MINI GUIDE
Weekend in Gothenburg
COMPILED BY LORNA PARKES, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ANNA KAMINSKI. PHOTOGRAPHS: NICHOLAS DOWLING/ALAMY, GOTHIA TOWERS & UPPER HOUSE, RÖDA STEN PHOTO MERETE LASSEN MIMMI ANDERSSON HOUSE OF OPPOSITES, STOCK CONNECTION/SUPERSTOCKGothenburg essentials The know-how
FURTHER READING
Gothenburg and southwest
Sweden are covered in
Lonely Planet’s Sweden
(US$24.99), and this chapter
can be downloaded
individually at lonelyplanet.
com (US$4.95). See
goteborg.com for more
about the city. Said to have
inspired Stieg Larsson and
Ian Rankin, among others,
the 1960s Martin Beck
detective series by Maj
Sjöwall and
Per Wahlöö is considered a
classic and the
granddaddy of
Scandinavian
crime fiction;
try Roseanna,
the first
in the
series.DISCOUNT CARDS
Gothenburg City Card Great for
intensive sightseeing, this pass
(pictured below) gives free access
to most museums and Liseberg
amusement park, plus many free
tours and unlimited travel on
public transport. It’s sold at tourist
offices, selected hotels,
Pressbyrån newsagents and online
at goteborg.com (24/48/72-hour
pass US$42/59/75; reduced price
Oct–Apr).
Gothenburg Package
The Göteborgspaketet offers
hotel rooms, with nightly prices
starting at US$73 per person, and
also includes the Gothenburg City
Card, plus bonuses such as
afternoon tea; book online in
advance (goteborg.com).
Museum Annual Pass For just
US$5, one annual ticket covers the
Göteborgs Konstmuseum,
Stadsmuseum, Sjöfartsmuseet,
Naturhistoriska Museet
and Röhsska Museet.
You can buy the ticket at
any of the five.Fabulous Hotel Flora’s 65
individually themed rooms flaunt
designer details. Some of them
offer river views and those on the
top floor have air-con. There’s also
a split-level courtyard for those
long summer days (hotelflora.se;
Grönsakstorget 2; from US$145).
Upper House takes up the top
floors of one of the Gothia Towers.
The sumptuous décor is pure
Scandinavian chic, the spa comes
with a hammam and there’s a
19th-floor pool with killer views
over the city (upperhouse.se;
Mässans Gata 24; from US$315).WHERE TO STAY
IQ Suites offers industrial-chic
apartments in a 19th-century brick
building. Rooms come with
bathrobes, hot tubs and well-
equipped kitchens, and outside
there’s a lovely garden (iqsuites.
com; Besvärsgatan 3; from US$73).TRANSPORT
Göteborg Landvetter Airport is
12 miles east of Gothenburg, and a
two-hour flight from Edinburgh,
Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester
and Stansted with BA (and BA
franchise Sun Air), Norwegian and
Ryanair. The Flygbuss runs to the
city centre every 15–20 minutes
and costs US$10 one-way
(flygbussarna.se). The most
convenient way around town is by
tram. Colour-coded lines converge
near central Brunnsparken square.
Travel is free for Gothenburg Pass
holders (see The know-how);
one- and three-day travel cards
(US$9/US$20; vasttrafik.se) can
work out cheaper than buying
single-trip tickets.Stay in one of Sweden’s highest
hotel rooms at Upper HouseTours Shopping Drinking Sights Eating Sleeping