Things to see and do Götaland

The coasts of Ystad and its surroundings are renowned for the finesse of their sand, the most beautiful of Sweden, it seems… From Falsterbo to the west to Sandhammaren to the east, you will find many beaches full of wild dunes where bathing is a feast!

Luc, a Frenchman who has lived in Sweden for many years, has shared his love of the natural world that this beautiful region has to offer. Just a few hours west of Stockholm, you'll feel at one with the elements. The area is surrounded by lakes and forests, close to a nature reserve. They offer a variety of outdoor activities suitable for families and groups, inviting you to explore this magnificent region.

The Kronhuset complex and the houses around it were owned by the crown in the 17th century. It is a block of houses arranged around a large square between Postgatan and Kronhusgatan. It houses Kronhuset (the Crown House), the oldest building in Gothenburg dating from 1654 and which was a warehouse for the Swedish artillery. Today it serves as a concert hall for the city's orchestra. Around the square,you can see traditional craftsmen at work.

In 1999, the Spaniard Santiago Calatrava (born near Valencia in 1951) participated in the competition to build the trans-Øresund link. His project was not selected, but it included a strange twisted monument on the Swedish shore that seduced the examiners enough for them to propose that the architect modify it into a residential building. This was done in 2005, and the 190-meter high tower (the tallest in Northern Europe) has since become one of the symbols of Malmö.

Since the 12th century, the two towers of the cathedral, called "Lunna Pågarna", have been rising above the plain, telling the traveller that he or she is no longer far from Lund. It also reminds us that there were as many as 27 churches and 8 convents here. The church has an unusual play of different shades of sandstone from a quarry in the Lund area. The same quarry, which is still used for the cathedral's purposes today, provided the sandstone for its unusually rich ornamental and figurative sculptures. The cathedral's most popular attraction is its astronomical clock, which dates from the late 14th century. Every day, at the twelve strokes of noon and at 3pm (Sundays at 1pm and 3pm), a mechanism sets wooden figures in motion: the show begins with an exchange of swords between two knights... The church is home to a set of beautiful stalls designed for the canons of the old Saint-Laurent monastery which belonged to the church. The triptych above the altar dates from the 15th century. The apse ends at the top with a mosaic of Christ, the work of Joakim Skovgaard in 1925.

Be sure tovisit the crypt, which is reached by descending the stairs beside the altar. It dates from 1123 and contains the tombs of famous people. It is supported by columns on which sculptures are carved. One of them represents Finn the Giant who, according to legend, built the church for Saint Lawrence.

The small town of Tanumshede is famous for the exceptional rock engravings that were discovered nearby in the village of Vitlycke (from Tanumshede, follow the signs to the Vitlycke Museum). This site, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, has many huge stones with engravings dating from the Bronze Age and telling the story of the region several millennia ago. When you arrive at the site, follow the marked path.

The Museum of Fine Arts has one of the first collections of international art in the country. It exhibits mainly Swedish and Nordic painters from the ^16th century to the present (Carl Larsson, Ernst Josephson, Ivar Arosenius, Karl Isaksson, Anders Zorn, Edvard Munch...), but also Dutch and Flemish painters from the ^17th century. The museum houses private collections, such as that of Fürstenberg, much admired for its Nordic light and fin de siècle melancholy. On the^first floor, an exhibition is devoted to art after 1945. On the^2nd and^3rd floors, sculptures (Rodin, Per Hasselberg, Johan Tobias Sergel, Henry Moore, Carl Milles...), graphics and drawings. The real masterpieces are exhibited on the^4th and^5th floors. Nordic art of the ^18th and ^19th centuries and the beginning of the ^20th century exhibits, among others, cheerful and rural oil paintings by the Dane Peder Severin Sekoyer (1851-1909), such as The Artists' Festival in Skagen, and funereal ones such as The Death of Charles XII, by Gustaf Cederström (1845-1933), the Double Portrait by Alexander Roslin (1718-1793), and many beautiful oil paintings by Anders Zorn (1860-1920) that show the soft light of the Nordic summers. Of particular note is Nils Forsberg's (1842-1934) terrifying and realistic Family of Acrobats in Front of the Circus Director. Among the more recent works, one should particularly note an oil painting by Odd Nerdrum (born 1944), the enfant terrible of contemporary Nordic art.

At the top of a staircase, the rock of Vetterberget rises above the village, offering a breathtaking view of the surrounding islands.

Sweden's largest botanical garden. Here, in a magnificent setting, almost 12,000 species of plants grow. The Japanese valley, the arboretum with trees from all over the world, the tropical greenhouses, rare orchids or bamboo forests... This site is a delight for those who love nature and are looking for a moment of calm, surrounded by splendid plants. A visit not to be missed, whether in winter or summer, for adults and children alike!

