Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [200]
Information
The tourist office (21 21 21; www.orebro.se/turism; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat & Sun Sep-May, 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun Jun-Aug) is inside the castle.
Banks can be found along Drottninggatan, south of the castle. The library (21 10 00; Näbbtorgsgatan) has internet access.
Sights & Activities
The magnificent Slottet (21 21 21; www.orebroslott.se; guided tours adult/6-15yr Skr65/25; Jun-Aug) now serves as the county governor’s headquarters. While the castle was originally constructed in the late 13th century, most of what you see today is from 300 years later. The outside is far more dramatic than the interior (where the castle’s conference business is all too evident). Parts of the interior are open for exhibits, but to really explore you’ll need to take a tour; there’s a historical one at 4.30pm (in Swedish or English, depending on numbers) or ‘Secrets of the Vasa Fortress’ at 2.30pm (in English), which is a slightly toe-curling piece of costumed clowning around. Book either one through the tourist office. The northwest tower holds a small history exhibition (admission free; 10am-5pm daily May-Aug, noon-4pm Tue-Sun Sep-Apr).
East of the castle, Örebro is blessed with the Stadsträdgården, an idyllic and kid-friendly park once voted Sweden’s most beautiful. It stretches alongside Svartån (the Black River) and merges into the Wadköping museum village. The village contains craft workshops, a bakery and period buildings – including Kungsstugan (the King’s Lodgings; a medieval house with 16th-century ceiling paintings) and Cajsa Warg’s house (home of an 18th-century celebrity chef). You can wander round the village at any time, but the shops, cafe, displays and museums are open roughly 11am to 4pm (sometimes 5pm) Tuesday to Sunday year-round; there are guided tours at 1pm and 3pm June to August (Skr20).
The Länsmuseum & Konsthall (602 87 00; info@orebrolansmuseum.se; Engelbrektsgatan 3; admission free; 11am-5pm Tue-Sun, until 9pm Wed) has temporary exhibits, a permanent collection of artwork grouped by theme, and historical displays about the region (mostly in Swedish).
Many Swedish schools once had private natural history collections, but most were binned in the 1960s. Örebro’s Biologiska Museet (21 65 04; Fredsgatan; adult/under 16yr Skr25/10; 11am-2pm Mon-Fri mid-Jun–mid-Aug), in Karolinska Skolan, is a survivor, and is worth a glance for its tier upon tier of stuffed birds.
The 13th-century church St Nikolai Kyrka (Storgatan 27; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 11am-3pm Sat) has some historical interest: it’s where Jean Baptiste Bernadotte (Napoleon’s marshal) was chosen to take the Swedish throne. Just opposite, on Drottninggatan, is Rådhuset (town hall); if you’re around at the right time, stop to hear the chimes (12.05pm & 6.05pm year-round, plus 9pm Jun-Sep), when sculptures representing the city’s past, present and future come wheeling out of a high arched window.
The first of Sweden’s modern ‘mushroom’ water towers, Svampen (611 37 35; www.svampen.nu; Dalbygatan 4; admission free; 10am-6pm, until 9pm Wed) was built in 1958 and now functions as a lookout tower. There are good views of lake Hjälmaren and a cafe at the top (daily specials Skr95). Take bus 11.
Arboga Rederi (10 71 91; info@lagerbjelke.com) offers a number of cruises. Their evening trips on Hjälmaren (Skr250; 7pm Wednesday to Friday mid-May to September, plus Saturday in July) include an onboard shrimp supper.
Sleeping
Gustavsvik Camping (19 69 50; www.gustavsvik.se; Sommarrovägen; sites/cabins from Skr150/575; mid-Apr–early Nov; ) This camping facility is 2km south of the city centre. It’s huge and family-oriented, with pools, minigolf, a cafe, a gym, a restaurant and bike rental (Skr60 per day).