It’s easily confused with Batman’s hometown, but unlike the fictional Gotham City, Gothenburg (actually pronounced “Yutterborry”) really does exist and is Sweden’s second largest city.
On April 1, Ryanair started flying there from Malta. Friday-Monday flights in May currently cost well under €100, which is a reasonable enough price to make you think: “What the heck, let’s go” (although you’ll have to swallow Ryanair’s weasely “administration fees” and “check in fees”, which is always galling).
Gothenburg is a port and remains an industrial area but it’s having something of a cultural revival, hosting a film festival and forming a hub for up-and-coming designers and rock bands. So, if you book a weekend in Sweden’s second capital, what delights will await you?
Exhibitions: A Day in the World
The city is a hot spot for galleries and exhibitions. One well worth catching is A Day in the World. This charts a unique global event which took place on May 15, 2012.
People around the world were asked to take pictures of their everyday lives on anything from a mobile phone to a professional camera. Over 100,000 photos were eventually submitted from 160 different countries.
This exhibition showcases some 431 of the photos, a fascinating insight into human life on earth.
You can get into the exhibition until May 26 at no charge with a Goteburg City Card. This allows free entrance to museums and free public transport (tram, bus and boat). It costs about €33 for 24 hours and is available at a wide range of locations across the city.
Treats: Gothenburg Chocolate and Sweet Factory
The words ‘chocolate factory’ are usually synonymous with ‘tasters’ (and if they are not, then they should be), so head to this old- fashioned shop to try out the goods. You can also attend a chocolate-making workshop if you want to do more than just consume. Either way, the shop will supply you with ample presents to take home.
Food: extremely tasty
The adventurous foodie can follow this up with a visit to Extreme Food at Ingenjörsgatan (www.extremefood.se). Specialities include edible crickets, scorpion lollies, baconnaise and wild chilli sauces. You can wash these delicacies down with 30 different beers at Olrepubliken (www.olrepubliken.se) near City Hall (or perhaps you should drink the beer first to work up a little Swedish courage).
For dinner, there are three Michelin-starred restaurants in town, the latest being thornstromskok.com which serves up awesome food in a minimalist Swedish setting.
However, if you’re slumming it on Ryanair, then presumably your budget is tight and you might want to try one of the set lunch menus at restaurants across town, which tend to be the best value. The fish church (Feskekôrka, Rosenlundsgatan, 41120) is also a local institution. It’s a gorgeous building which looks like a church but is actually a fish market with some imaginative wares. The church houses a small restaurant selling the day’s catch. It’s closed on Sunday and Monday.
Coffee: have a fika
A fika, or coffee break, is an essential part of Swedish life. Bar Centro on Kyrkogatan 31 makes some of the best and you can chat with the locals sipping coffee on the curb outside.
Culture: the heating plant
Get into the cutting-edge arts scene at Roda Sten 1 (Rodasten.com). It’s an old, industrial building which has morphed, via occupation by graffiti artists, into a cultural centre with large installations and club nights. You can do a tour for €5.
Kids: bounce them off the walls
While spring might have sprung in Malta, Sweden’s weather can remain a little, let’s say, inclement... If that is likely to leave your kids with a surplus of energy, then try out the 5,000-square-metre play area at Lek-och Buslandet, Backaplan, Hisingen (tel: +46 31 2321 21).
There is also the Maritime Museum and Aquarium in Majorna, which has a touch pool where they can really get to grips with marine animals (tel: +46 31 36835 50).
The Universeum is a science centre with different climates and habitats, where the kids can watch a monkey-feeding session and try out a circular musical instrument powered by different shapes (www.universeum.se).
Sleep: in a botel
The Ibis Hotel Goteburg City (www.ibis-goteborg-city.com) is in fact a ship, bobbing about at the dock. Accommodation is, unsurprisingly, cabin style and thus cosy, but the location is good, within walking distance of the shops and the Opera House. You can watch the bustle of the harbour from the sundeck. Prices start around €73 per cabin.