Things to do in Gothenburg in winter

In a week’s time I’ll be off for a long weekend in Gothenburg. I’m hoping to eat my way through the Christmas markets, bask in the lights and seasonal cheer (if not the chilly temperatures of a Gothenburg winter) and explore all that’s on offer in Sweden’s second largest city.

To get me in the mood and work out what we might like to see in the three days that we are there, I’ve asked around the internet for tips and advice on fun things to do in Gothenburg in December and what to see and here’s what you came up with;

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Fun things to do in Gothenburg in winter

Fika – coffee and cinnamon buns

Apparently the Swedes are great consumers of coffee as alcohol is rather expensive. They love nothing better than to meet with friends for a gossip over coffee and perhaps a cake or cinnamon bun. This is a pastime known as Fika.

Sounds like a great way to get out of the icy winds that sweep off the sea in a cosy cafe in Haga, the picturesque, old-town neighbourhood. On Hospitality Club, Linnea from Gothenburg recommended Café da Matteo (where she used to work) for their amazing coffee.

A couple of articles I found will fill you in on the joys of Fika in Gothenburg;

LLWorldtour – Fancy a Fika?
Guardian – Coffee & Calories in chilly Gothenburg

The Christmas market at Liseberg

Set in the amusement park that’s open all year round, at Christmas Liseberg is home to Sweden’s largest Christmas markets. It’s lit by 5 million lights, with Christmas food and a funfair.

There are a number of other Christmas markets around Gothenburg in December such as the one at Nordstan Shopping Centre. You’ll find smaller markets in neighbourhoods around the city – find a list of all the Christmas markets with dates and opening times on Goteborg.com.

Christmas buffet or Julbord

At Christmas time, many restaurants offer the Julbord or “Christmas table” – a buffet of traditional things eaten for Christmas. The spread is focussed on the preserved food that you’d need to get you through the winter months. Think smoked, dried or pickled dishes and variations of port. The old tradition is to slaughter a pig for Christmas.

My Hospitality Club friends, Thomas and Lisa recommended two restaurants where they enjoy Julbord. Sjömagasinet is situated at the mouth of Gothenburg harbour. Salt & Sill is 40km north of Gothenburg. so this would be one to try if you have a car or are touring West Sweden.

The Julbord buffets are not cheap but the atmosphere is guaranteed to put you in a festive mood. They are very popular so they need to be booked ahead.

Another Swedish tradition at Christmas dinner is to drink different flavours of Snaps or flavoured vodka. An old traditional variation from Gothenburg is O P Anderson Aquavit. If you are going for a traditional Julbord on your trip you should definitely try some “snaps”.

Life is a Prawn Sandwich

The coast of West Sweden is known for its seafood. The North Sea waters are a haven for lobster, oysters, prawns and fish of all kinds. There’s even a saying here; “Life is a Prawn sandwich”. This translates as, this is as good as it gets!

Prawn sandwiches are apparently a speciality at Heaven 23, recommended by Linnea on Hospitality Club. This restaurant is situated in one of Gothenburg’s few sky-scrapers with beautiful views over the city.

She also recommends Sjöbaren for their amazing seafood. Thomas and Lisa on Hospitality Club also recommended that we try the pickled herring or inlagd sill. This is very typical of the West Coast of Sweden and comes in many different flavours.

I’m hoping to visit the Feskekörka or fish market which literally means ‘Fish church’ and take a look at all this glorious seafood. I’d also like to try some of the seafood at either of the two fish restaurants situated there; Gabriel or Kajutan.

Fun Things to do in Gothenburg

Gourmet Gothenburg

Gothenburg is full of great places to eat, so I wasn’t short of food recommendations – a good place to get ideas is the local tourism site, Goteborg.com as recommended to me by @WestSwedenTB.

There are no less than 5 Michelin star restaurants in Gothenburg. We’re hoping to enjoy a meal at Basement, as recommended by food blogger @eatlikeagirl. This is the only one of the five with a female chef, Camilla Parkner.

One of the other Michelin star establishments, Kock & Vin also has some more informal places to eat in their group. Familjen, inspired by the traditional Swedish kitchen, was recommended by both @eatlikeagirl and Linnea from Hospitality Club.

Bjorn’s bar, is in the basement of Kock & Vin, and is a wine bar where they serve cheeses, pates, hams and oysters. This was recommended by @PollyEJHolidays who also suggested the main street of Kungsportsavenyn as a good place to find nice restaurants.

Ethnic Gothenburg

For some ethnic tastes, @LolaAkinmade who lives in Sweden also recommended the Nepalese Restaurang Himalaya.

My Hospitality friend, Anna also gave me plenty of recommendations for inexpensive restaurants and cafes in the neighbourhood of Linné where she lives. Her suggestions include; Karlson’s garage – a cosy restaurant and pub serving both traditional Swedish and international food.

Kalimera – for tasty Greek food; Bellini – one of five Italian restaurants on the same street with good food and they are very quick to prepare it. Café Mums (Linné) on the second floor is the nicest.

For breakfast she recommends Ethels where you get a “three-floor plate” of scones, sandwiches, and muffins with eggs and bacon or yoghurt with berries. Yum!

The article West Sweden – a delightful Detox from Sunvil Discovery Blog is a good overview of Gothenburg’s gourmet scene.

Take a five day trip to Gothenburg and along Sweden’s West coast. Sample Göteborg winter hot chocolate, coffee and cinnamon buns and the Feskekörka or fish market, meaning ‘Fish church’.

Exploring the coast of West Sweden

I don’t think we’ll have time to venture outside Gothenburg in December, as we only have 3 days for our visit. West Sweden is a great place to take a road trip along the coast, stopping at different small towns along the way.

If we had a spare day, @MBYouth suggested we should drive north of Gothenburg to Stromstad and sample some seafood. Stromstad is a great base to explore the archipelago of the Koster islands and the Kosterhavet National Marine Park.

The article Highlights of West Sweden from Sunvil Discovery Blog put me in the mood for exploring more of the West Swedish Coast

The Highlights of West Sweden include visiting the many islands close to the coast. On the Koster Islands you can hire bikes. On the Weather Islands you can visit the seal colonies.

In Gothenburg, it was more Fika or coffee and cinnamon buns and a number of interesting museums. Check out the Konstmuseum with historic art-works and the Volvo museum for motor lovers.

West Sweden recently hosted a group of food bloggers to try out the best seafood on offer – mussels, lobsters and oysters galore.

Tamarind & Thyme – West Sweden Seafood Journey
Hollow Legs – A weekend in West Sweden
Cheese & Biscuits – A shellfish journey in West Sweden

Visitor Information for Gothenburg or Göteborg

The local tourism site Göteborg.com is full of information on the best things to see and do.

For information on West Sweden visit the West Sweden Tourism site or follow them on Twitter. Another useful site for all things Gothenburg is I Love Göteborg.

During our long weekend in Gothenburg, we will be staying at the lovely 5 star hotel, Elite Plaza Hotel which is right in the centre of town.

We flew to Gothenburg from London Heathrow with SAS, Scandinavian airlines, who have 2 flights a day to Gothenburg from London.

Photo Credits: Liseberg by La Ezwa, Gothenburg food by Nouna Andersson, Fish Market by Tuey, Cinnamon buns by Roboppy, Koster Island by PeterPorto

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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