A treat lay in store for our last full day in Gothenburg as we had been invited to visit the newly opened World of Volvo exhibition centre located close to the Liseberg Amusement Park. We boarded a tram to the nearest stop at Liseberg Södra from where it was just a short walk to the museum. This new purpose built building replaced the former Volvo Museum which closed its doors in December 2023.
The museum is inspired by Scandinavian nature in its design with its striking timber structure and huge floor to ceiling windows flooding the building with natural light. Standard entrance to the museum is SEK 225 (£16.50) with timed entry slots needed to be pre-booked in advance on-line.
Volvo opened its new home on 14th April, 2024 exactly 97 years to the day since the first Volvo vehicle rolled off the production line in its Gothenburg factory. The spacious entrance foyer has three vehicles on display and leads up to an attractive cafe/restaurant which is open to non-ticket holders.
State-of-the-art glass lifts whisked us up to the exhibition area on the first floor which begins by taking visitors through a time tunnel documenting the company’s history and founders. From there we moved into the vast exhibition hall to view the large selection of vehicles on display.
The museum covers the development of Sweden’s leading vehicle manufacturer Volvo from the first ÖV 4 to the latest models. As Volvo is noted for its focus on reliability and safety, it has long been one of the world’s most prominent brands in motor manufacturing.
Dozens of models from Volvo’s heritage fleet are on show but we were disappointed that the V70, a beloved estate car of ours some time ago was missing from the display. On enquiring about this, it was pointed out that as there was insufficient space to showcase all of the collection, it was planned to rotate the line up every few months.
Not only were cars on display but there were hands on activities too. Our favourite being to take the control of a full size excavator, scooping up rubber balls then adding them to a pile further round the ball pit. Equally exciting was feeling the sensation of getting blown away in a wind tunnel and driving a simulator which tested our responsiveness to on-road hazards.
The museum will undoubtedly soon become one of Gothenburg’s main attractions and is a great place to spend a couple of hours whether you are a car lover or not. World of Volvo
Leaving motor vehicles behind, we boarded a tram back to the city centre to enjoy an afternoon stroll through the city centre. Trådgårdsresan Park is located just a five minute walk from the central railway station. This 19th century park is operated by the Garden Society of Gothenburg, is free to visit and is one of the best preserved gardens of its type in Europe.
During our visit in early May spring flowers were in bloom looking beautiful and for anyone visiting during the summer months I’m led to believe that the rose garden is absolutely delightful having more than 1200 different varieties of roses.
Located in the centre of the park stands the Palm House which dates from 1878 and is constructed from glass and cast iron. It’s free to go inside and contains many exotic plants and palms in Mediterranean climatic conditions. Unfortunately most of the labelling is only in Swedish but we were able to translate by using our phones.
Back outdoors, we strolled through the walled gardens surrounding the old Manor House where we found a pleasant cafe, water features and an outdoor stage. The gardens are an oasis of calm and being so centrally situated, a definite ‘must see’ on any visit to the city.
We hadn’t yet had an opportunity to visit Gothenburg Cathedral as it was closed to visitors for services on the previous day so we headed there next. Unfortunately much of the neo-classical style yellow exterior was covered in scaffolding due to ongoing renovation works and not looking its best but as the interior was unaffected we were able to look inside. Admission free.
The church is the third cathedral on the site having been completed in 1815. Stepping inside, the bright and spacious church features a golden altarpiece and an impressive organ in the golds and whites of the classical style.
After enjoying one last meal in the city centre, sadly our weekend in Gothenburg was drawing to a close so we returned to the hotel to collect our luggage before taking the airport bus back to Landvetter airport. Coaches depart from the newly opened bus station every 20 minutes. On arrival we had purchased return tickets at SEK 259 (£19) per person which offered best value. The bus also picks up from outside the central station which may be more convenient depending on where you are staying.
Back at the airport the Ryanair desk had yet to open so it was a good excuse to enjoy cups of coffee in Espresso House, a very popular Swedish cafe with branches throughout the country. I hope you have enjoyed this series of posts on Gothenburg and will find them helpful in planning a visit to western Sweden.
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Our visit was supported by Visit Gothenburg and as always, all views and opinions are entirely my own.
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