From Wikitravel

Gothenburg [1], (Swedish: Göteborg, pronounced "Yutheboori") is the second largest city in Sweden. It is situated on Sweden's west coast at the outlet of the river Göta Älv. With over 60.000 students Gothenburg is the largest university city in Scandinavia. According to a recent survey of Swedish media, Gothenburg was voted the most popular major city in Sweden, way ahead of Stockholm and Malmö. More than 60% of all Swedes would like to live in Gothenburg, which has a reputation of being friendlier and even more welcoming than the Swedish capital.

Contents 1 Understand 1.1 People 1.2 Tourist information 2 Get in 2.1 By plane 2.2 By train 2.3 By car 2.4 By bus 2.5 By ship 3 Get around 3.1 By tram 3.2 By bus 3.3 By ferry 3.4 By taxi 3.5 By bicycle 3.6 By foot 4 See 4.1 Museums 4.2 Historical buildings 4.3 Parks and Gardens 4.4 Itineraries 5 Do 6 Learn 7 Buy 8 Events 8.1 Sport events 9 Eat 9.1 Budget 9.2 Mid-range 9.3 Splurge 10 Drink 10.1 Clubs 11 Sleep 11.1 Budget 11.2 Mid-range 11.3 Splurge 12 Cope 12.1 Religious services 13 Get out

Understand

Göteborg is a city founded in the beginning of the 17th century by the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf. It was once the center of the Swedish ship-building industry but in 1970, with rising competition from foreign ship wharfs, many of the docks had to close down. Many of the ship wharf areas has given way to hi tech-industries. Today it's a city that tries to be big (e.g. organizing international sport events) and small (e.g. there are not many buildings higher than six floors) at the same time.

Politically it is dominated by the Social Democrats (Labour Party), and has been for many years.

People

The working-class history is easily visible, for example in the harbour area. And traditionally there has been few fashion houses or posh cafeterias, but that has changed in recent years with the reconstruction of the indoor malls in the city centre and with the opening of quite a number of American-styled coffee shops. In the city centre, where the university is located, there are quite a number of students.

The dialect of the Gothenburgers is, for other Swedes, associated with cheerfulness and witty humour.

Gothenburg is a twin town of Chicago and Shanghai.

Tourist information

There are two tourist information offices in central Gothenburg - one in the Nordstan shopping center (next to the central train station) and one on Kungsportsplatsen.

Get in

By plane

Landvetter Airport (airport code: GOT) is Gothenburg's main airport, located 25 km east of the city. There is a bus service from Landvetter terminating at the Nils Ericson terminal (cost SEK 70) which takes approximately 30 minutes. About 30 airlines fly to Landvetter e.g. SAS, FlyMe, Lufthansa, KLM and City Airline.

Gothenburg City Airport (airport code: GSE) [2] was previously known as Säve Airport. This is definitely in the 'small' category of airport, and you should expect to wait a while for your bags. It is closer to Gothenburg than the main Landvetter airport. A bus (cost SEK 50) meets each flight, and takes you to the bus and train terminal in 30 minutes. Ryanair, Wizz Air and Germanwings are the only airlines that use it.

By train

Trains from all different parts of Sweden arrive and leave from Centralstationen (tram Centralstationen/Drottningtorget). There is also a service to Copenhagen via the Øresund bridge. Information and booking of train tickets at SJ.

By car

The roads E6, E20 and national road 45 (riksväg 45) pass through Gothenburg. If you come by car from Stockholm, you should take E4 and national road 40.

Approximate distances & travelling time:

• to Malmö (E6/E20 south): 300km, 3hrs
• to Oslo (E6 north): 320km, 4hrs
• to Stockholm (40 east, E4): 500km, 5 to 6hrs

By bus

Several coach services operate in and out of Gothenburg including Eurolines, Säfflebussen and Swebus Express. Nils Ericsson Terminalen, located in connection with the central station, is the most common bus stop.

