Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [84]
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REGIONAL TOURIST OFFICES
Visitors can contact the following for more detailed information on the area:
Gotlands Turistförening (0498-20 17 00; www.gotland.info; Skeppsbron 4-6, 62125, Visby)
Kalmar Turistbyrå (0480-41 77 00; www.kalmar.se, in Swedish; Box 23, 39120 Kalmar)
Smålands Turism (036-35 12 70; www.visit-smaland.com; Lantmätargränd 2, Box 1027, 55111 Jönköping)
Turism i Kronoberg (0470-74 25 70; turism.kronoberg@kommun.vaxjo.se; Stationen, Norra Järnvägsgatan, 35230 Växjö)
Ölands Turist (0485-56 06 00; www.olandsturist.se; Träffpunkt Öland, Box 74, 38621 Färjestaden)
Östsvenska Turistrådet (011-15 51 20; www.ostgotaporten.com; 60181 Norrköping)
Getting Around
Small airports are scattered through the region, usually with daily direct flights to/from Stockholm and Copenhagen; see destination sections for details.
Year-round ferry services connect Visby on Gotland to both Oskarshamn and Nynäshamn.
Express buses mainly travel along the coast (to Västervik, Oskarshamn, Kalmar and Karlskrona), follow the E4 via Jönköping, or cruise along Rd 33 from Jönköping to Västervik (via Eksjö and Vimmerby). A few express services go through the region’s interior; these are operated by Svenska Buss (0771-67 67 67; www.svenskabuss.se, in Swedish) and Swebus Express (0771-21 82 18; www.swebusexpress.com).
The main Malmö–Stockholm railway runs through the region, but you’ll have to change to local trains to reach most places of interest. Sveriges Järnväg (SJ; www.sj.se) trains run north from Karlskrona to Kalmar.
There are also SJ services from Kalmar to Linköping, and an inland route from Kalmar to Göteborg. Although the Nässjö–Jönköping and Nässjö–Falköping trains are run by Vättertåg, tickets are purchased through SJ (0771-75 75 75) or Tågkompaniet (0771-44 41 11).
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FOR FOODIES
Krakas Krog
Smakrike Krog & Logi
Bakfickan
Stångs Magasin
Choklad Companiet
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The following companies provide regional transport links. If you’re planning to spend some time here, enquire about monthly passes or a sommarkort, offering discount travel from Midsummer to mid-August. Check also the respective websites for routes, schedules, fares and passes; these sites don’t always have information in English, but you’ll usually reach someone who speaks English if you call.
Jönköpings Länstrafik (0771-44 43 33; www.jlt.se)
Kalmar Läns Trafik (0491-76 12 00; www.klt.se)
Kollektiv Trafiken (0491-21 41 12)
Länstrafiken Kronoberg (0771-76 70 76; www.lanstrafikenkron.se)
ÖstgötaTrafiken (0771-21 10 10; www.ostgotatrafiken.se)
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ÖSTERGÖTLAND
Östergötland harbours gems on both sides of the Göta Canal, which threads diagonally across the region. Along its banks, the region’s main towns are mostly 19th-century industrial heartlands, laced with some impressive postindustrial conversions. The region’s west, bordered by the mighty Lake Vättern, is a lo-fi treat of flat lush countryside steeped in ancient history. This is where you’ll find Sweden’s rune stone superstar and the unmissable medieval town of Vadstena.
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NORRKÖPING
011 / pop 126,680
The envy of industrial has-beens all across Europe, Norrköping has cleverly regenerated its defunct mills and canals into a posse of cultural and gastronomic hang-outs fringing waterfalls and locks. Retro trams rattle down streets lined with eclectic architecture, while some 30km to the northeast, the animal park at Kolmården swaps urban regeneration for majestic Siberian tigers.
Norrköping’s industrial identity began in the 17th century, but took off in the late 19th century when textile mills and factories sprang up alongside the swift-flowing Motala ström. Seventy per cent of Sweden’s textiles were once made here, the last mill shutting shop in the 1970s.
Information
Banks and ATMs line Drottninggatan.
Forex