Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Isola Bella
Södra Kyrkogatan 20
T
0498 21 87 87.
Great Italian trattoria, with a superb vaulted cellar
restaurant to the rear. Pasta, for example tortelloni stuffed
with asparagus and ricotta, from 145kr, pizzas from 123kr
as well as great meat dishes, such as chicken schnitzel with
spinach risotto, from 205kr.
Mon-Sat 6pm till late, Sun
5pm till late.
Munkkälleren
Lilla Torggränd 2
T
0498 27 14 00.
This
vast place in one corner of the main square is massively
fashionable, and consequently crowded. There's an
extensive array of grilled meats and fish, for example
salmon and lamb, from 195kr. They also serve bar snacks
including burgers.
Mon-Thurs 6pm-2am & Sat, Fri
5pm-2am.
Ì
Strykjärnet
Wallersplats 3
T
0498 28 46 22.
This
fantastic low-ceilinged crêperie is squeezed into the
narrowest of triangular buildings at the corner of Adelgatan
and Hästgatan (it's named “the iron” for its shape). A wide
range of savoury gallettes (including vegetarian options)
from 95kr; sweet crêpes from 39kr.
Daily 11am till late.
6
Roma
Just 15km southeast of Visby on Route 143, the small settlement of
ROMA
(bus #11
from Visby; timetable available from the tourist office) actually has nothing to do with
Rome, but instead takes its name from “room” or “open space” - this was the original
location of ancient Gotland's courthouse. The place looks something of a ghost town as
its century-old sugar-beet factory, to the right of the main road as you approach from
Visby, has recently closed, and the early twentieth-century cottages fronting Route 143
are also deserted (they can't be demolished, though, as they're protected for their rarity
value). The church here, dating from 1215, is large and pretty; the three-aisled nave
gives it a surprisingly Romanesque appearance, and because of this the church is known
as the False Basilica.
Romakloster
Café: May & Sept Sat & Sun 10am-6pm; June & mid- to end Aug daily 10am-6pm; July to mid-Aug daily 10am-9pm
Just 1km further down the road from Roma, the Cistercian cloister ruins of
Romakloster
, in the hamlet of the same name, are the real draw of the area; follow
the sign left down a long avenue of beech trees. The crumbling Roma monastery,
dating from 1164, lacks both apse and tower, being Romanesque in design; it would
once have comprised a church with three wings built around a rectangular cloister.
What is left is sturdy stuff - big arches of grey stone blocks so regular they could be
breeze blocks. The multitude of spotlights set in the ground here make it very
dramatic as a backdrop for night-time
theatre
(Shakespeare performances are staged
each summer), though they detract from the site's timeless character by day. The
ruin is not the isolated site one might expect, as it's behind the cream-stucco
manor
house
, Kungsgården, built in the 1730s for the county governor. Part of the
monastery was in fact destroyed by the Danish crown during the Reformation of
the early sixteenth century, and it was further ruined when the governor used
materials from it in the building of the house. Temporary art exhibitions are held
within the manor house (20kr), and there's a
café
,
Drängstugan
, serving delicious
sweet pies and sandwiches.
EATING
ROMA
KonstnärsGården
Ala, 15km southeast of Roma just
off Route 143
T
0498 550 55.
This is a complex of art
galleries, though the main reason to come here is to eat at
the appealing and popular restaurant
round the back,
serving filling meals including excellent fish and meat
dishes for around 150kr. There's also a café, offering the
usual baguettes and cakes.
Open mid-May to late Aug
daily noon-9pm
.
Hemse and around
The so-called “capital” of the south,
HEMSE
, around 50km from Visby along Route 142
(buses #10, #11 and #12), is little more than a main street. You can rent
bikes
from
Endrells, Ronevägen 4, which is the cheapest place in town (
T
0498 48 03 33).
