Things to do · Gothenburg · Sweden
20 best things to do in Gothenburg
20 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Quick answer
The essential sights in Gothenburg are Liseberg, Haga and Haga Nygata and Paddan canal boat tour. Of the 20 picks below, 9 are free, 7 work on a rainy day and 7 suit children. Allow about 3 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Liseberg
- Free sights
- 9
- Good on a rainy day
- Gothenburg Natural History Museum
- Time to see the highlights
- 3 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liseberg | Johanneberg and Liseberg | Half a day to a full day | Expensive |
| Haga and Haga Nygata | Haga | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Paddan canal boat tour | Inom Vallgraven | 50 minutes | Mid-priced |
| Southern archipelago islands | Saltholmen | Half a day to a full day | Low cost |
| Skansen Kronan | Haga | 45 minutes | Free |
| Slottsskogen | Linnéstaden | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Gothenburg Natural History Museum | Slottsskogen | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Universeum | Johanneberg and Liseberg | 3–4 hours | Expensive |
| Götaplatsen and the Poseidon statue | Lorensberg and Avenyn | 30 minutes | Free |
| Gothenburg Botanical Garden | Slottsskogen | 1.5–2 hours | Free |
| Trädgårdsföreningen and the Palm House | Inom Vallgraven | 1 hour | Free |
| Feskekôrka | Haga | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Gothenburg City Museum | Inom Vallgraven | 1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Röhsska Museum | Vasastan | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Maritiman | Inom Vallgraven | 1.5–2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Nya Älvsborg fortress | Göta älv estuary | Half a day including the boat | Mid-priced |
| Masthugget Church | Majorna | 45 minutes | Free |
| Ramberget and Keillers park | Norra Älvstranden | 1 hour | Free |
| Stora Saluhallen | Inom Vallgraven | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Delsjön nature reserve | Eastern outskirts | Half a day | Free |
The 20 best things to do
Theme park · Johanneberg and Liseberg
1.Liseberg
Opened in 1923, Liseberg is one of Scandinavia's largest amusement parks, with landscaped gardens and roller coasters including the wooden Balder, the launched Helix and the vertical-drop Valkyria, plus a large area of gentler rides for small children. It opens seasonally, and in late autumn and early winter it becomes a Christmas market lit by millions of lights.
Buy an entry ticket only if you just want the gardens, shows and Christmas market; the ride wristband pays off only if you plan several rides.
- Time needed
- Half a day to a full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Prices and opening days vary by season; check the park's calendar and buy tickets online before Christmas-market weekends and summer holidays.
- Iconic
- Kids
- After dark
- Active
Neighbourhood · Haga
2.Haga and Haga Nygata
Haga Nygata is a pedestrian street of restored 19th-century landshövdingehus with cafés, interior and vintage shops on the ground floors. It is the classic place for fika, and Café Husaren is known for the Hagabullen, a cinnamon bun roughly the size of a dinner plate.
Share one giant cinnamon bun between two, then climb the stairs at the end of Haga Nygata to Skansen Kronan for the view.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Food
- Shopping
- Architecture
- Iconic
Experience · Inom Vallgraven
3.Paddan canal boat tour
The low, flat Paddan boats have toured the city's canals since 1939, leaving from Kungsportsplatsen, circling the moat and running out along Stora Hamnkanalen into the harbour. Passengers duck as the boats squeeze under some very low bridges, and the guide explains the Dutch-built city plan.
Sit near the middle of the boat for the best view on both sides, and keep heads down when the guide warns of a low bridge.
- Time needed
- 50 minutes
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Iconic
- History
- Views
Island · Saltholmen
4.Southern archipelago islands
The car-free islands of the southern archipelago, among them Styrsö, Vrångö, Brännö, Donsö and Asperö, have granite rocks for swimming, small harbours and walking paths between wooden summer houses. Tram 11 runs to Saltholmen, where public ferries leave for the islands; the ride takes between about 20 minutes and an hour depending on the island.
Head to Vrångö, the furthest island, for a nature reserve and sandy coves, and pack lunch and swimwear as island cafés keep limited hours outside summer.
- Time needed
- Half a day to a full day
- Cost
- Low cost
- Outdoors
- Nature
- Views
- Couples
- Photo spot
Castle · Haga
5.Skansen Kronan
This round stone fortress tower with a gilded crown on top was completed in the late 17th century on the Risåsberget hill to defend the city against a Danish attack that never came. The grassy hilltop around it is a free viewpoint across Haga, the city centre and the harbour cranes.
Come in the early evening on a clear day and bring a picnic; the hill catches the late sun over the rooftops.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- History
- Photo spot
Park · Linnéstaden
6.Slottsskogen
Gothenburg's largest central park covers about 137 hectares of woods, ponds and lawns, with free animal enclosures where you can see elk, deer, seals and penguins, and a children's zoo in summer. It is also where the Way Out West music festival is held each August.
Time your visit for the seal and penguin feeding at the pond enclosure, and use the Linnéplatsen tram stop for the north entrance.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
Museum · Slottsskogen
7.Gothenburg Natural History Museum
The museum stands on a hill inside Slottsskogen and fills its galleries with traditional mounted animals from around the world. Its best-known exhibit is a stuffed blue whale, caught off the Swedish west coast in 1865, displayed in its own hall.
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
8.Universeum
Next to Liseberg, Universeum is a science centre with a multi-storey indoor rainforest where birds and monkeys move freely, an aquarium with sharks and rays, reptiles and hands-on science and technology halls. It is the city's main rainy-day option for families.
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
Landmark · Lorensberg and Avenyn
1.Götaplatsen and the Poseidon statue
The square at the top of Avenyn is the city's cultural centrepiece, framed by the Gothenburg Museum of Art, the concert hall and the city theatre. In the middle stands Carl Milles' bronze Poseidon fountain from 1931, and the steps of the art museum give a long view straight down the boulevard.
Stand on the art museum steps for the classic photo down Avenyn, then check the museum's own programme before planning a visit inside.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Architecture
- Photo spot
Garden · Slottsskogen
2.Gothenburg Botanical Garden
One of the larger botanical gardens in Europe, it combines formal beds, a rock garden with a waterfall, a Japanese glade and a wide arboretum on the hills beyond. The greenhouses hold tropical plants and orchids, and entry to the outdoor garden is by voluntary contribution.
Visit in late May or June for the rhododendron valley in flower, and take the tram to the Botaniska Trädgården stop.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Couples
Garden · Inom Vallgraven
3.Trädgårdsföreningen and the Palm House
This 19th-century park beside the moat, a few minutes from Central Station, centres on the Palm House of 1878, a cast-iron and glass glasshouse inspired by London's Crystal Palace. Outside, the rose garden holds thousands of roses and there is a playground and a café pavilion.
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
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Market · Haga
4.Feskekôrka
Gothenburg's fish market hall, opened in 1874 on the Rosenlundskanalen, looks like a Gothic church, which gave it the dialect name 'fish church'. Fishmongers inside sell west coast shrimp, langoustines, smoked fish and ready-made shrimp sandwiches, and there are counters where you can eat seafood on the spot.
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
The city museum occupies the East India House, built in the 1750s for the Swedish East India Company on Norra Hamngatan, and tells the city's story from prehistory to the present. Its highlight is the Äskekärr ship, the only original Viking ship found in Sweden.
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
Sweden's museum of design and craft has collections of Swedish furniture, glass, fashion and East Asian applied art, housed in a red-brick building on Vasagatan from 1916. Exhibitions trace Scandinavian design from historic crafts to contemporary products.
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
Museum · Inom Vallgraven
7.Maritiman
Moored on the river beside the opera house, Maritiman is a floating museum of historic vessels, including the destroyer HMS Småland and the submarine Nordkaparen. Visitors climb steep ladders between decks, engine rooms and crew quarters.
