7 things to do in Gothenburg when it rains

Gothenburg on a rainy day

Museum · Slottsskogen

1.Gothenburg Natural History Museum

Pair it with the free animal enclosures in Slottsskogen for an easy family day out on a showery afternoon.

Time needed

1–1.5 hours

Cost

Low cost

• Kids
• Rainy day
• Nature

Aquarium · Johanneberg and Liseberg

2.Universeum

Start in the rainforest when doors open, before school groups arrive, and work down through the ocean tanks.

Time needed

3–4 hours

Cost

Expensive

• Kids
• Rainy day
• Nature

Garden · Inom Vallgraven

3.Trädgårdsföreningen and the Palm House

Use it as a green short cut between Central Station and Avenyn, and come in July when the rosarium is in full bloom.

Time needed

1 hour

Cost

Free

• Free
• Nature
• Couples
• Rainy day

Market · Haga

4.Feskekôrka

Buy a box of freshly cooked shrimp and eat it on the canal steps outside, or order a räkmacka at one of the counters for lunch.

Time needed

45 minutes

Cost

Low cost

• Food
• Architecture
• Rainy day

Museum · Inom Vallgraven

5.Gothenburg City Museum

Go straight to the Viking galleries for the Äskekärr ship, then look at the East India Company's porcelain trade rooms.

Time needed

1.5 hours

Cost

Low cost

• History
• Rainy day
• Architecture

Museum · Vasastan

6.Röhsska Museum

Combine it with a walk along Vasagatan's central promenade and coffee in Vasastan or Haga afterwards.

Time needed

1–1.5 hours

Cost

Low cost

• Art
• Rainy day
• Architecture

Market · Inom Vallgraven

7.Stora Saluhallen

Come for a weekday lunch at one of the stalls and pick up picnic supplies for the archipelago or Slottsskogen.

Time needed

45 minutes

Cost

Low cost

• Food
• Rainy day
• Shopping

Grouped by area

Booking and timing

Of these 7, 1 free, 5 low cost, 1 expensive. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is Universeum; group the rest by area to save travel time.

How to fit them into 3 half-days

Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.

• Half-day 1 (Slottsskogen): Gothenburg Natural History Museum, at least 1 hour.
• Half-day 2 (Johanneberg and Liseberg and Inom Vallgraven): Universeum → Trädgårdsföreningen and the Palm House, at least 4 hours.
• Half-day 3 (Inom Vallgraven, Haga and Vasastan): Gothenburg City Museum → Stora Saluhallen → Feskekôrka → Röhsska Museum, at least 4 hours.

The wettest months

• January: highs of 2°C (36°F), about 16 rainy days, quiet crowds. Dark, cold and often wet or icy, with only about seven hours of daylight; a quiet month for museums and the film festival.
• November: highs of 7°C (45°F), about 16 rainy days, moderate crowds. Grey and wet, with short days, but the city lights up as Liseberg's Christmas market opens.
• December: highs of 3°C (37°F), about 16 rainy days, busy crowds. Short, dark days softened by Christmas markets, lights along the main streets and julbord buffets.

The neighbourhoods they are in

• Inom Vallgraven — The old city inside the 17th-century moat, with canals, shops and the main squares
• Haga — Cobbled Haga Nygata, café terraces and restored 19th-century workers' houses
• Vasastan — Grand stone apartment blocks, the university and Röhsska design museum
• Lorensberg and Avenyn — The broad Kungsportsavenyen boulevard, Götaplatsen and the main evening strip
• Johanneberg and Liseberg — The amusement park, the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre and Chalmers campus

More of Gothenburg

All things to do in Gothenburg · Where to stay · When to go.

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