Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Around Gothenburg
The coastline around Gothenburg is one big playground for the city's inhabitants and
should be your first stop when moving on from the centre. Remarkably, the
Gothenburg archipelago
, a vast array of forested islands, rocky bluffs and skerries,
scattered off the city's western shore, is still little known by visitors. Gothenburgers,
however, rave about it - with good reason - and the archipelago is considerably less
expensive to reach than the equivalent in Stockholm. North of Gothenburg, the rugged
and picturesque
Bohuslän coast
, which runs all the way to the Norwegian border,
attracts countless tourists each summer, the majority of them Scandinavian and
German. The most popular spot is the island town of
Marstrand
, with its impressive
fortress and richly ornamental ancient buildings, but there are several other worthwhile
attractions further up the coast, not least the buzzing summer destination of
Smögen
and the nearby wildlife park,
Nordens Ark
.
Northeast of the city, the shores of beautiful
Lake
Vänern
make a splendid backdrop
for the journey to the lake region's main town,
Karlstad
, a thoroughly likeable place the
perfect jumping-off point for
river-rafting
trips through the rural province of
Värmland
.
The Gothenburg archipelago
On a fine day, Gothenburgers make for the
coastal islands
, where bathing in the sea
and sun is a real pleasure and it's hard to imagine you're so close to a city; regular boats
leave for the archipelago from Saltholmen, at the end of tram lines #9 and #11.
4
Saltholmen
Around 5km west of the city centre is
SALTHOLMEN
, at the tip of Gothenburg's most
westerly peninsula, the jumping-off point for boats to the islands. Outcrops of smooth
rocks provide a multitude of hidden sun-worshipping areas, where
nude bathing
is
quite the norm. The zone around to your left, on the south side of the peninsula, has
become a recognized gay bathing area. Climbing to Saltholmen's highest point, the
views are quite idyllic, with boats flecking the water and the offshore islands stretching
out into the distance. There's a delightful little outdoor
café
at Saltholmen too.
Brännö
It's a short hop from Saltholmen to one of the archipelago's most popular destinations,
BRÄNNÖ
, a compact island measuring barely a couple of square kilometres, mainly
given over to summerhouses converted from fishermen's shacks, and crowded with
Gothenburgers through high season. This pastoral island is known for its strong
folk-music traditions and throughout the summer months, on Thursday evenings,
there's dancing and music at the jetty in Husvik at the southern end of the island; it's
an easy 1km walk here from the main ferry jetty, Rödsten.
Styrsö
Located in the middle of the archipelago,
STYRSÖ
has just three hamlets (Tången,
Bratten and Skäret) where most of its residents live all year. The main settlement,
Lake Vänern
p.139
Karlstad's boat buses
p.140
Rafting on the Klarälven River
p.143