Here, different types of environments have been recreated that are home to many rare animal species. You can visit the exhibits in any order. The underwater life, with huge aquariums in which turn large sturgeons, beautiful rays and especially sharks; the deadly animals: behind glass walls, some of the most dangerous reptiles in the world; an area dedicated to the polar fauna; and especially the reconstruction of a tropical forest where you move freely, rubbing shoulders with small monkeys, caimans and iguanas.

In the west of the city and about 15 minutes' walk from the Main Square, you will find the most authentic part of Karlskrona, and it is well worth a visit. It was first settled by craftsmen, as evidenced by some wooden houses from the first half of the 18th century. The streets running north-south are named after ships, those running east-west after famous admirals, for a maritime atmosphere. Those who speak several languages will be able to recognise the authentic Björkholmskan dialect in this area, which is rich in diphthongs.

The white lighthouse, called Långe Erik, and the vents forests by winds during storms, give a severe appearance in the area.

The city museum, located in the building that once housed the offices and warehouses of the former East India Company (Östindiskahuset), is a combination of an archaeological museum, a historical museum, an industrial museum and a theater museum. Today it houses several historical collections evoking the life of Gothenburg from the Middle Ages to the present day, as well as temporary exhibitions on modern and contemporary Gothenburg.

This amusement park is 200 m long and 500 m long, and is located 10 minutes east of Göta Platsen and has been in existence since 1923. There are traditional large wheels, rides and raffles, but also a house built on the opposite and a "crazy house"! Flume Ride is a circuit on rapids that you perform sculpture in a large log excavated in a canoe. The park recently filled new Russian mountains with cliffs wood… for 100 million crowns! In winter, from early November to 23 December, the park transforms into a huge Christmas market, where every inhabitant of Gothenburg has to go and drink a glögg.

Built in 1705 on the order of Admiral Count Hans Wachtmeister, the museum presents exhibitions on stonecutters, shipbuilding, navigation and fishing. The exhibits change regularly, so be sure to check the website. The museum is suitable for both adults and children. In the basement, in summer, the Greven café offers homemade cakes and quiches. After the visit, you can enjoy the beautiful baroque garden.

This ^19th century park is one of the best preserved in Europe. Its rose garden is the largest in Scandinavia, and its English style, with its winding paths and period gardens, makes it a truly romantic place where many weddings are celebrated. During the summer, the rose garden is filled with thousands of colorful and fragrant roses. In the elegant 1878 greenhouse, you will find palm trees and other types of tropical plants.

The Great Square of the city of Malmö is presided over by the (equestrian) statue of Charles X Gustav (1622-1660), the king who, having ascended the throne after the abdication of Queen Christine, recovered Skåne in 1658 at the end of the first Northern War. Vast and rectangular (but converted into a parking lot), the square is bordered by some interesting buildings among which we will mention :

The town hall (Rådhuset) is the large brick building (on a base of ashlar) in the Dutch Renaissance style that dominates the east side. Built in 1546 (extensively remodeled in the ^19th century), it has a spectacular baroque gable in the center of its façade. Just to its right, the Apoteket Lejonet is worth a look for its interior, unchanged since the 1900s, and more specifically for its wooden furniture and beautiful earthenware jars.

At the corner of Kansligatan, Residentet is a building oscillating between baroque and neoclassical, and sporting a yellow façade. As its name suggests, this small palace was the governor's residence when it was built in the early ^17th century.

On the opposite side (Frans Sueligatan) stands one of the oldest buildings in the city, the Kock House (Kockska Huset). This stark, dark brick house with stepped gables dates from 1523 and was the former home of Mayor Jörgen Kock, who made Malmö the second largest city in the Danish kingdom. The basement now houses the city's most famous restaurant, Årstiderna.

The Paddan boats are small boats which, since 1939, have been sailing tourists and curious people on the canals of Gothenburg. They have become one of the symbols of the city over time and offer a very good approach to its history. Several guided tours are proposed, for example a commented cruise (in English) which takes us under about twenty bridges and makes us meet huge ships in the city's ports.

If you want to learn more about the city and get someone who knows a lot about the history of Gothenburg's streets and monuments, call Franziska. She is an English-speaking guide who knows Gothenburg like the back of her hand and can tell you everything you need to know about this beautiful western city. After an hour's guided tour through the streets of the city, the city will hold almost no secrets for you. Enough to satisfy the curious!

A remarkable museum that takes us back in time, from the first engraved stones dating from the^5th century to the reconstruction of a Gotland farm in the ^19th century, through the exceptional Viking treasures discovered in the north of the island and the geological curiosities of the "island of a hundred churches". Children will love the Ship o'Joy exhibition, where they can play together in boats, fishermen's huts and cargo ships. A small café and a store.