[2] Located 71 km (44 mi) north of the capital Stockholm, it is also the seat of Uppsala Municipality.

Among the many scholars associated with the city are Anders Celsius, inventor of the centigrade temperature scale that now bears his name, and Carl Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy.

Other Uppsala residents include filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld, chemists Jöns Jacob Berzelius and Svante Arrhenius, actress Viveca Lindfors, and singer Malena Ernman.

The cathedral is built in the Gothic style and is one of the largest in northern Europe, with towers reaching 118.70 metres (389.4 ft).

Situated on the fertile Uppsala flatlands of muddy soil, the city features the small Fyris River (Fyrisån) flowing through the landscape surrounded by lush vegetation.

Parallel to the river runs the glacial ridge of Uppsalaåsen at an elevation around 30 m (98 ft), the site of Uppsala's castle, from which large parts of the town can be seen.

The central park Stadsskogen (literally "City Forest") stretches from the south far into town, with opportunities for recreation for many residential areas within walking distance.

Located approximately 70 km (43 mi) or 40 minutes by train from the capital, many Uppsala residents work in Stockholm.

The train to Stockholm-Arlanda Airport takes 17 minutes, rendering the city easily accessible by air.

The city has a distinct town and gown divide with clergy, royalty, and academia historically residing in the Fjärdingen neighbourhood on the river's western shore, somewhat separated from the rest of the city, and the ensemble of cathedral, castle and university buildings has remained mostly undisturbed to this day.

While some historic buildings remain on the periphery of the central core, retail commercial activity is geographically focused on a small number of blocks around the pedestrianized streets and main square on the eastern side of the river, an area that was subject to a large-scale metamorphosis during the economically booming years in the 1960s in particular.

During recent decades, a significant part of retail commercial activity has shifted to shopping malls and stores situated in the outskirts of the city.

Uppsala lies immediately south of the 60th parallel north and has a humid continental climate (Dfb), with cold winters and warm summers.

Despite Uppsala's northerly location, the winter is not as cold as other cities at similar latitudes, mainly due to the Gulf Stream.

Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognised for its leading position in biotechnology.

Most of the historical sights and university buildings are in the western part, with a medieval street layout, river views and parks and dominated by the cathedral.

Facing the west end of the cathedral is the Gustavianum, built in 1625 to be the main building of the university, and served as such through most of the 19th century.

There are few remains, with the exception of several huge burial mounds of pre-Christian monarchs and the previous cathedral from 1164 A.D., traditionally said to be built over the old heathen temple (and recent archaeological investigations seems to support this notion).

After the old cathedral church burned down around 1240 it was only partially restored to a more modest size as it no longer was the seat of the Archbishop.

The European route E4 highway passes to the east of the city and provides the main connection by road to Uppsala.

[20] Three city buses, 30, 31, and 32, are known as mjuka linjer, literally "soft lines", which are fitted for the elderly and disabled, by having stops closer to places like hospitals and pharmacys, in order to reduce walking distance.

Ärna Air Base north of Uppsala has been proposed for development as a commercial airport, but as of 2024 remains exclusively military.

The largest arena in Uppsala is Fyrishov and is Sweden's fourth most visited, specialized in swimming, sports events, meetings and recreation.

Accommodation is offered at the Fyrishov cabin area, and at the resort restaurants a good lunch or dinner can be enjoyed.

The entire facility is open all year round and a large number of meetings and various events are held here annually.

Co-founded in 2006 by Fyrishov AB under the name SM-town Uppsala in 2007 but was expanded to include international events and competitions at high national level.

The episode was criticised for its poorly researched depiction of Uppsala, which was shown as being located in a mountainous region, as well as of its heathen temple, which in the series was built in the style of a medieval Christian stave church.

[26] Umberto Eco's book The Name of the Rose includes a character of a young Scandinavian monk Benno of Uppsala.