The southeast - The Rough Guide to Sweden - page 235

Taking Route 144 east from Hemse, signposted for Burs, you'll find the countryside
is a glorious mix of meadows, ancient farms and dark, mysterious forest. One of the
most charming villages just a couple of kilometres further on, Burs has a gorgeous
thirteenth-century saddle church, so-called because of its low nave and high tower and
chancel. There's a fabulously decorated ceiling, medieval stained-glass windows and
ornately painted pews. A couple of kilometres further, the sandy beach at Herte is one
of the best on the island.

6

EATING HEMSE AND AROUND

Jonassons Bageri & Konditori Storgatan 54, Hemse
T 0498 48 00 07. A good local café and bakery serving

delicious fresh bread and a limited range of sandwiches
and cakes. Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-3pm.

Ljugarn
For Gotland's best beach (see box below), and the nearest thing it has to a resort, the
lively and charming town of LJUGARN makes a good base. You can get here from Roma
by heading straight down Route 143 for around 30km. Though full of restaurants and
obviously aimed at tourists, Ljugarn no longer has a tourist office. It's famous for its
raukar - tall limestone stacks rising up from the sea. From the main street, it's only
100m to the town beach . A delightful cycle or stroll down Strandvägen follows the
coastline through woods and clearings carpeted in blåelden (viper's bugloss), the
electric-blue flowers for which the area is known. The raukar along the route stand like
ancient hunched men, their feet lapped by the waves.

ACCOMMODATION LJUGARN

STF youth hostel Storgatan 1 T 0498 49 31 84,
[e-mail]. Ljugarn's hostel is located in
an atmospheric former customs house from the 1850s right
in the centre of the village. There's a kitchen on site for

self-catering. This place fills up quickly so it's essential to
book well i n adva nce to se cure a bed. Open mid-May to
Aug. Dorms 180kr , doubles 400kr

EATING

Espegards Konditori & Bagels Storvägen 58 T 0498
49 30 40. For a splendid café, this is a must, serving some
of the best cakes around - try the almond and blueberry
tart. Their famously good breads, in particular ljugarslimpa ,
a dark, slightly chewy loaf, have been made here and

shipped to the mainland since the 1930s. The place is very
popular, so expect a queue in summer. Tues-Sun
10am-5pm.
Ljugarns Strandcafé & Restaurang Strandvägen 6
T 0498 49 33 78. Located on the beach itself, this is the

GOTLAND'S BEST BEACHES
Gotland is renowned throughout Sweden for its fine sandy beaches, The coast between
Sjaustrehammaren and Ljugarn on the east coast, backed by pine forest, is the best beach
on the entire island, a vast, unsullied stretch of golden sand; the southern section in front of
Mullvalds strandskog forest is popular with naturists . Get here on bus #41 to Gammelgarn
from where it's a fifteen-minute cycle ride along the road to Ljugarn and then follow one of
the narrow forest tracks which lead down off left to the shore.
The best of the rest are detailed below; all are marked on the map on p.230.
Snäck is a 5km cycle ride north of Visby and popular
with families who appreciate the gently sloping
sands which make paddling particularly easy and
safe for kids.
Tofta strand (take bus #10 south from Visby) is also
suited to families with children, since the water is
relatively shallow and warm.

Sundersandsviken on Fårö (take bus #20 from
Visby to the ferry at Fårösund, then a taxi to the
beach itself; book on T 0498 20 20 00) is a perfectly
formed sandy bay.
Holmhällar in the south is surrounded by wild,
unspoilt countryside and limestone raukar ; bus #11 will
take you here.