West Coast and Bohuslän

North of Gothenburg begins Bohuslän, the most beautiful stretch of the Swedish West Coast. Over around 150 kilometres up to the Norwegian border, thousands of islands and skerries line up one after another. Typical features are the smooth, polished, reddish granite rocks, the small fishing villages with their red boathouses and the clear, salty water of the Skagerrak.

The most beautiful places

• Marstrand: a car-free island with Carlsten Fortress, elegant wooden villas and a well-known sailing harbour.
• Smögen: famous for its long wooden boardwalk, Smögenbryggan, lined with colourful boathouses and fish shops.
• Fjällbacka: a picturesque village beneath a mighty rock. The actress Ingrid Bergman spent her summers here, and Camilla Läckberg’s crime novels are set in Fjällbacka.
• Grebbestad: the centre of Swedish oyster fishing.
• Lysekil: with the Havets Hus marine aquarium.
• Strömstad: a lively small town just before the Norwegian border and the starting point for the Koster Islands.
• Tjörn and Orust: two large islands linked by bridges, with artists’ villages and the Nordic Watercolour Museum in Skärhamn.

Nature and World Heritage

Off Strömstad lies Kosterhavet National Park, Sweden’s first marine national park. The two car-free Koster Islands are best explored by bike. Cold-water corals live under the water, while seals sun themselves on the rocks.

Near Tanum you will find hundreds of Bronze Age rock carvings, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The images, around 3,000 years old, show ships, people, animals and scenes from everyday life. A museum explains their meaning.

Seafood

The West Coast is a paradise for lovers of fish and shellfish. Lobster, langoustines, shrimp, oysters and mussels come fresh from the cold water here. The lobster season begins in autumn. Many places then offer so-called seafood safaris, on which guests head out to sea with the fishermen. A simple shrimp sandwich at the harbour is part of every visit.

Activities

• Swimming: straight from the warm rocks into the sea, or on small sandy beaches.
• Kayaking: the archipelago is considered one of the best paddling areas in Europe.
• Sailing: there are guest harbours in almost every town and village.
• Hiking: on the Kuststigen coastal trail or in the Ramsvikslandet nature reserve with its bizarre rock formations.
• Climbing: Bohuslän’s granite is known among climbers throughout Europe.

Getting there and best time to visit

The usual starting point is Gothenburg, which can be reached directly by ferry from Kiel in Germany. From there, the E6 motorway runs north parallel to the coast. The coastal villages lie at the end of side roads, so a car or bicycle is a good idea.

The high season is July, when half of Sweden is on holiday here. The towns are then crowded and prices are high. June and the weeks from mid-August are often nicer. In autumn the lobster season is the big draw; in winter many restaurants are closed.