Gothenburg, Sweden's second city

Gothenburg, Sweden's second city A work visit, 09-11/04/2008

HOTEL: Hotel Gothia Towers Massans gata 24, Box 5184 402 26 Goteborg

It's a lovely city of just the right size: everything is within reach. Along the Kungsportsavenyn (the main avenue of Gothenburg) you easily reach the city's port (the largest in Scandinavia), where you can admire the opera house and the splendid boats moored there. Along the avenue, of course, there's no shortage of shops of all kinds, including Nordstan, the largest shopping centre in all of Sweden. Unfortunately I only had a few hours to visit it, and although people spoke very highly to me about the maritime museum, having few hours I preferred to breathe in the atmosphere of the city by wandering here and there.

I was lucky also with the weather conditions: bright sunshine for 2 and a half days out of 3 of my stay (a rare thing given that the city is famous for its rain and changeable climate); a shame that many of them I spent working, though closed inside a splendid glass office directly overlooking the sea, with a completely relaxed atmosphere as well. Some of the major Scandinavian industrial groups are also based in Gothenburg, such as Volvo, SFK and ESAB. Verdict on the hotel: not very new but impressive for its height (23 floors). It's fairly central (it stands right opposite Liseberg, which is the largest and finest amusement park in Northern Europe and one of Sweden's greatest attractions overall) and from here you can easily reach the Kungsportsavenyn and then the sea.

One of the hotel's restaurants, located on the 23rd floor, besides being thoroughly enjoyable for the excellent food served, offers a breathtaking view over the city!