Wear flat shoes and leave bulky bags behind; the ladders inside the submarine and destroyer are narrow and steep.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- History
- Active
Castle · Göta älv estuary
8.Nya Älvsborg fortress
This 17th-century island fortress guards the mouth of the Göta älv and was built to protect the young city from Danish attack. In summer, boats run from Lilla Bommen in the centre down the river past the harbour, and guides lead tours of the ramparts and old prison cells.
Treat the boat trip as a harbour cruise in itself and sit on the open deck for views of the Älvsborg Bridge.
- Time needed
- Half a day including the boat
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Views
- Kids
Religious site · Majorna
9.Masthugget Church
Completed in 1914 in the National Romantic style, Masthuggskyrkan stands on a rocky hill above the harbour with a tower visible across the city. Its wooden interior has a ceiling resembling an upturned ship's hull, and the terrace outside is one of the best free viewpoints over the river.
Walk up from Stigbergstorget and visit at sunset, when the harbour and the Älvsborg Bridge are lit from the west.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Architecture
- Photo spot
Viewpoint · Norra Älvstranden
10.Ramberget and Keillers park
Ramberget, a granite hill in Keillers park on the Hisingen side of the river, is the highest natural viewpoint in central Gothenburg at about 87 metres. From the top you see the whole river from the Älvsborg Bridge to the city centre, the cranes of the port and the old shipyards.
Take the Älvsnabben ferry to Lindholmen and walk up for an evening view, then return across the river for dinner.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Outdoors
- Photo spot
Market · Inom Vallgraven
11.Stora Saluhallen
The city's covered market hall on Kungstorget dates from 1889 and houses delis, butchers, cheese counters, bakeries and small lunch stalls under a cast-iron roof. It is a convenient place to try Swedish cheeses, cured meats and baked goods in one stop.
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
Nature · Eastern outskirts
12.Delsjön nature reserve
The Delsjö area on the eastern edge of the city has two lakes surrounded by forest, with walking and running trails, a jetty for swimming, canoe hire in summer and marked hiking routes. It is reached by bus or tram plus a short walk from the centre.
Walk the trail around Stora Delsjön for an easy loop, and swim from the bathing area at the north end on warm summer days.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Active
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Gothenburg Natural History Museum, Götaplatsen and the Poseidon statue, Gothenburg City Museum and Röhsska Museum |
| History | Skansen Kronan, Paddan canal boat tour, Gothenburg City Museum and Maritiman |
| Views | Southern archipelago islands, Skansen Kronan, Paddan canal boat tour and Nya Älvsborg fortress |
| Outdoors and nature | Southern archipelago islands, Slottsskogen, Gothenburg Natural History Museum and Universeum |
| Food and markets | Haga and Haga Nygata, Feskekôrka and Stora Saluhallen |
| After dark | Liseberg |
| With children | Liseberg, Slottsskogen, Gothenburg Natural History Museum and Universeum |
| On a rainy day | Gothenburg Natural History Museum, Universeum, Trädgårdsföreningen and the Palm House and Feskekôrka |
What to book ahead
- Liseberg: Prices and opening days vary by season; check the park's calendar and buy tickets online before Christmas-market weekends and summer holidays.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Gothenburg?
Liseberg. Opened in 1923, Liseberg is one of Scandinavia's largest amusement parks, with landscaped gardens and roller coasters including the wooden Balder, the launched Helix and the vertical-drop Valkyria, plus a large area of gentler rides for small children.
+What can you do for free in Gothenburg?
Haga and Haga Nygata, Skansen Kronan, Slottsskogen, Götaplatsen and the Poseidon statue and Gothenburg Botanical Garden. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Gothenburg when it rains?
Head indoors to Gothenburg Natural History Museum, Universeum, Trädgårdsföreningen and the Palm House and Feskekôrka.
+What is there to do in Gothenburg at night?
Liseberg are best after dark.