We visited Stockholm last year for a long weekend trip and didn’t feel like we’d gotten enough Sweden, so we wanted to check out Gothenburg next. Gothenburg is Sweden’s second biggest city and is accessible from Oslo via a 4-hour bus or train ride. We were only there for another long weekend, though, which can be summed up in two full days’ worth of activities:
Day 1: Gothenburg Archipelago
For our first day in Gothenburg, we skipped the main city and explored the different islands that make up the Gothenburg archipelago. You can access these islands from the city ferry, so they’re pretty easy to get to. The ferry ride alone is quite nice:
We started on VrÄngö, which is the southern most island and probably the most interesting one. The little town there is very quaint. Our itinerary on each island consisted of seeking out the highlighted viewpoints on the official Gothenburg map, so make sure you pick one up at your first island stop, whichever it may be. This was the best viewpoint on VrÄngö:
From there, we took the ferry back to the island of Donsö and then walked to/across the bridge to Styrsö island. I was originally thinking of also squeezing in a visit to BrÀnnö, but after exploring Styrsö, we were pretty much done for the day and headed back to the main city. I still enjoyed this day a lot, though, and definitely recommend setting aside time for the archipelago islands on any Gothenburg trip.
Day 2: Gothenburg City
We didn’t have a set itinerary for this day and just filled it with whatever was close / seemed interesting in the moment. First, we visited the Gothenburg City Museum, which was better than I expected. There are some fun facts about the history of Gothenburg, as well as some creative displays.
Next, we went to the Gothenburg Botanical Garden. It makes for a nice walk, though we didn’t think the grounds overall were anything special. The flower garden near the entrance was the best part:
Then there was Haga Street, which is a famous shopping area with lots of cute shops and cafes. Note that most of these shops are closed on Sunday, though, which is when we were there…
Near Haga, there’s also the old Skansen Kronan fortress up on a hill that overlooks the city:
Lastly, if you’re in the mood for some interesting architecture, I thought the Kuggen building and the Oscar Fredrik Church (below) were worth checking out:
