With kids · Gothenburg · Sweden
Gothenburg with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Max Ronnersjö, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Gothenburg is one of the easiest Nordic cities to visit with children: Liseberg, Universeum, the free animals in Slottsskogen and a floating ship museum are all reachable by tram, and the archipelago gives safe rocky swimming in summer. Top picks: Liseberg, Universeum and Slottsskogen. Families usually base themselves in Johanneberg and Liseberg.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 7
- Best area for families
- Johanneberg and Liseberg
- Rainy-day options
- 2
- Busiest months
- July–August
Best things to do with kids
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
Aquarium · Johanneberg and Liseberg
2.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
Park · Linnéstaden
3.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
4.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
Museum · Inom Vallgraven
5.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
Experience · Inom Vallgraven
6.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
7.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
Rainy-day ideas
- Gothenburg Natural History Museum — Pair it with the free animal enclosures in Slottsskogen for an easy family day out on a showery afternoon.
- Universeum — Start in the rainforest when doors open, before school groups arrive, and work down through the ocean tanks.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for families and first-timers
Johanneberg and Liseberg
Around Korsvägen, the area beside Liseberg holds the Svenska Mässan congress centre, several large hotels, Universeum and the Museum of World Culture. It suits families who want to walk to Liseberg and travellers attending events, and the Korsvägen tram interchange makes the rest of the city easy to reach.
- Good
- Steps from Liseberg and Universeum; Large family-friendly hotels; Major tram hub at Korsvägen
- Watch out
- Busy and pricier during congresses and big events; Less character than Haga or Linné
- Nearby
- Liseberg, Universeum, Museum of World Culture, Korsvägen
Family travel tips
- Children travel at reduced fares on Västtrafik; check the current age rules and family tickets in the To Go app.
- Liseberg has a large area of rides for small children, so a ride wristband is not essential for toddlers.
- Universeum makes a good plan B on a rainy day; book tickets online in school holidays.
- Bring swimwear and towels for the archipelago, as the granite rocks shelve gently in many coves.
- Many restaurants have high chairs and children's menus, and baby-changing facilities are common.
Day trips for families
- Marstrand (About 1 hour by bus and ferry) — A car-free island town of painted wooden villas and sailing harbours, crowned by the 17th-century Carlsten fortress, which offers tours of its ramparts and prison.
- Bohus Fortress in Kungälv (About 30 minutes by bus) — The ruins of a medieval border fortress on a rock above the Nordre älv river, once a frontier stronghold between Norway and Sweden.
- Varberg (About 45–60 minutes by train) — A seaside town south of Gothenburg with a medieval fortress on the shore, the Bocksten Man bog body in the fortress museum and a Moorish-style cold-bath house on stilts over the sea.
When to go with children
The best months overall are May–August. July–August are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Gothenburg good for kids?
Gothenburg is one of the easiest Nordic cities to visit with children: Liseberg, Universeum, the free animals in Slottsskogen and a floating ship museum are all reachable by tram, and the archipelago gives safe rocky swimming in summer.
+What can kids do in Gothenburg?
Liseberg, Universeum, Slottsskogen, Gothenburg Natural History Museum and Maritiman.
+Where should families stay in Gothenburg?
Johanneberg and Liseberg: The amusement park, the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre and Chalmers campus.