Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ARRIVAL AND GETTING AROUND
GRÄNNA
By bus
Bus
#101 runs roughly every 30min from Jönköping
to Gränna, though #122 is less frequent but faster.
By taxi
Gränna Taxi
T
0390 121 00.
INFORMATION
Tourist o
ce
Grenna Kulturgård, Brahegatan 36 (daily:
mid-May to Aug 10am-6pm; Sept to mid-May 10am-4pm;
T
0390 10 38 60,
W
grenna.se). Housed in the same
building as the museum (see p.216) and library,
with free
internet access.
6
ACCOMMODATION
Strandterrassen
T
0390 418 40.
Gränna's youth hostel
is located down at the harbour in two separate buildings at
the foot of Hamnvägen. Faci
lities a
re shared
and th
ere's a
kitchen for guest use. Dorms
250kr
, doubles
500kr
Ì
Västanå slott
About 5km south of Gränna
T
0390
107 00,
W
vastanaslott.se; get here by taxi (see above;
about 150kr).
A sensational historic country manor built in
1590 by Count Sten Bielke and owned in the seventeenth
century by Per Brahe. This low, white castle now belongs to
the von Otters, descendants of Bielke. There are no
televisions in the rooms - but the sheer majesty of the
antique-strewn furnishings and the fabulous lake views
from the magnificent first-floor
drawin
g room are worth
the stay alone. Open April-Dec.
1490kr
EATING
Fiket
Brahegatan 43
T
0390 100 57.
A 1950s-themed
café with a rear terrace where you can enjoy the house
speciality,
madelpastej
, a rich almond tart, or their
excellent Gränna
knäckebröd
, a crunchy, tasty crispbread
made with linseed and sunflower and sesame seeds.
Mon-Fri
Hamnkrogen
At the harbour
T
0390 100 38.
A very
pleasing restaurant specializing in well-prepared fish and
meat meals from 135kr such as gravad lax with dill potatoes
or zander au gratin with feta cheese and tomato. There's
outside eating in summer on the sunny terrace overlooking
the lake.
June-Aug daily noon-10pm; April-May &
Sept-Dec shorter hours; closed Jan-March
.
8.30am-6pm,
Sat
8.30am-3pm,
Sun
11am-4pm.
Vadstena
With its beautiful lakeside setting,
VADSTENA
, which once served as a royal seat and
important monastic centre, is a fine place for a day or two's stay. Sixty kilometres north of
Gränna, the town's main attraction is its moated
castle
, designed in the sixteenth century
by Gustav Vasa as part of his defensive ring protecting the Swedish heartland around
Stockholm. The cobbled, twisting streets, lined with cottages covered in climbing roses,
also contain an impressive fourteenth-century abbey, whose existence is the result of the
passionate work of
Birgitta
, Sweden's first female saint (see box opposite).
While Vadstena boasts numerous ancient sites and buildings, each with an
information plate (in English), the two outstanding attractions here are the
castle
and
the
abbey
. Vadstena is also made for romantic evening strolls, with wonderful lakeside
sunsets and attractive streets of irregularly shaped houses.
Vadstena Slott
Mid-May to late May & early Sept to mid-Sept daily noon-3pm; June-Aug daily 11am-4pm, July till 6pm • Entry is 60kr; it's another 30kr
for the guided tours • Tours run in English June & July daily 1.30pm, Aug daily 2pm •
W
vadstenadirect.se
Those who've visited the castle at Kalmar will be familiar with the antics of Gustav Vasa
and his troubled family, whose saga continues at
Vadstena Slott.
With a grand moat
and four round towers, each with a diameter of 7m, it was originally built as a
fortification to defend against Danish attacks in 1545, but was then prettified to serve
as a home to Vasa's mentally ill third son, Magnus. His elder brother, Johan III, was
responsible for its lavish decorations, but fire destroyed them all just before their
refurbishment was completed, and to save money they simply painted fittings and
decor on the walls, including the swagged curtains that can still be seen today. The
