Seeking suggestions for Gothenburg

[Reddbaron]

We cruise on Jewel of the Seas in August and our last stop is in Gothenburg, Sweden. To me it seems a bit of a downer after an itinerary that includes Copenhagen, Stockholm and St. Petersburg, but perhaps I am not giving Gothenburg the credit she deserves (though I would have preferred Oslo ;)).

 

The excursions offered by RCI are not particularly enticing for the money, does anyone have suggestions on what to see on my own?

 

I am already buying citycards for many of the other ports and I know Gothenburg offers its own card as well, so if you have any insights on whether purchasing it is a worthwhile expense, I appreciate your insight on that subject as well.

 

Thanks in advance!

[sansterre]

Since there are no other responses, I''m posting our experience, though it was more than 10 years ago we were in Gothenberg visiting distant relatives. It was at the end of our Gota Canal Cruise. The canal trip was lovely if there are any excursions into it, I'd take that.

Since the children were young, we went to an amusement park in Gothenberg. I can't recall the name but it was very nice. Gothenberg is mainly a seaport so Im not surprised that the excusions are "not particularly enticing".

[Vikingmum]

If you have children, or feel "young at heart":

 

1. Liseberg amusement park, some nice rides, and beautiful gardens. Sometimes also shows by singers and entertainers (though generally only Scandinavian artists) http://www.liseberg.com/en/home/

 

2.Universeum. Indoor science museum with many "hands-on" exhibits. My children loved it!

http://www.universeum.se/index.php?lang=en

 

Another nice alternative is taking a trip along the canals and around the harbour with the classic Paddan-boats (which have been running every summer since the 1950´s). Takes about one hour, and the tours are guided in Swedish, English and German. Unfortunately, their web page is only in Swedish, but here is a short summary;

You travel under 20 bridges (including the so called "cheese cutter-bridge" in the canals from the 1600´s, and are guided through the expansive harbour. There are boats leaving 2-3 times every hour. The time tables can be find on the kiosk where the boats leave, or on the web page. For some tours, you can book tickets online. But in my opinion, the is not really necessary, since there are boats leaving all the time. http://www.stromma.se/sv/Sightseeing/Goteborg/Turer-till-sjoss/Paddan-Rundtur-Goteborg/

 

I would also recommend the Maritime museum and Aquarium. http://www.goteborg.se/wps/portal/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gj42AT12AXYwN_IGngaebuGxZmbmxgEGYAlI8Eypt6BzoZeRkbuLtZmhl4enuEWIb4BRv4exgRo9vZ3dHDxNzHwMDCxN3AwNPEyd_PwznQ0MDTmIBuP4_83FT9gtzQiHJHRUUA3dUVZg!!/dl3/d3/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS9ZQnZ3LzZfMjNTNEVTRDMwT0VTRDBJNkdNVlY3MzBHTzE!/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=

 

Don´t be sorry that you get to go to Gothenburg instead of Oslo! It is actually the second largest city in Sweden, and has, in my opinion, a lot to offer. If you don´t feel like doing any of the suggestions above, just walk around the town and do some shopping or have some coffee or lunch in one of the many cafés and restaurants. The street Kungsportsavenyn, commonly referred to as "Avenyn", has many sidewalk restaurants, and is a nice place to stroll in the summertime. And also, the people of Gothenburg are famous for having a special down-to-earth kind of humor. Hope you have a nice time in Gothenburg!

[Heppy]

Hi Reddbaron,

 

We are also on this cruise,as this will be our last shore day I thought we might be worn out and have seen enough museums to last a lifetime! So we are considering the Padden boat trip at 145 sek each and the Botanical Gardens which have quite good reviews on Trip Advisor. Of course this plan will be ruined if its raining that day.

 

regards

Heppy

 

If you have come up with anything let us know...

[minsterman]

We cruised on Jewel last year and were also disappointed that Gothenburg had replaced Oslo on the itinerary (though we knew that before we booked).

 

Gothenburg was better than we had expected. We found it to be quite a pleasant city just to stroll around. We walked down to the Liseberg amusement park, though we didn't go in as we didn't think the cost was worth it for the time we had.

 

After a hectic itinerary it was nice to just to have a relaxing day, wandering, taking photos, and sitting at the occasional cafe/bar for a drink/lunch. Quite a few people were doing the canal trips, though we walked around a lot of the route anyway. There is a large Ferris Wheel near the river (although we went up the tall red/grey building nearby for a good overhead view of the city).

 

Although I still would have preferred Oslo, Gothenburg can still be a nice place to visit and one you probably wouldn't do if it wasn't for the Cruise, where as I guess we'll probably make the effort to go to Oslo anyway!