Göteborg & the Southwest - Sweden - page 281

1 Plummeting down scary roller coasters, taking in counterculture art and
being surprised by cutting-edge Swedish home cooking in Göteborg .
2 Feasting on shrimp and archipelago views on the tiny island of Hållö , a
short ferry trip from Smögen.
3 Being charmed by Fjällbacka , Ingrid Bergman's favourite summer haunt.
4 Pedalling (or splashing) your way around the dazzling Koster Islands.
5 Decoding mystic Bronze Age artwork at the Unesco World Heritage Site in
Tanumshede , Bohuslän.
6 Piloting a boat or paddling a kayak along the Dalsland Canal and watching
boats navigate the Håverud aqueduct.
7 Listening to opera staged on the broad lawns of Läckö Slott , north of
Lidköping.
8 Surfing at Apelviken and sunning your bare behind in a vintage Russian
bathhouse in Varberg .
GÖTEBORG (GOTHENBURG)
031 / Pop 549,839
Though often caught in Stockholm's shadow, gregarious, chilled-out Göteborg actually has
greater appeal for many visitors (and resident Swedes) than the fast-paced capital. Some of
the country's finest talent hails from the streets of this cosmopolitan port, including music
icons José González and Soundtrack of Our Lives. Neoclassical architecture lines its tram-
rattled streets, grit-hip cafes hum with bonhomie, and there's always some cutting-edge art
and architecture to grab your attention.
From Centralstationen at the northern end of town, shop-lined Östra Hamngatan leads
southeast across one of Göteborg's few 17th-century canals, through verdant Kungsparken
(King's Park) to the city's 'Champs-Élysées', the boutique- and upscale-bar-lined
'Avenyn' boulevard.
The waterfront abounds with all things nautical but nice, from ships, aquariums and sea-
related museums to the freshest fish, and, to the west, the Vasastan, Haga and Linné dis-
tricts buzz with creativity. Fashionistas design fair-trade threads, artists collaborate over