I will be traveling to Göteborg in April and thanks to the flights working out much cheaper this way will have a weekend to do my own thing. So, anyone familiar with the city? Any must-see or must-do items you have to mention? Restaurant recommendations? I will be staying right by the central train station.
Thanks!
Bring a raincoat!
The touristy thing that alot of Göteborgare also do is take a ride on the boats Paddan.
The biggest attraction in Göteborg is the amusement park Liseberg. It opens for the season on the 27th of April.
My favorite pub with lots of good microbrews is The rover (swedish site only). Very serviceminded staff that give you taste samples if you are not sure of what to get.
There is a photography part of the art musem. Hasselblad Center.
Otherwise there are some nice old areas to stroll through and fika, I can recommend Haga.
A nice Jazz club (and lots of other types of concerts) is Nefertiti (swedish site only)
There is an old fort, Älvsborgs fästning
The most famous restuarant is Sjömagasinet Expensive but the best for fish/shellfish. Another expensive choice is 28+. Cheaper but still nice is Jord (swedish site only). A nice place for a drink is the hotel bar Heaven 23 (swedish site only) 23rd floor of Gothia Towers that has a magnificient view of Göteborg.
Anything special you are interested in seeing/doing that I should tell you more about?
Ooo, you get to meet real Goths!! 
I suppose you can pick up your own Volvo. 
Thanks Juggler, that is a nice cross section of activities!
I usually enjoy exploring historic buildings, so the fort or things like it would be a good option. Unfortunately I see it will be closed the weekend I have available (April 19-20, although I will be in town on business until 25 April).
The boat trip looks like a good way to get my bearings and will be available when I am there. The Haga area looks like a great day out. If I only have two days do you think I should limit myself to the city, or do you have some recommendations for short excursions?
Any chance you want to do some genealogical research for me while you are there?
I thought not.
Near the Hasselblad Center is an in the water maritime museaum that is pretty cool if you are into ships.
Across the harbor form there is Hotel 11. You can take the water taxi to get there. Next to the hotel is a giant gantry crane that was left over from when this area was a shipyard. for a small fee you can ride an elevator to the top of the crane. If the weather is clear, the view is spectacular. IIRC it is 284 feet above the water. I was told on weekends they do bungee jumping from the top of the crane, and you wind up getting wet in the process. :eek:
At the end of the pier where the water taxi drops you off for Hotel 11 is a great seafood restaurant, which for the life of me I cannot recall the name of.
I would second Älvsborgs fästning if you have the time. Great place.
It’s a serious hike, but if you have wheels, I would take a drive to the center of the country where all the glass works are. Orrefors, Kosta Boda and bunch of others. Each of the glass works has a museum, and a store with discount prices. I collect pieces like these so the trip is worth it for me. be forewarned, this is an all day trip.
If you only have two days I think you should stay in Göteborg. You can come back for sites like Läckö castle .It’s easy to travel in the city thanks to the trams.
You said historic buildings but the ship Göteborg maybe can be interesting aswell? It’s a newly built 18th century type of ship that sailed to China but is now back and you can take a tour on it. It’s close to the Hotel 11 that Rick mentioned.Website
Some historic buildings that you unfortunately can’t enter are the redoubts.
The oldest official building is Kronhuset
Two general sites:
Thanks Rick and Juggler for more great suggestions. I’ll check out the crane and ship - photography is a bit of a hobby so I will enjoy good locations for that.
The Rover used to be my local, but the German sold it toa couple of Swedes and they’ve cut back on the international brews to focus on more local Swedish stuff. So it’s not as nifty as it used to be, in my opinion. I’d recommend the Bishop Arms at Järntorget instead. Having said that, you should definitely go to Nefertiti’s in the evening if you get the chance. Avoid the Avenue.
Be warned, alcohol is expensive in Sweden.
Haga is also nice. But it’s not really a full day out; more like a couple of hours.
Saluhallen is worth strolling through; eat lunch at Alexander’s, try the gulasch soup or the Juvetzi. It’s not far from the railway station
If you’re feeling ambitious, and the weather’s nice, you could take a boat out to Styrsö/Donsö and have a look at a traditional Swedish fishing village. It’s very quaint out there.
Oh yeah. Don’t forget the raincoat.
What kind of food are you interested in?
Alcohol is even more expensive on the Avenue. Literally if you walk around the corner a beer costs 1/2 as much.
I’d like to say “I’ll try anything different” (I feel more confident saying that for Sweden than a place like China). I tend to like hearty meat dishes, so the gulasch soup suggestion appeals to me. Anything that you think is unique to the region I would be keen to try.
I’ll keep that in mind. I’m not a huge drinker, so I’ll probably just sample a local beer or two with meals.
Thanks Juggler for the info! I’ll be there in May! (riding on **Driver8 ** OP) 
The summer is great in Göteborg. Then I really reccomend taking a trip out to the southern archipelago.
A question for those familiar with the transit system: I am looking at the website of the tram / bus system (http://www.vasttrafik.se) and the detailed pricing can only be found in Swedish. I will be there for seven days, two of which will be my own travel and five of which will be commuting on the tram (I already know the route). Is there a card I can buy for this time that is more economical than just buying a ticket every time? If so, how much does it cost?
Buy a Göteborg pass
I hope this bump is ok because I’m curious how your trip was Driver8. What did you like and what didn’t you like? I was travelling myself most of April (Monte Carlo and Tallin) so I don’t know how the weather was here. Any stories and/or tips to share?
Yes Driver8, please share - I’m planning on visiting Goteborg in July so interested to know what you got up to (although I know someone over there so will have a guide).
Sorry for the late reply, I lost track of which threads I was keeping track of.
I had a great time in Göteborg. In fact, I just came back from yet another trip to Sweden, this time to Stockholm, which was also wonderful. I didn’t have as much time to do my own thing this time though.
The weather was beautiful both in Göteborg and Stockholm. The Göteborg locals told me that this was not very normal, and everyone I met there made a big deal of getting out into the sun when they could. I told my hosts that I would come back and tell everyone that Sweden was sunny all of the time.
I did the Paddan boat trip, the Haga area including Skansen Kronan, the maritime museum and Saluhallen. I also visited the islands, although I didn’t spend too much time on Styrsö/Donsö. I got off the ferry at the first stop only wondering why I was practically the only one after the ferry had departed again and spend half the day on Köpstadsö island. Still, it was stunning and I got some good photos.
I tried the Rover and I was impressed by the place. I liked that I seemed to be the only foreigner there - it makes things a little harder but having everything in Swedish makes me feel like I’ve succeeded in finding a place not geared to the tourists. They were very helpful in recommending some Swedish dishes and the beers to go with them (I think I tried some Swedish porters which were not bad at all).
I’d recommend all of these things. I wish I had a chance to see Älvsborgs Fästning but it was still closed when I was there. I saw the Hotel 11 area and the Ship Göteborg but it was late at night on my last day so I didn’t go in. Overall, a really great place, and very easy to get around. I could walk most places, and bought some 100 krona cards for the tram for when it was too far.