Top Rated Attractions in Gothenburg

At Scandinavia's largest amusement park, called Liseberg, you'll find rides ranging from child-friendly carousels to terrifying roller-coasters. The main stage offers concerts by many famous Swedish and international artists. The park is open daily May to August, on weekends only in April and September-October. Liseberg is also open for a short winter season, when you can enjoy a typical Swedish Christmas market and pony riding. Call ahead for varied dates.

At this Museum you will learn about the history of the Volvo, from when it was founded by Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson in 1927 until today. Volvo translates to "I roll" and is still the most common car brand in Sweden. The company sold their car division to Ford in 1999 and it's now owned by the Chinese, Geely Automobile. The company is also a leading manufacturer of trucks, buses, construction equipment and other products. Various exhibitions are held in the museum featuring old and experimental cars, buses and a jet engine used by The Swedish Air Force. There is also a Volvo merchandise shop and a cafe in the museum.

One of Europe's largest and most alluring, the Gothenburg Botanical Garden stretches across 40 hectares (99 acres) of thematic enclaves and teeming greenhouses. This expertly choreographed landscape gives way to the wild appeal of the surrounding nature reserve and its winding trails. With over 16,000 species of plants on display, the botanical gardens are immensely diverse and beautifully composed to create lush, paradisical pockets of vegetation. Japanese landscape design intermingles with rock and herb gardens, while Europe's largest collection of tropical orchids bloom amid the greenhouses alongside a rare Easter Island tree that no longer exists in its original environment. The gardens also host an exciting array of exhibitions each year, as well as a year-round program of activities for visitors of all ages. A slice of Eden in Gothenburg, the Botanical Garden is akin to a landscape painted in vibrant hues and brought to life with a touch of magic.

There are several beautiful islands in Gothenburg's southern archipelago, nice for bathing and excursions: Asperö, Brännö, Styrsö and Vrångö, just to mention a few. You will find both beaches and cliffs. The islands have no automobile traffic; you get around on foot, bicycle or a three-wheel moped. The island of Brännö has several bathing areas, hostels and inns. Vrångö is popular for bathing and is situated furthest out in the archipelago. To get here, take tram 4 to its final stop, Saltholmen; then take a ferry out to the archipelago.

Universeum, the biggest science center in Scandinavia features seven floors of fun! Go to the rain forest and see frogs, cockroaches and an anaconda swamp, or maybe have a look at the section with venomous snakes. There's an aquarium with sharks and rays. In the technology department you can find a crime lab, walk in space and try your weather reporting skills. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as you can easily put aside a whole day for exploring this place. If you find yourself hungry there is a cafe on the ground floor.

Stadsmuseet is housed in a building commissioned by the Swedish East India Company in the eighteenth century. This museum of cultural history has collections of items gathered from Gothenburg as well as the rest of the world, from a wide variety of eras. On the last Sunday in every month between January and May, the museum organizes special family displays at 12:15p and 2p. In the spring, many of the Vetenskapsfestivalen (International Science Festival) events take place here.