Gothenburg: Sweden's most beautiful harbour

Founded by the Dutch in the 17th century with canals inspired by Amsterdam, Gothenburg remains Sweden's principal commercial port.

The centre is easily explored on foot or with historic trams.

The Avenyn, the main tree-lined avenue of the city, connects the historic center to the museum districts with shops and cafes on both sides.

A short walk away, the Haga district, with its wooden houses from the nineteenth century, is renowned for the large cinnamon buns served in historic local cafes, often with lines since morning.

Continuing on, you visit Feskekôrka, a fish market covered and built in the form of a Gothic church, which has been selling fresh North Sea fish since 1874.

In the evening, the canals in the center, navigable with tourist boats, recall the Dutch origins of the city's urban planning, with low stone bridges.

The Feskekôrka, whose name literally means 'church of the fish' in local dialect, was built with that architectural form out of irony by nineteenth-century designers.

Gothenburg still handles the majority of Sweden's maritime freight traffic, a role it has maintained since its founding as a Dutch commercial outpost.