Goteborg has only one skyscraper, the 22-story Utkiken, or Lookout, with a central observatory in the shape of a periscope.



Surrounded by walls, bastions and a moat, Goteborg was one of the most well-defended fortresses in Northern Europe. The appearance of the city has changed during the 19th century. The fortresses were demolished and made way for the Kungsparken park. The city expanded, some of the canals were filled in, the harbours and quays were extended.

Nordstan is Skandinavia's biggest shopping mall with 150 shops. It is packed with all sorts of shops and stores as well as pubs, restaurants and cafes and it is home to a large indoor square for entertainment events. It has 6000 employees, more than 30 million visitors and 1.5 million vehicles in and out of the massive car park every year.

Some of the most famous Swedish chefs are to be found in Goteborg, and according to most critics in the trade, Goteborg is the city, which has the most high-class restaurants per capita in the whole of Scandinavia. One of the reasons why such good food is made in Goteborg is having the raw products available on the doorstep. The main culinary attraction is the local seafood, prawns, lobsters and a wide selection of fish. The city has been home to seven of the last 12 national Chef of the Year titles as decided in a national competition.

The East India House Goteborg was built 1747-62 as storage and offices for the East India Company. Today home of the Goteborg City Musuem. It was filled with the riches of the Orient, including exotic spices, silks, and fine porcelain. Despite great success in the beginning, the company went bankrupt in 1809.

Goteborgsoperan is the pride of Gothenburg, a glass-fronted building erected at the edge of a harbour that a century ago was known throughout the world for its shipbuilding.. Today, views from this building encompass what remains of Gothenburg's heavy industry. The opera is completely closed during July and August.

Rohsska Konstslojdmuseet dates from 1916, this is Sweden's only museum of applied art. The museum is well laid out, almost in textbook fashion, with each floor devoted to a different epoch of decorative art. Some of the artefacts here date back 1,000 years.