Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [170]
There’s a supermarket near the harbour.
Bus 375 runs the Uddevalla–Henån–Ellös route around seven times a day from Monday to Friday, continuing to Mollösund on six of these journeys (two buses Saturday and Sunday). The Orustexpressen bus runs several times on weekdays direct from Göteborg to Henån; otherwise change in Stenungsund or Lysekil.
Lysekil & Around
0523 / pop 14,630
With its air of faded grandeur, the former spa resort of Lysekil feels oddly like an English seaside town. It pampers summer visitors less than other Bohuslän towns, but there’s something strangely refreshing about this unfussed attitude.
The tourist office (130 50; info@lysekilsturist.se; Södra Hamngatan 6; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat, 11am-3pm Sun late Jun–mid-Aug, phone for times mid-Aug–late Jun) offers information on various summer boat tours, including island-hopping swimming trips to fishing jaunts.
The town is amply serviced, with banks and supermarket. The public library (61 33 72; Kungsgatan 18; noon-8pm Mon-Thu, noon-3pm Fri mid-Jun–mid-Aug, 10am-6pm Mon-Wed, 10am-7pm Thu, 10am-3pm Fri, 10am-1pm Sat mid-Aug–mid-Jun) has free internet access.
SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
Havets Hus (66 81 60; www.havetshus.se; Strandvägen 9; adult/5-14yr Skr90/45; 10am-4pm mid-Feb–Oct, to 6pm mid-Jun–mid-Aug) is an aquarium with sea life from Sweden’s only true fjord, which cuts past Lysekil. Wolffish, lumpsuckers, anglerfish…all the cold-water beauties are here.
Lysekil harbours some interesting architecture from its 19th-century spa days: old bathing huts and Curmans villor, the wooden seafront houses built in romantic ‘Old Norse’ style. Carl Curman was the resort’s famous physician, who persuaded visitors that Lysekil’s sea bathing was a complete cure-all. Crooked street Gamla Strandgatan peddles a too-cute collection of painted wooden abodes.
Perched on a hill, the neo-Gothic pink granite church (10am-3pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sun, closed Sat) has some superb paintings and stained-glass panes honouring local working life.
Out at the tip of the Stångenäs peninsula, the Stångehuvud Nature Reserve, crammed with coastal rock slab, is worth a stop for its peaceful bathing spots and wooden lookout tower.
Seal safaris (66 81 60; adult/under 14yr Skr160/90, combined ticket with Havets Hus Skr220/210; 1pm & 2.30pm Sun-Fri late Jun–mid-Aug) lasting 1½ hours leave from near Havets Hus: buy tickets at Havets Hus. Recommended three-hour boat trips to the picture-perfect island of Käringön depart twice weekly in summer; contact the tourist office for details.
Passenger-only ferries cross the Gullmarn fjord roughly hourly to Fiskebäckskil, where there are cobbled streets, wood-clad houses and lauded seafood restaurant Brygghuset (222 22). The interior of the church recalls an upturned boat, with votive ships and impressive ceiling and wall paintings.
SLEEPING & EATING
The tourist office can book private rooms (singles/doubles from Skr270/550) for a Skr100 fee.
Siviks Camping (61 15 28; fax 127 27; sites low/high season Skr150/250; mid-May–mid-Sep) Built on large pink-granite slabs by a sandy beach 2km north of town, Siviks is the best campsite in the area, with ample swimming opportunities. Facilities include shop, restaurant, minigolf, dance floor and laundry.
Strand Vandrarhem & Hotell (797 51; www.strandflickorna.se; Strandvägen 1; dm Skr300, s/d hostel Skr750/750, hotel Skr935/1120; ) The friendly ‘beach girls’ run a choice of accommodation not far from Havets Hus. The hostel is a typically good SVIF choice, with hotel-style rooms on offer too; some have sea views.
Havshotell (797 50; Turistaten 13; s/d Sk995/1595; ) Run by the hostel folk, this more upmarket option is based in a sensitively renovated turn-of-the-20th-century house. The atmospheric rooms feature a seafaring/historical theme.
Café Kungsgatan (160