A FAIRY TALE CHRISTMAS IN GOTHENBURG
- Nicola Daly
- Nov 27, 2015
- 7 min read
WHY GOTHENBURG...
I travelled to Gothenburg in November 2015 and I went with my Mum, Dad and partner. It took us so long to agree on somewhere to go but it turns out that Sweden was the perfect compromise. So we all wanted different things out of this break: I wanted pretty and traditional things to see and do (like an old town), my mum wanted a traditional Christmas market, and my Dad and partner wanted somewhere with sports bars, mixed grills and plenty of beers. Well it just so happens that Sweden has it all. Some of you might be wondering why we chose Gothenburg instead of Stockholm? Well there were 2 reasons, 1. The cost of living is slightly lower in Gothenburg and 2. There are 3 airports which serve Stockholm, but all 3 of them are so far out of the city centre, it just seemed like way too much hassle. I'm so glad we booked Gothenburg instead though, all will become clear soon!
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GETTING THERE!
First thing's first though, I'm guessing before you find out whether it's worth a trip, you'll want to know if your bank balance can take it right? Well in all honesty Gothenburg was slightly more expensive than any of us anticipated BUT I must say it was worth every penny! It was so cheap to get there. I paid £120 in total for a 3 night stay in a 3 star hotel on the outskirts of the city, (so much cheaper than staying in the centre and with a tram stop and a train station round the corner, we couldn't really go wrong), return flights from Stansted airport and return coaches from Coventry to Stansted. So all in all I did get a very good price. However when we got there we were all quite shocked to see the prices of things like eating out and alcohol. I would say you could expect to pay London prices for food and perhaps a little more than London prices for alcohol. To give you an idea, I paid £12 for a chicken caesar salad in Gothenburg and although it was quite big, I paid £3 for one in Skopje that was double the size and just as nice! So yes, Gothenburg can be expensive, but what you save booking the break, can be added on to your spending money, so more shopping! Win win. Now you're going to want to know if it was all snowy and Christmassy right? Well no, not in November it's not, but a few weeks after we travelled it snowed lots and i'm pretty sure Gothenburg had a white Christmas. I will say although Sweden sounds really cold and is more North than the UK, it wasn't really any colder than the UK. Right anyway let's talk about the good stuff...
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Liseberg! So I'm not really selling this very well to you am I? Well lets switch to the main reason why every single person on this planet should go to Gothenburg, LISEBERG! Liseberg is a theme park which is open all year round but changes the decoration and activities to suit the season, and at Christmas time it turns in to Santa's little village. I don't care whether you hate Christmas or not, there is no way that you cannot love this place, it's just stunning! It opens until late at night and has so much to offer including: rides, games where you can win massive bars of chocolate (if that doesn't make you want to come here, nothing will!), little shopping outlets, an ice skating rink, food stands, Christmas market type stalls and a big wheel which gives you an amazing view! The thing that made this place seem magical to me was the way we entered... by canal boat. Liseberg is built on the canal system and one way in is to get on a canal boat in the centre of Gothenburg which then takes you on a 40 minute tour of Gothenburg and then into Liseberg. This only takes place at Christmas time, and I must admit the canal boat that you go on isn't much to look at (it looked like a big canoe to me), you will have to duck your head as low as possible at many points during the trip due to the low bridges, but it was so fun and going through Liseberg on the water when it was all lit up at night was just beautiful. During the trip you get free ginger bread and mulled wine too. I would advise taking a hat, gloves and scarf though as it does get pretty cold on the water at night. This tour costs around £22 which includes entrance to Liseberg, however if you have a Gothenburg city card you can get this tour for free!
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The City Card! From October to April you can get a city card at a lower rate which is just £30 for adults and £22 for children! These are 48 hour cards and include free public transport on buses, trams, trains and boats operated by Vastraffic in the Gothenburg area. You can also get free entry in to many different museums and attractions including: universeum, Liseberg, the maritime museum, the volvo museum and the Gothenburg museum of art. This card is more than worth the money as you can also take advantage of the free tours! These include a hop on hop off bus city tour which changes to just a normal 50 minute tour in the low season and it operates every Saturday at 12pm, and the canal cruise to Liseberg. If that is not enough you can get free admission to the lipstick building which is a building in the shape of a lipstick and has a viewpoint at the top which gives you an amazing view of the archipelago, and you can rent bikes free of charge! So although food and drink is expensive here, you can actually do your whole weekend of activities for £30! In the summer, the city card is more expensive but includes more places to visit including a free boat trip to part of the archipelago.
