Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE GÖTA CANAL
Not only is the Göta Canal Sweden's greatest civil-engineering feat, idling along it on a
boat or cycling the towpaths is one of the best ways to soak up Gotland's gorgeous coun-
tryside.
The canal connects the North Sea with the Baltic Sea, and links the great lakes Vättern
and Vänern. Its total length is 190km, although only around 87km is human made - the
rest is rivers and lakes. Built between 1802 and 1832 by a burly team of some 60,000 sol-
diers, it provided a hugely valuable transport and trade link between Sweden's east and
west coasts.
The canal has two sections: the eastern section from Mem (southeast of Norrköping)
to Motala (north of Vadstena on Vättern); and the western section from Karlsborg (on
Vättern) to Sjötorp (on the shores of Vänern). The system is then linked to the sea by the
Trollhätte Canal, in Västergötland. Along these stretches of the canal are towpaths, used
in earlier times by horses and oxen pulling barges. Nowadays they're the domain of walk-
ers and cyclists.
Boat trips are obviously a favourite way to experience the canal. You can go on a four-
or six-day cruise of its entire length, travelling from Stockholm to Göteborg (or vice versa)
and stopping to enjoy the wayside attractions. Shorter, cheaper boat trips along sections
of the canal are also available - any tourist office in the area should be able to give you
the low-down.
A good website for ideas is
www.gotakanal.se
.
Sights & Activities
Gränna
Grenna Museum: Andréexpedition Polarcenter
MUSEUM
(
www.grennamuseum.se
; adult/child Skr50/20;
10am-6pm daily mid-May-Aug, to 4pm Sep-mid-
May; )
In the same building as the tourist office, Grenna Museum: Andréexpedition Polarcenter
describes the disastrous attempt of Salomon August Andrée to reach the North Pole by
balloon in 1897. It's riveting stuff, particularly the poignant remnants of the expedition:
