like concept, while the Bruno Mathsson Center keeps the work of one of Sweden's great modernist furniture designers close to the house and workshop where he grew up.
Värnamo is not a big-city destination, and that is part of the appeal. Give it a day if you are crossing Småland: walk Apladalen, look at chairs and glass walls, then head into the bog country where boardwalks and bird towers make southern Sweden feel suddenly remote.