By ship

Stena Line [3] operates ships to/from Denmark (Fredrikshavn) and Germany (Kiel). The terminals are situated near the city centre. Tramway stops: Masthuggstorget (Frederikshavn), Chapmans Torg (Kiel).

DFDS Seaways [4] operates ships to/from Norway (Kristiansand) and United Kingdom (Newcastle). The terminal is situated near the city centre. Tramway stop: Frihamnen. This service closes at the end of October 2006 as the ship has been sold.

DFDS Torline [5] is a cargo line with limited passenger capacity. They can take a small number of passagers to Gothenburg from Belgium (Ghent) and United Kingdom (Immingham and Tilbury).

Get around

Public transportation within Gothenburg (and the west of Sweden) is operated by Västtrafik and consists of trams, buses and boats. During the spring/summer of 2006, a new system of payment is being introduced throughout the region which may cause some confusion.

By tram

Gothenburg has a famous network of trams (13 lines) that covers most of the city. With over 150km the Gothenburg tram is the largest light rail network in Scandinavia. The main tram hub is Brunnsparken ('Well Park'), where you can catch trams to all parts of the city. It is located only a couple of stones' throws (one tram stop to be precise, or a 5 minute walk) from the train station.

• Gothenburg tram network map [6] Template:En icon

By bus

The main bus hub for buses leaving the city is Nils Ericsson Terminalen located in city center in connection with the train station. Buses within the city go from places spread over the city. Some go from the inner city. Usually trams take you to these places. Check maps at the tram stops. Please note that all passagers enter the bus through the front door, except on buses marked Stombuss (line 16 and 17).

By ferry

The ferries Älvsnabben and Älvsnabbare runs across and along the river, where the port and wharfs used to be, from Lilla Bommen and Rosenlund to Klippan, stopping on the other side (Hisingen). Besides being a transport, it can be a good way to see the city from the river.

By taxi

Several companies, for example Taxi Göteborg, Taxi Kurir and Minitaxi. A more risky option is the illegal taxis ("svarttaxi"), which are generally cheaper. A warning though: don't travel alone, as muggings and rapes have occurred.

By bicycle

Gothenburg has a nice network of bicycle paths, reaching all parts of the city.

By foot

Walking in Gothenburg during the summer can be quite nice, especially in one of the parks, in the inner city, along the river or in the Haga area.

See

• Skansen Kronan (Crown Keep) is a hilltop fortification, southwest of the city center, built in the 17th century. In the 19th century it served as a prison, and now houses a military museum. Its twin Skansen Lejonet (Lion Keep) unfortunately finds itself in the middle of a railroad and industrial area but occasional tours are held.
• Close to Skansen Kronan is Haga, a city district with picturesque wooden houses from the 19th century.
• The indoor Fish Market, called "Feskekôrka" (Fish Church) because of the shape of the building, is located by the canal near the harbor.

Museums

• Gothenburg Art Museum (Göteborgs Konstmuseum), Götaplatsen. Housed in a magnificent edifice flanked by the theater and concert hall, it features a world-class collection of Nordic art. The adjacent Hasselblad Center periodically holds public exhibitions, and the Art Hall (free entry) features contemporary art.
• Gothenburg City Museum (Göteborgs Stadsmuseum), Norra Hamngatan 12. Covers the history of the city and region from prehistoric times to the present, with emphasis on the 19th-century Swedish East India Company, which was once housed in the building.
• Universeum [7], Södra Vägen 50 (Liseberg). A new museum focusing on the environment with an indoor rainforest, experiment workshop etc.
• Museum of World Culture, Södra Vägen 54 (Liseberg). A cultural counterpart to the science-oriented Universeum, it's a museum of ethnography and anthropology, with a thoroughly contemporary approach. There are regular special events such as concerts, films, and lectures. Free entry to the museum; events extra charge.
• Maritiman, Packhuskajen 8½. "The world's biggest floating museum of ships" consists of 19 boats of all sizes. The biggest attraction is the former military destroyer Småland.
• Maritime Museum, Stigbergstorget, Majorna, explains the maritime history of Gothenburg, West Sweden and of the fishing industry; has models of sailing ships. There is a lookout, in pillar of the "Seamans wife", just by the museum where you can view the harbour.
• Gothenburg Natural History Museum, Slottsskogen (Linnéplatsen). The oldest museum in Gothenburg includes a stuffed blue whale and is situated in Slottskogen.
• Volvo Museum, Hisingen - yes of course, in the home town of Volvo you can view the past and present models of the Swedish car.

