By air
Göteborg Landvetter (GOT), ~25 km
Europe · Sweden
Gothenburg, Sweden
Canals, seafood and islands
Getting there
Best time to visit
May to September — summer
Don't miss
Haga
Liseberg
The Feskekôrka fish hall
The Botanical Garden
Things to do
The Liseberg amusement park
The Haga district
Archipelago ferries
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden · CC BY 2.0
What to pack
Layers
A quieter corner
The southern archipelago's car-free islands
Questions travellers ask
What time of year suits Gothenburg?
Summer, from May to September. Layers are wise.
What is there to do in Gothenburg?
Spend time at the Liseberg amusement park, wander the Haga district, and see the Feskekôrka fish hall and the Botanical Garden.
Can I visit the islands from Gothenburg?
Yes — archipelago ferries run out to the southern archipelago's car-free islands.
What should I snack on in Gothenburg?
Shrimp sandwiches, and a fika in Haga.
About Gothenburg
- Coastal
- Riverside
Where it is
Gothenburg is Sweden's second-largest city, on the west coast where the Göta älv river flows into the Kattegat, with a rocky archipelago offshore.
History
King Gustavus Adolphus founded Gothenburg by royal charter in 1621 as a heavily fortified trading town, and Dutch engineers laid out its canals. From 1731 the Swedish East India Company made the city rich from trade with China, and later it became a world leader in shipbuilding and home to industrial companies such as SKF and Volvo.
People
Gothenburg's people speak Swedish with a local accent, and the göteborgsvits, a style of pun-based joke, is named after the city. Seafood from the west coast and the Gothia Cup, the world's largest youth football tournament, held every summer, are part of the city's life.
Known for
- The Liseberg amusement park
- The Haga district's wooden houses and cafés
- West-coast shrimp, lobster and oysters
- Canals and 17th-century fortifications
- The car-free southern archipelago
Did you know?
Feskekôrka, the Fish Church, is a fish market hall that opened in 1874 and takes its name from its resemblance to a Gothic church.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.