🇮🇪 Dublin → 🇸🇪 Gothenburg · 2 weeks

Gothenburg invented the Swedish seafood tradition of 'havskräfta' (langoustines) from the west coast boats — eat them at Feskekôrka (the Church of Fish), the city's covered fish market on the canal. Tuesday to Saturday mornings are when the catch is freshest; the fishmongers will steam them on the spot.

Take the Styrsöbolaget ferry to Styrsö or Donsö island in the southern archipelago (departs from Saltholmen, reachable by tram 11) — the bare granite skerry landscape is quintessential west Sweden and the local restaurant Brygghuset on Styrsö serves the best fish soup in the archipelago. Go on a weekday in June or August.

The Gothenburg Museum of Art (Göteborgs Konstmuseum) on Götaplatsen holds one of the best Nordic art collections outside Stockholm — particularly strong on early 20th-century Swedish painters and the Gothenburg Colourists. Arrive on a weekday morning and go straight to the top floor; crowd density at Götaplatsen is always light.

Haga district is the preserved 19th-century working-class neighbourhood south of the canal — the cobblestone main street (Haga Nygata) has independent coffee roasters, vintage shops, and the city's best cinnamon buns (kanelbullar) at Café Husaren, which are the size of your head. Go at 10am when they come fresh from the oven.