Tour of Gothenburg, Sweden

Left is a view of Kungsportsavenyn (The Avenue), the main street in the centre of town where much of Gothenburg's life circles around it.

This is the main gathering street for people out to have a good time. It is littered with restaurants, bars and clubs as well as shops and is usually quite crowded.

The statue is of Poseidon (in Greek mythology, was the god of the sea) an often used symbol of Gothenburg.

The Tradgardsforeningen Park and Horticultural Garden is situated next to the Avenue.

Gothenburg was heavily influenced by the Dutch. Dutch city planners were contracted to build the city as they had the skills needed to build in the marshy areas around the city.

Gothenburg centre was planned after Dutch cities to have canals like Amsterdam.

The classic city tour on the Paddan boats shows off the beauty of Gothenburg from a waterside perspective.

Step aboard in the centre of the city at Kungsportsplatsen and see the old moat and canals that date from the 17th century while learning about the history of the city’s construction and defence.

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Due to the Gothenburg's advantageous location in the centre of Scandinavia, trade and shipping have always played a major role in the city's economic history, and they continue to do so.

Gothenburg port has come to be the largest harbour in the whole of Scandinavia.

In the pleasure side of the harbour, there are numerous sailboats and yachts as sailing is a popular sports activity in the region, particularly because of the nearby Gothenburg Archipelago.

The Viking, better known under her Swedish name of Barken Viking, is a four-masted steel barque built in 1906 by Burmeister & Wain in Copenhagen, Denmark.

She was originally built to be used as a sail training ship for sailors for the rapidly growing Danish merchant fleet.

One day in July of 1909, captain Niels Clausen recorded in the ship's log a speed record, 15.5 knots while carrying a full cargo of wheat from Australia making a 24-hour-run of 372 seamiles.

She was saved from being scrapped in the late 1940s by the Swedish government. She is reported to be the Largest sailing ship ever built in Scandinavia.

Now a top visitor attraction as it serves as a hotel and restaurant.

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The Gothenburg Opera house is a relatively new construction started in September 1989. It was completed with great speed. Ground breaking took place in June 1991, and the building was inaugurated in October 1994.

Idyllically situated at the Packhuskajen quay in central Gothenburg.

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Goteborg's Cathedral (Domkyrkan) was built in 1815 on the ruins of two earlier churches which burnt down in 1721 and 1802.

The neo-classical building was designed by the architect C.W. Carlberg.

The Cathedral is located at Vastra Hamngatan in the middle of the city centre. The nearest tram stop is "Domkyrkan".

The first tram line in Gothenburg was started in 1879 by the English company Gothenburg Tramway Ltd. This was a horse-drawn tramway. The city of Gothenburg bought the tramway in 1900, and introduced electrically powered trams only two years later.

When Sweden’s switch to right-hand traffic in 1967 made existing unidirectional trams obsolete, Gothenburg was one of only two cities in Sweden to maintain its city-centre tramway, the other such network to survive being the Norrköping tramway.

Liseberg, a short distance southeast of Gothenburg centre, is Northern Europe´s largest and most beautiful amusement park, and one of Sweden´s most popular attractions of any kind.

The magnificently laid out park boasts some 35 rides and adventures, ranging from the gentle and amusing to the downright terrifying, such as the brand new ”Kanonen” (The Canon), which shoots you out at maximum speed for a very long minute of thrilling loops, spins, vertical drops and twists. But the star feature is the giant Balder rollercoaster, often named the world´s greatest wooden rollercoaster by international aficionados.

The Gothenburg Botanical Garden differs in many respects from most traditional botanical gardens on the European continent. It was conceived and planned by the municipality of Göteborg in the 1910's as a botanical garden with an extra emphasis on horticulture, and with a broad scope in the Swedish community life. It remains a public garden to this day.

Situated south of the city centre.

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The archipelago is a paradise for boaters who come from all around Northern Europe throughout the summer season.

For the boatless, there are many attractive options for everything from day excursions to longer cruises and island hopping.

A ten-minute tram ride from downtown Gothenburg, there are plenty of good swimming and sunbathing spots, where the smooth granite drops gracefully into the water, in typical west coast fashion. You can usually find your very own secluded nook.

For more information on Gothenburg, visit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothenburg.