Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [203]
Hembygdsgård (Hagavägen; admission free; noon-3pm Mon-Fri mid-Jun–mid-Aug) has a collection of old wooden farm buildings, and a children’s zoo with rabbits, sheep and ducks.
Sleeping & Eating
Husabergsudde Camping (71 14 35; www.husabergsudde.se; sites low/high season Skr140/160, cabins from Skr330; May-Aug) This is a large, lakeside camping ground with top amenities, 1.5km south of town on highway 50. You can rent canoes and rowing boats (Skr35/180 per hour/day) and bicycles (Skr15/75 per hour/day). There’s no public transport to the site, and the reception closes at 3pm on Sundays.
Tivedstorp (0584-47 20 90; www.tivedstorp.se; dm Skr160, s/d from Skr290/380; Mar-Oct) Newly added to the STF network, this complex has hostel accommodation in cute red grass-roofed cabins, plus a cafe (open 10am to 7pm daily June to August, and 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday May and September) and activity centre. It’s about 3km north of the Tiveden National Park information centre; you’ll need your own transport to get here.
Café Garvaregården (104 45; www.cafegarvaregarden.com; Sundsgatan; r summer Skr700, s/d winter Skr500/600) This desperately lovely B&B in the centre of town is a real find. It offers simple but charming accommodation in an 18th-century house, around a flower-filled courtyard. There’s an inviting cafe downstairs (open 10am to 5pm; weekends only in winter).
Aspa Herrgård (502 10; www.aspaherrgard.se; s/d from Skr1330/1990, discounted to Skr795/1590; ) For a true treat, try this luxurious boutique hotel, based in a 17th-century manor house in a comely country setting (17km south of town on Rd 49). With its draped beds, flowery cushions and graceful Greek statues, it’s the perfect place for a romantic weekend. There’s also an exclusive restaurant (nonguests should reserve) and a tiny Bellman museum.
Café Tutingen (141 39; Storgatan; pastries Skr35, sandwiches Skr40-65) Built in 1784, this charming cafe across the square from the tourist office has low ceilings, warped old floorboards and mismatched but shapely seating, and does good sandwiches and excellent pastries, baked on the premises. Best of all is the garden, filled with roses and daisies, and containing the perfect balance of sun and shade.
Wärdshuset Sundsgården (100 88; Sundsbrogatan 1; lunch Skr65, meals Skr75-180) For dining, the pick of the pile is this fetching old inn. It has a riverside deck so you can sit in the sun and watch the boats sail by, and a selection of good-value light meals (baked potatoes, pasta, salads) for under Skr100.
Getting There & Around
Länstrafiken buses 708 and 841 each run four times on weekdays to Örebro (841 doesn’t run in July). Bus 704 runs frequently to the mainline train station at Hallsberg.
Husabergsudde Camping does bike and boat hire (Click here).
Return to beginning of chapter
VÄRMLAND
KARLSTAD
054 / pop 81,770
A pleasant and compact town centre wrapped in layers of perpetually snarled traffic, Karlstad makes itself useful as a base for travellers pursuing outdoor activities in Värmland. There are several sights worth seeing in town, and a large student population means it has a decent restaurant and bar scene.
Sharing the same building as the library at the edge of the town centre, the tourist office (29 84 00; www.karlstad.se; Bibliotekshuset, Västra Torggatan 26; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat, 10am-3pm Sun mid-Jun–late Aug; 9am-6pm Mon-Thu, 9am-5pm Fri, 10am-3pm Sat late Aug–mid-Jun) has lots of info on both town and county (including fresh-air escapes in the region’s forests) and its rivers and lakes. Internet access is available in the library. Banks and ATMs line Storgatan.
Sights & Activities
The award-winning and imaginative Värm-lands Museum (14 31