The Göta Canal stretches between Sjötorp on Lake Vänern and Mem at the Baltic, with 58 locks along the way. Discover the unique atmosphere, the sights, the activities, the exquisite food, the convenient services and the glorious landscape surronding the canal.

The Göta Canal is open for traffic from 2 May-28 September 2008.

Bicycling
The canal area offers many pleasant alternatives for a nice bike ride. Book a packages and rent a bike or bring your own for a nice ride along the Göta Canal. Expect to take plenty of breaks, since there’s so much to discover along the canal, from watching lockages to enjoying an aromatic coffee break at one of the many cafés.

Passengerboats
If you’d like to enjoy the canal from a boat deck, try the M/S Bellevue, M/S Sandön or M/S Ceres, which traffic the canal between Sjötorp, Töreboda and Karlsborg.
Feast your eyes on the ancient trees, lovely buildings, peacefully grazing cattle and all the other typical sights of the Swedish countryside. All the passengers gather at the railing at regular intervals to get a front-row view of the lockages.

Sjötorp - Lyrestad - Norrkvarn
If you’re looking for pleasant canal-side life, visit Sjötorp, the Göta Canal’s port to Lake Vänern. For boaters, Sjötorp is the first or last contact with the Göta Canal. Watching the locks open and close is a beloved activity. The canal has 21 locks between lakes Vänern and Vättern, and eight of them are in Sjötorp.
 Sjötorp has a visitors’ centre in summer with tourist information, bicycle rentals, souvenir shop, canal museum and collections of old motors. There are also eateries, a fish shop, artisans, a youth hostel, a bed and breakfast and more.

The guest harbour in Lyrestad is a popular meeting place for boaters, motorists and bicycle tourists. The area is extra lively when the passenger boats arrive.
In summer, the local history society opens its museum in the old harbour storehouse, Hamnmagasinet, where you can also stop for a coffee and see how a turn-of-the-century country store looked.

At the Norrkvarn lock, east of Lyrestad, is a new, exciting adventure land for the whole family, with a restaurant, pub, entertainment on the pier, hotel, hostel, guest harbour, children’s mini canal and other attractions like the unique accommodation in enchanted tree stumps.

The canal area around Hajstorp has nine locks, where you can take a break and just enjoy the canal environment. Plan in your coffee break for Hajstorp, which has a cosy café in the old lock-keeper’s residence. Afterwards, you can see and buy high-quality crafts in the old storehouse, just a stone’s throw from the Göta Canal, where the “Craftsmen of the Canal” have their exhibition and sales. In the tracts around Hajstorp and Fredsberg, you can experience culture and modern history, thanks to the enthusiasm of the locals.

The new pool and camping area on the eastern side of the guest harbour is a new attraction in Töreboda. A heated outdoor pool and a children’s pool are now  ready.
The campsite is the first in central Töreboda, offering some 60 spaces along the Göta Canal.

Just south of the station house, Europe’s smallest ferry in regular traffic – the Lina – shuttles passengers across the canal for just 50 öre.

Vassbacken’s guest harbour is always bustling in the peak season. Hostels, camping, cottages and café. Entertainment and dance are also popular elements in summer.

Lanthöjden is the highest point through which the canal was dug – 91.5 m above sea level! The point is marked by a tall obelisk. There is a grill pit here and a wood-burning sauna for canal guests.

Tåtorp is an idyll where the canal empties into Lake Viken. This is the site of one of the canal’s two hand-operated locks, a café and an ice-cream veranda. Spend a night in our ecological hostel!
Near Tåtorps Café & Logi lies the Göta Canal Nordic Walking Center. Nordic Walking – or “pole walking” – has become a popular sport throughout Europe. Tåtorp has everything you need: marked trails along the canal, weekend courses, instructions, tips, maps and poles for sale or rent.

Karlsborg is an idyllic summer town offering everything from the famous Karlsborg Fortress to the good times in life with relaxation, good food and drink in a cosy environment. Lake Vättern is a key element of life in the town, with boating, clear waters for bathing, and a gorgeous archipelago with beautiful natural harbours.

Karlsborg Fortress has given the town its name and is now a monument to a bygone era. It was built as a central defence in the country, intended to house the Swedish Parliament, the royal family, the crown jewels and the nation’s gold reserves in the event of war. With a circumference of five kilometres, the Karlsborg Fortress is one of Europe’s biggest constructions. Tourists come in droves each year to experience the fortress adventure and feel the wings of history within its thick stone walls.

The Tiveden National Park is the magical enchanted forest between Lakes Vättern and Vänern. Once a hideout for robbers and bandits, the woods are a mighty natural experience. Among the tall trees and mossy rocks are 25 km of marked trails, well labelled and easy to follow. A manned information centre can provide you with tips and maps, and even food for your lunch bag.

Forsvik, a little community just north-west of Karlsborg, has pursued industrial activities for nearly 600 years. Over the years, Forsvik has taken advantage of all the industrial opportunities it could – milling flour, sawing lumber and smelting iron. Forsvik is also home to the canal’s oldest lock, dating back to 1813.
The town sees much activity in the summer months, with a shipyard, theatre, commerce, hotels and restaurants. The shipyard is building a replica of the paddle steamer Eric Nordevall using the technologies and craftsmanship of the original’s day and age. Guided tours in the industrial area teach about Sweden’s period of industrial greatness.

Adventure or relaxation
There’s plenty to do in Karlsborg. But sometimes it’s nice not to have to do anything. Just sit there and find your inner peace.
“A lot of stressed-out people are looking for peace and quiet, without knowing that’s what they want,” says guide Tor Axelsson. “It can be very relaxing to sit on a bench by one of the locks on the canal and just watch people working with their boats.

Contact the tourist office for more information on food, accommodation, events, sights and activities.

Mariestad tourist office
Kyrkogatan 2
Phone +46(0)501-75 58 50

Töreboda Tourist office
The guest harbour (summer open).
Phone +46 (0)506-101 30, 189 40 (year round).

Karlsborgs Turism AB
Storgatan 65
Phone +46 (0)505-173 50

For more information, visit:
www.gotakanal.se