Historical buildings

• Gothenburg Cathedral, Västra Hamngatan. Built in 1815.
• Christinae Church (German Church), Norra Hamngatan. Built in 1748.
• Crown House (Kronhuset), Postgatan. Built in 1643-1655, and briefly home of the Swedish Parliament. It currently houses Göteborgs Musik, and the surrounding buildings are now cafes and crafts workshops.
• Oscar Fredrik Church, Värmlandsgatan. The largest and most well decorated church. Built 1893.

Parks and Gardens

• Slottsskogen, a big English garden close to the Botanical Garden with a small zoo and old homestead houses.
• The Gothenburg Botanical Garden has an area of 175 hectares and was selected as the most beautiful garden in Sweden 2003.
• Trädgårdsföreningen, a picturesque garden with a very nice collection of roses in the city centre.

Itineraries

• Gothenburg is the starting point of the itinerary 'Sixteen days in Götaland and Svealand'

Do

• Liseberg [8] - the biggest amusement park in all of Scandinavia, with lots of different rides for all ages. Be sure to try Balder, the new wooden roller-coaster. The number one attraction, by number of visitors, in Sweden.
• The sailing ship Götheborg has departed for China and will not return until 2007. Its wharf Terra Nova has closed but an exhibition about the project has opened at Eriksberg Pir 4 (Norra älvstranden).
• The Paddan [9] tourist boats run in the city canals and in the harbour.
• In summer, you can go canoing in or walking around the lake Delsjön. Only 6 km from city center, it can be a good way to experience nature.
• Lisebergslinjen [10] is a vintage tram line that runs during summer from the central station to Liseberg. Prices: Adults 18 kr, Children 9 kr, Small children Free.
• Börjessons [11] does tourist boat tours in the archipelago every day in the summer and is very popular.
• Southern Archipelago. For a low price one can visit the islands in the southern archipelago with regular passenger boats. These islands are car free and very pittoresque. The boats go from the tram stop "Saltholmen". Note that there is difficult to park there. Tram tickets are valid on the boat also.

Learn

Gothenburg is with over 60,000 students Scandinavia's largest university city.

• Gothenburg University [12]. In its current form since 1954, Gothenburg University offers higher education in a large number of areas. International students are offered both programmes and independant courses in English.
• Chalmers University of Technology [13]. Founded in 1829, Chalmers offers education in engineering and arcitecture. International students can apply for one of the 25 different master's programmes taught in English.

Buy

The main shopping center is Nordstan. It's located next to Brunnsparken is connected to the central train station. This has many outlets with international copies such as H&M, Espirit, Vero Moda and Swedish companies such as Åhléns City, Rock, Nordic Design etc. If you are looking for more expensive stuff, visit NK at Östra Hamngatan 42.

Close to Nordstan is the smaller shopping center Arkaden, with a number of fashion boutiques.

Saluhallen, Kungstorget, is an charming indoor food hall.

Events

• Every year in February, the town is invaded by cinema buffs for the annual Gothenburg Film Festival [14]. The festival, which is growing every year, is now one of the major Scandinavian movie festivals.

• Göteborgskalaset takes place annually in August. City-festival featuring musical performances, a wide array of foreign food booths and lots and lots of beer. Massive public drunkenness and under-aged intoxication has made the city council consider to cancel the whole thing. If you stay off the absolute city-centre like the Avenue (Avenyn) you may find interesting parties and activities though.

Sport events

• Between 6 - 13th of August 2006, Gothenburg hosted the European Athletics Championships at Ullevi Stadium.

