Trip date: May 2024
Why Gothenburg? When I was traveling solo in Stockholm in 2017 everyone I spoke to asked if I was also going to Gothenburg. I didn't even know where it was but since everyone so enthusiastically kept recommending it I added it to my list of places to explore in Sweden. My note says "everyone loves Gothenburg!"
And after spending 3 nights in this adorable city I can also enthusiastically say, I love Gothenburg!
After my friend Gail and I spent a few days in Stockholm for the Eras Tour we took a ~3 hour train southwest and walked out to an almost movie-set cute city. The Hotel Eggers, built in 1859, not only looked like it was straight out of a Wes Anderson film on the outside but inside it was like a little fairy tale! This is the 3rd oldest hotel in all of Sweden!
We crossed the Vallgraven canal and walked towards the gorgeous Feskekörka, which means fish church! This is the city's best known fish market, built in 1874 and recently reopened after a big renovation.
Inside the bright airy market are multiple shops selling both fresh and smoked/cured/pickled fish as well as veggies, herbs, spices, etc.
We had a lovely lunch at Haldis Kok right in the middle of everything. In the summer they also have seating outside on their floating dock but we were a little early in the season for that, even though the weather could not have been better!
We continued our stroll past the Gothenburg Cathedral and through the Stora Saluhallen (big market hall) built in 1889 and filled with lots of restaurants and bars and shops. This city is so pretty and flat it is perfect for walking! But it was time for a sit-down so we decided to check out the Dorsia Hotel's rooftop bar, which was a great stop! They had a lovely cocktail menu which included some nice gin & tonic selections made with Sweden's own Herno gin. And the waiter was nice enough to even give us a taste of some of the limited edition ones.
That evening we walked across the square from our hotel to the Clarion Hotel Post which is in the historic 1920s postal building. And inside that is Norda restaurant, owned by celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson.
It's a beautiful space, and the food was all good if a little bit more European than I had hoped for. Interestingly, the restaurant boasts it has one of the largest cellars of American wines!
The next morning I started with breakfast in the hotel which had an awesome waffle bar! Then Gail and I jumped on tram #11 and rode all the way to the end where we then caught a ferry out to the Gothenburg Archipelago from Saltholmen dock. The ferry is included in tram price so no need to buy multiple tickets.
It was about a 30 minute tram ride, and it was nice to go through a few neighborhoods on the way out to the harbor.
Sailing through the islands the first thing we noticed was how rocky they were! And cute! Most are also car free and at one ferry landing we noticed the locals all had their wheelbarrows parked at the dock so they could easily transport stuff up the hill to the houses.
There are over 7,600 islands between the northern and southern archipelago. We'd be visiting 2! Our first was Styrsö, about an hour from Gothenburg and home to around 1400 residents. This is one of the car free islands but here the parking lot at the dock was filled with golf carts.
We picked a road and started to follow it, past some lovely houses with lovelier gardens, through a very woody park, past a big church and cemetery, and ended at the local grocery store which also sells garden supplies and hardwares.
We looped back towards the ferry dock but kept going towards the bridge to Donsö. It's a really pretty walk along the water and the bay has multiple bevies of huge swans!
Since we were visiting before the true summer season, there weren't a lot of options for lunch yet. We made due with a pizza near the ferry landing while we waited for our next boat.
Island #2, Vrångö is the southernmost island, also car free and is much smaller with only about 400 permanent residents.
We followed the small road across the island to the western harbor and came upon Hamnkrogen Lotsen, a casual restaurant with tons of outdoor seating and some seriously good looking shellfish. As we had just had pizza (meh) and dinner was soon we sat with a cold bottle of wine and enjoyed the surroundings.
A short walk back to the ferry dock and we were headed back Gothenburg. It had been a very relaxing and pretty day in the Archipelago!
That evening we had an absolutely lovely dinner at 1-Michelin starred Koka where we had a 6-course tasting menu with wine pairings. They focus on western Swedish ingredients and the majority of the menu is seafood and vegetable focused.
The next morning we took a ~3 hour train to Copenhagen airport for our flights home. We were both flying IcelandAir; I had purchased an econ seat from CPH to KEF for $327 but used an annual $300 travel credit on my CSR card . Then I purchased Saga Class from KEF to SEA for $1400 using an Amex card I was earning a bonus on.
If you have time while in Sweden, or if traveling from Stockholm to Copenhagen, Gothenburg is an absolutely lovely place to spend a few days!
All Gothenburg photos here.
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