In todays post I would like to present the town I’ve been calling home for nearly 9 years now a little closer. The features I like best about this city are actually its surroundings: the sea and archipelago, the forests and lakes and the heath. The pictures I shared with you yesterday, give you a good impression about all that and therefore I won’t go into it any further today.

Instead I will focus more on the city itself; the center with its parks and canals, the harbour and the sights you shouldn’t miss when you are visiting.

Gothenburg is with its 500.000 inhabitants the second largest town of Sweden. It’s a fairly mellow place; big enough to have all the culture a city should offer but still small enough to be able to walk everywhere. Its location at the mouth of the river Göta Älv which is feeding into the Kattegat was very favourable for the towns development as a harbour- and trading city.

Water is always present in Gothenburg: be it the Kattegatt with the archipelago in the west, the river and the canals in the center or the rain. The canals are a heritage from the dutch founders of the city, but unfortunately many have been taken away to make space for roads. In the picture below you see one of the canals that is left.

I love the old houses in the neighborhoods of Vasa and Linne. That’s where all the students hang out and many of the restaurants are located.

Haga is one of the oldest parts of town with picturesque wooden houses that haven’t been sacrificed during the building boom of the 60’s and 70’s when many concrete desserts took shape. Luckily people have been fighting for saving their Haga and we can now enjoy the cute little shops there and hang out  in one of the many cafés. When visiting Gothenburg you should definitely plan in an afternoon in Haga.

Otherwise I have a favourite café that is located on top of a water tower in Guldheden. It’s super cosy inside, people come there to play board games and read and you have a gorgeous view over the city.

The topography of Gothenburg allows for many nice view points like this one in Keillers park overlooking the harbour. It’s a great place for a picnic!

The next picture is showing the central Avenue where most of the chain stores and fancy night clubs are located. It’s ok to go there every now and then, but I usually prefer the cozier parts of town and get stressed on the crowded Avenue.

Another nice place to visit would be Liseberg, the amusement park that’s particularly pretty when all lit up for Christmas.

Next to Liseberg you have the Universeum, with rainforest, underwater world and other hands on science exhibitions – always good for a rainy day.

Gothenburg is also a green city with many parks. My favourite and also the biggest one is Slottsskogen. It’s great for jogging, a round of frisbee or just hanging out for a cup of coffee. It also has a little zoo.

But most of all I would recommend to take a boat trip in the archipelago where you for instance can have a great seafood meal at the restaurant Tullhuset. That’s what’s making Gothenburg special!