• Once a year during the summer, football playing youths from more than 50 countries take part in Gothia Cup, the world's biggest football tournament with over a 1,000 teams.

• Göteborgsvarvet is half a marathon (21 km) which is run in central Gothenburg once a year, 30,000 participants.

• On weekends during season Gamla Ullevi stadium hosts soccergames featuring one or two of the local teams IFK Göteborg, Örgryte IS or GAIS. The fourth major team, Häcken, plays at Rambergsvallen.

• At Scandinavium hockey stadium the local team Frölunda Indians plays games every week during season.

• On occasion you can see wrestling [15] on different locations in Gothenburg.

Eat

The main restaurant street in Gothenburg is Linnégatan running from Järntorget to Linnéplatsen. It has a high concentration of good restaurants of all kinds in the low to moderate price range.

Budget

• Andrum, Östra Hamngatan 19A. Tasty and healthy vegetarian/vegan buffet.
• Bar Centro, Kyrkogatan 31. Small Italian-style espressobar, takes coffee very seriously.
• Condeco, Café with coffee, tea, soft-drinks, sandwiches, cakes and muffins. 4 outlets: at Avenyn, Kompassen, Fredsgatan and Linnégatan. [16]
• Maharani Första Långgatan 4, Indian food in a cosy atmosphere. starters for 30-40kr and main corses for ~110kr

Every friday some pubs and restaurants have After Work specials. Free buffet and happy hour prices in the bar. A list in swedish of After Work places

Mid-range

• Gyllene Prag, Sveagatan 25 (Sveaplan). Cheap and wonderful Czech restaurant with good beer in generous helpings. The breaded cheese is a classic, and you won't be hungry again for at least a week.
• Kungstorgskaféet, Kungstorget 11. It's an old, classic, small and inexpensive restaurant, open in the daytime, right in the city centre. The menu is very Swedish.
• Pasta e contorni, Nordensköldsgatan 21. Italian.
• Etc, Etc comes in two flavours "Etc Grande" at Kungsgatan 12 and "Etc" at Vasaplatsen 12 where the later is a smaller and cozier but doesn't serve quite as many. Serves fantastic pasta in various flavours. [17]
• 12-52, Linnégatan 52, Modern food with excelent service. Main corses for 150-250kr [18]

Splurge

• Sjömagasinet, Adolf Edelsvärdsgata 5, +46 31-775 59 20. Excellent (and pricey!) fish restaurant at Klippan.[19]
• 28+, Götabergsgatan 28, +46 31-20 21 61.
• Hos Pelle, Djupedalsgatan 2, +46 31-12 10 31.
• Basement, Götabergsgatan 28, +46 31-28 27 29.

Drink

In the summertime there are outdoor serving along Avenyn and Linnégatan.

• Ölhallen 7:an, Kungstorget 7, +46 31-136079. One of the best places for good beer, and the only traditional "Beer-hall" left in the city. It is situated next to Saluhallen.
• Kellys, Andra Långgatan 28. Cheap beer. Mixed crowd of middle-aged regulars and young people.
• Sejdeln, Andra Långgatan 28. When Kellys is packed Sejdeln is a perfectly adequate option, it's right next to Kellys and has even cheaper beer and roughly the same clientele.
• Kings Head, Andra Långgatan. On this street well known for it's cheap pubs and pornostores this pub is an alternative for those who wants to spend time in a little more sophisticated environment. The clientele is more well adjusted in this place.
• Dancin Dingo, Australian pub on a street parallel to Avenyn, "Let's put another shrimp on the barbie!"
• Delirium Cafe The name implications couldn't be further from the truth, serving a massive selection of 1500+ different types of beer and whiskeys that you've most likely never heard of, this pub is an excellent alternative to the mid centre locations. Found not far from Kronhusbodarna a couple of hundered meters from Nordstan. [20]
• Bitter Linnégatan 59, one of the best bars in town if you want drinks rather than beer.
• The Bishops Arms A chain of english pubs. In Gotheburg it exists at Kungsportsavenyn 36 and Västra Hamngatan 3. Good selection of beer on tap and fine single malt whiskey. A bit pricier than other pubs.