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Universeum!
Sundays in Gothenburg are pretty dead! A lot of the museums are closed on Sundays (including the maritime museum and the lipstick building). But one thing that is open, is universeum and it's well worth a visit! When you first walk in, it will probably remind you of the sea life centre, but this place has so much more to offer than just fish and turtles! It is built on lots of different floors and each floor features different types of animals and other wildlife. All of the staff here are very helpful and know everything there is to know about the animals, so you know they are well looked after! There is a part of Universeum which is devoted to marine life, but you will see animals there which you have never seen at the sea life centre. There was a tank that is above a walk way, so as you walk through, you may see a shark above your head! At first glance, I didn't think it was real! I thought it was a sticker, but then it started to move, and posed perfectly for a photo! You can also watch at feeding time and there are interactive exhibitions where you can find out all about the animals. There are also other animals like snakes and spiders, but the main thing which I absolutely loved was the Amazon part! We walked through the jungle like exhibit which was set to the climate and temperature that the animals would usually live in, in the wild. When I was in Gothenburg, they were building more to this exhibition, so there were not many animals here, but there was a sloth which was very cute and the main attraction! I would say that Universeum is perfect for families, as children would love to see these lovely animals, and it's very educational for them too! However anyone who goes to Universeum will turn into a big kid! Let's face it, who doesn't love sea horses and sloths?
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Daytrips!
If you travel to Gothenburg, there are many other interesting places which are within easy reach. If you would like to make your city break a twin centre, then why not try a day trip to Fredrikshaven in Denmark? The tickets for this are less than £5 each return, if you have a City Card, and you get there by ferry which takes around 3 and half hours. If you would like to travel somewhere a little closer, then why not try Malmo or Stockholm? You can get to both cities in around 2 hours by train. Gothenburg is made up of an archipelago which means there are many other islands to visit close by. If you buy a city card, a trip to some of these islands are free, and it would be well worth doing this as the archipelago is picture perfect. (Boat trips to the archipelago do not run in Winter.) Whatever you want to see or do, you will find it within easy reach of Gothenburg!
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Travel Essentials!
1. A very warm, thick coat
Depending on the time of year that you travel, Sweden can get very cold and snowy, so take your warmest coat that allows room for a thick jumper.
2. Hat, gloves and a scarf
The weather is so unpredictable so make sure you wrap up warm!
3. Winter boots
If you travel in the winter, be sure to take a pair of heavy duty pair of boots as you want to be comfortable, especially if there is heavy snow.
4. An umbrella
When it rains in Gothenburg, it RAINS! So make sure you take an umbrella so you can embrace the weather and not waste your city break stuck inside your hotel.
5. A travel guide/ map
Head to the information points in the centre and pick up a free guide booklet which tells you about all of the best tourist attractions. It also includes a public transport timetable and map with all of the bus and tram routes in, and a map of the city centre. This saves you wasting your valuable time trying to navigate your way around the city.
6. Plenty of money!
Make sure you plan what you want to do and take more than enough money. Take into account the relatively high cost of living in Gothenburg, and save in advance to save the disappointment of not being able to do the things you really want to do.
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THE OVERVIEW!
Gothenburg is a lovely city with plenty to see and do. If you are looking for somewhere that is very traditional with pretty buildings, an old town and architecture, then Gothenburg may not be the place for you. However if you want somewhere with lots of things to do, activities and day trips, then Gothenburg is perfect. Gothenburg doesn't have an old town as such, however it does have a district called Haga, which is more traditional and has quirky little shops, but this is just 2 streets and won't take much more than a couple of hours to make your way around it! Overall, I would definitely recommend Gothenburg, especially at Christmas time, as the whole city transforms in to a Christmas masterpiece. Give it a try one year and see what all the fuss is about.
