Cities
[edit]
- 1 Alingsås
- 2 Borås — once the home of the Swedish textile industry, still a centre for fashion design
- 3 Gothenburg (Göteborg) — By far the largest city in Västergötland, and the second largest in all of Sweden
- 4 Lidköping
- 5 Lindome
- 6 Mariestad
- 7 Mark
- 8 Skara — a millennial city, known for its cathedral, and the Skara Sommarland theme park.
- 9 Skövde — the small town that feels like a city is easy to get to from both Stockholm and Gothenburg.
- 10 Tidaholm
- 11 Trollhättan
- 12 Ulricehamn
- 13 Vänersborg
Other destinations
[edit]- 1 Gothenburg archipelago
- 2 Hornborgasjön — a famous bird reserve at Falköping
- 3 Karlsborg — a small garrison town with a large fortress. Sweden's backup capital in the case of a foreign invasion.
Understand
[edit]Västergötland was the core territory of the Geats, götar, a tribe that has been associated with the Goths. Around AD 1000, they united with the Suiones, svear, to form Sweden. Älvsborg, at present-day Gothenburg, was Sweden's only western port until the 17th century. Västergötland was the centre of the Swedish textile industry, until de-industrialization in the mid-20th century.
The people of Västergötland are rumoured to be humorous and optimistic.
Get in
[edit]By plane
[edit]Both Landvetter Airport (GOT IATA) serves Gothenburg, the largest city in the region. Airlines include SAS, FlyMe [1], Lufthansa [2][dead link], KLM [3] and Ryanair [4]. Two other airports in the region are Trollhättan Airport and Halmstad Airport, with flights from Stockholm only.
By train
[edit]Train go to Gothenburg, from Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Kalmar, Luleå and more cities.
Get around
[edit]Public transport in Västra Götaland is organized by Västtrafik.
See
[edit]- See also: Skaraborg history tour
- 1 Läckö Castle (Lidköping). A 13th-century castle situated by the Lake Vänern.
- 2 Lake Hornborga (Hornborgasjön) (Falköping). A lake famous for birdwatching. Known as the lake where up to 12,000 cranes stop on their way back from warmer countries.
Do
[edit]- Liseberg. The biggest amusement park in all of Scandinavia - is in Gothenburg.
- Anten - Gräfsnäs Vintage Railroad. A well preserved vintage railroad line running along the lake Anten not far from Alingsås. With a length of 12 km, it runs during the summer months.
- 1 Ale Vikingagård, Vikingavägen (25 km north of Gothenburg along E45, a few km south of Älvängen), [email protected]. Irregular hours, not daily. A Viking farm. Events throughout the year including feasts and markets in the spring (early May), autumn after harvest time in late October to early November and around Jul, a Norse pagan celebration at Christmas time.
Eat
[edit]Drink
[edit]Stay safe
[edit]Though not as cold as further north, western Sweden has the country's wettest and foggiest climate. Occasional flooding of river valleys during severe weather, and thunderstorms. See storms.
Go next
[edit]