Clubs

There are several different clubs in Gothenburg, with a wide array of music styles.

• Respekt - gay, pop, etc. Järntorget tram stop
• Haket (Masthuggstorget). Indie pop. Often arranges theme nights, with music, videos and even drinks featuring a certain artist.
• Trädgår'n - EBM & Synthpop [21], House
• Nefertiti - House, Jazz, Northern Soul
• Cockpit - gay
• Sticky Fingers, Kaserntorget 3, +46 31-7010717. Rock
• Uptown/Studio One - Reggae
• Peacock Dinner Club - House
• Gretas - gay, schlager, pop, dance, cabaret, Drottninggatan 35

Sleep

Budget

Many Youth Hostels only offer their lowest prices to members of STF or IYHF.

• Slottskogen Youth Hostel, Vegagatan 21, +46 31-42 65 20, [22]. Prices starting at 120 SEK. Nearest tram stop: Olivedalsgatan.
• Vandrarhem Stigbergsliden, Stigbergsliden 10, +46 31-24 16 20, [23]. Located close to the Stena Line boat terminal to Denmark. Prices starting at 135 SEK.
• Kärralund Camping Youth Hostel. Located 2.5 km from Liseberg amusement parc, the prices start at 345 SEK (one time entry to Liseberg included during summer) but they are a lot higher during peak months.

Mid-range

• Riverton, Stora Badhusgatan 26, [24].
• Radisson/SAS, Södra Hamngatan 59-65, [25]. Near the central train station.
• Scandic Europa, Köpmansgatan 38, [26]. Also near the train station.
• Hôtel Eggers, Drottningtorget, +46 31-333 44 40 (fax +46 31-333 44 49) [27]. Located right by the train station, with nearly 150 years of history.

Splurge

• Elite Plaza Hotel, Västra Hamngatan 3, +46 31-720 40 00. Five star hotel where the rock stars sleep after giving a concert in Gothenburg.
• Elite Park Avenue Hotel, Kungsportsavenyn 36-38, +46 31 - 727 10 00. Four stars.

Cope

Religious services

Roman catholic churches (Listing for Sweden):

• Kristus Konungen, Parkgatan 14. Holy mass: Sat: 11:30, 16:30 (span.), 18:00, 19:00 (polish); Sun: 9:30, 11:00, 13:00 (pol.), 16:00 (croatic), 19:00; Mon-Fri: 8:00, 11:30, 18:00

Get out

• Near Gothenburg is the beautiful southern archipelago. There's a resident population on most islands, so ferries run all year. Private cars are not allowed. Take tram 11 (or 9 in summer) to Saltholmen, and then one of the ferries to Styrsö, Köpstadsö or any of the other islands. Here you can swim in the ocean, buy ice cream and maybe eat at the restaurants on Brännö, Styrsö or Vrångö. Be warned that the tram is packed with people on sunny summer days, especially when the 9 doesn't run, and going by car isn't better since you are unlikely to find a parking place. The ferries, however, usually make extra tours such days.

• Elfsborgs fortress (Elfsborgs fästning) from the 17th century was built on an island to protect the city from being attacked from the sea. Tourist boats [28] make the trip regularly during summer.

• Vinga - the last outpost before before the sea and the place where Evert Taube (a famous Swedish poet) grew up.

• Gunnebo Castle, in the neighbour municipality of Mölndal, is a 18th century large wooden mansion with Rococo interiors and with a Baroque park.

• Tjolöholm Castle, in Kungsbacka municipality south of Gothenburg, is an anacronistic Tudor castle built in the years around 1900 for the Scottish-Swedish merchant and factory owning family Dickson, one of Gothenburgs many generous doners (they founded Gothenburgs first public library and built decent homes for the families of their factory staff).

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!