Things to do in Gothenburg when you're dead.

June 9, 2007 6:53 AM

Due to the fantastic folks at KLM, I have a six-plus-hour layover in Gothenburg, Sweden, on the afternoon of Thursday, June 14th.

I already know how to get into town from the airport. The question is, what would be the best way to spend a few hours in the city? Free and not requiring additional transport preferred. I will be returning to Gothenburg and staying in Nya Varvet the next week, so would like to spend the layover time in the center of the city. I like art, music, vegetarian food, and sitting around in parks.

ObReciprocalAdvice: Fly SAS next time.

posted by methylsalicylate to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

To clarify, you'll be flying Amsterdam-Gothenburg-somewhere else-Gothenburg-Amsterdam?
posted by mdonley at 7:23 AM on June 9, 2007

Here's a travel guide. You might want to check out Trädgårdsföreningen and the art museum at Götaplatsen.
posted by martinrebas at 7:36 AM on June 9, 2007

To clarify, I'll be flying Newcastle-Amsterdam-Gothenburg-Stockholm-Lulea then same in reverse, but with an actual stay in G'burg on the way back. LONG story.
posted by methylsalicylate at 8:04 AM on June 9, 2007

Here's a guide from SAS, which you can print off as a PDF after checking little boxes indicating the things you want on your PDF. I think. Free!
posted by mdonley at 8:22 AM on June 9, 2007

If you take the airport bus, get off at the first stop, Korsvägen. From there you can have a short walk to the museeum of fine arts, which is quite good for a town of this size. It's just at the top of the parade street, Avenyn. If you have any interest in design, go check out the The Röhsska Museum of Design and Decorative Arts. It's a three minute walk down Avenyn, at Valand. Just a block from there is Götabergsgatan, with a couple of art galleries.

The most well known all-veggie place is Solrosen on Kaponjärgatan, a ten minute walk from Valand. I am no expert on that though and there may be other ones in the area. Any place will have some vegetarian options.

Of the parks, Trädgårdsföreningen is most easily accessed. It's small and flat and doesn't really compare with the two big ones, but it's the only one that's in the very middle of it. They've been rearranging heavily though and a few weeks ago most of it looked like a construction site.

The two big parks are not that far off, but it takes ten minutes on the tram to get there. These are Slottskogen and Botaniska Trädgården, located close to one another. Botaniska, the botanical garden, is magnificient this time of the year and highly recommended if you want a stroll on your own. The entrance fee is an optional 10-20 SEK. Slottskogen is more of a popular place where people sunbathe and play football on the big lawns. It very big and hilly and has animal gardens (seals, penguins, mooses, peacocks and a lot of others) if that's to your fancy.

I'll send a mail to your profile address in case you'd like some more specific information.
posted by springload at 12:16 PM on June 9, 2007

And the best directory for Sweden is at www.hitta.se , which has maps and satellite pictures.
posted by springload at 1:23 PM on June 9, 2007

Regarding vegetarian food - if you follow Avenyn past Brunnsparken, you'll find the vegetarian restaurant/café Andrum at Östra Hamngatan 19.
posted by martinrebas at 1:27 PM on June 9, 2007

I second the Röhsska museum. It's a ton of fun and they have a great cafe with a vegetarian buffet there. They also have a pretty nice gift shop with typical Swedish-designy style things.

I'd recommend not getting off the bus at Korsvägen but waiting till the next stop up on Avenyn. That'll put you more in the center of things, regardless of what you want to do. It's a straight shot up the street to the art museum and a straight shot down the street to the main shopping area. You won't save more than a few minutes' walk but it might be a bit less confusing navigation-wise.

You could consider getting off the bus on Avenyn, strolling down toward the train station and catching the the bus back to the airport there, and seeing what you discover along the way. That'll take you past Trädgårdsföreningen.
posted by bluebird at 1:44 PM on June 9, 2007

True, getting off at Avenyn (Park Lane) is better. Last time I took the airport bus it didn't stop there, so I forgot that it usually does.

methylsalicylate: The mail I sent to your hotmail address bounced.
posted by springload at 10:07 AM on June 10, 2007

Oops, sorry - replace hotmail with yahoo, and that's the right one :) cheers!
posted by methylsalicylate at 2:08 AM on June 11, 2007