# Västerbotten County

Västerbotten County, Västerbottens län, in Norrland in Sweden consists of the coastal province Västerbotten and southern Lappland.

## Municipalities
### Västerbotten

* 63.82845420.2705661 Umeå is the county seat and the largest city.
* 63.90584819.7449312 Vännäs
* 63.93042519.2186753 Bjurholm
* 63.56929319.5013284 Nordmaling
* 64.19201420.8495135 Robertsfors
* 64.20051519.7191796 Vindeln
* 64.7506720.952797 Skellefteå is the county's second city, known for its ice hockey team and its mining industry.
* 64.95176121.2071458 Byske
* 64.91283319.4813099 Norsjö

### Southern Lappland

* 64.15983217.35703210 Åsele (Southern Sámi: Sjeltie), historically administrative centre, huge annual market.
* 64.59638918.67527811 Lycksele (Southern Sámi: Liksjovvene/Liksjoene, Ume Sámi: Lïkssjuo), the first and still largest inland town.
* 65.18719618.74211112 Malå (Ume Sámi: Máláge, South Sámi: Maalege)
* 64.26153716.4116213 Dorotea (South Sámi: Kraapohke)
* 64.62571616.65857514 Vilhelmina (South Sámi: Vualtjere)
* 65.09087217.10754915 Storuman (South Sámi: Luspie, Ume Sámi: Lusspie)
* 65.52768317.530316 Sorsele (Ume Sámi: Suarssá, South Sámi: Suarsa)

## Other destinations

* 65.81407615.101511 Hemavan, a secluded ski resort by the largest nature reserve in Sweden, with botanic garden of alpine plants; trailhead to the famous Kungsleden hiking trail
* 65.71056115.2552032 Tärnaby , a ski resort which has fostered several ski champions

## Understand

While the coastal Västerbotten province has culturally been part of Sweden since the Middle Ages, Lappland is a traditional homeland of the Sami people. Many settlers from middle Sweden arrived during the early 20th century. Its population is decreasing, except for that of the bustling city of Umeå.

## Talk

While Sámi language and bondska (archaic Swedish dialects) are spoken by some, everybody speaks Swedish.

## Get in

Resrobot is a search engine for all public transport in Sweden.

### By plane

Airports are
* Umeå airport (UME)
* Skellefteå airport (SFT)
* Hemavan-Tärnaby airport (HMV)
* Lycksele airport (LYC)
* Vilhelmina airport (VHM)

### By train

SJ has trains from Stockholm to Umeå.

### By bus

* Tapanis Buss has a route going from Stockholm to Tornio, Finland stopping at Umeå.
* Ybuss operates a coach service between Stockholm and Umeå.

### By boat

Wasa Line runs ferries between Umeå and Vaasa, Finland across the Gulf of Bothnia.

### By car

* From Stockholm or Malmö to Umeå/Skellefteå: road E4.
* From Stockholm or Malmö to Vilhelmina/Storuman/Tärnaby: road E4 to Sundsvall, then road 331.
* From Finland: road E4 from Tornio

## Get around

* Blue Highway

### By bus

* Länstrafiken i Västerbotten has local and regional buses.

### By taxi

* Smartphone apps: Uber

## See

The county will be of interest primarily to nature lovers, and hikers will here find quite some wilderness. But the mines of Kiruna or the ice hotel are other points of interest.

## Do

City-life is primarily found in Umeå. This sparsely populated region is great for outdoor life; especially hiking along Kungsleden, and winter sport (see winter in the Nordic countries).

## Eat

    See also: Nordic cuisine
Västerbottensost is a local cheese made in Burträsk near Skellefteå.
While Umeå has a lively community of vegans and vegetarians, fishing and hunting are pastimes in the countryside.

## Drink

Nightlife can mainly be found in Umeå, and at the ski resorts.

## Stay safe

See cold weather. Bears roam the region.