Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [94]
Nyfickan (19 06 86; lunch Skr60) In a quirky brick building that once belonged to the match-making empire, Nyfickan is part of the town’s cultural centre. Chill out boho-style with good coffee, cakes, tacos, falafel and sandwiches. There’s a decent veggie selection, and gluten- and sugar-free options.
Karlssons (71 21 60; Västra Storgatan 9; meals Skr99-239; from 5pm Sun-Fri, from 6pm Sat) Beside the Scandic Hotel Portalen, Karlssons is Jönköping’s hottest new resto-bar. Slip into the slick interior (or onto the buzzing roof terrace) for well-mixed cocktails and bistro-style brilliance like pan-fried salmon with potato salad and lime yoghurt.
Mäster Gudmunds Källare (10 06 40; Kapellgatan 2; lunch Skr70, dinner mains Skr139-199; closed Sun summer) This much-loved restaurant sits in a 17th-century cellar, with beautiful vaulted ceilings and good-value lunches. Evening mains are mainly meaty and fishy local dishes, with a few nods to French fare.
Other worthy cafes include Claras Coffeebar (30 01 15; Barnarpsgatan 18) and Bernards Konditori (71 11 21; Kyrkogatan 12).
Just around the corner from Scandic Hotel Portalen is a Hemköp supermarket (Barnarpsgatan; 8am-8pm). Nearby is the Systembolaget (cnr Skolgatan & Trädgårdsgatan).
Getting There & Around
Jönköping airport (31 11 00) is located about 8km southwest of the town centre. Skyways (0771-95 95 00) has daily flights to/from Stockholm Arlanda, and SAS (0770-72 77 27) operates six flights weekly to/from Copenhagen. Bus 18 serves the airport, or else a taxi costs around Skr180.
Most local buses leave from opposite Juneporten on Västra Storgatan. Local transport is run by Jönköpings Länstrafik (0771-44 43 33; www.jlt.se, in Swedish; Juneporten; 7.30am-6pm Mon-Fri); there’s an office with information, tickets and passes in Juneporten.
The long-distance bus station is next to the train station. There are at least eight daily Swebus Express (0771-21 82 18; www.swebusexpress.com) services to Göteborg (Skr134, two hours) and Stockholm (Skr312, 4½ hours); at least three to Helsingborg (Skr263, three hours) and Malmö (Skr293, 4½ hours); and two to Karlstad (Skr250, four hours). Bus4You (0771-44 40 00; www.bus4u.se, in Swedish) runs its Stockholm–Göteborg route via Jönköping several times daily. Svenska Buss (0771-67 67 67; www.svenskabuss.se, in Swedish) also operates a daily service each way between Göteborg and Stockholm.
Jönköping is on a regional train line; you’ll need to change trains in either Nässjö or Falköping to get to or from larger towns.
Taxi Jönköping (34 40 00) is the local taxi company. You can hire bicycles from Marinbod (12 04 87; Hamnpiren; per day Skr150; May-early Sep).
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GRÄNNA & VISINGSÖ
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All that’s missing from Gränna are Oompa-Loompas. The scent of sugar hangs over the village, and shops overflow with the village’s trademark red-and-white peppermint rock (polkagris). It’s a touristy spot, but the steep streets, lakeside location and excellent polar exhibition redeem the place.
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THE GÖTA CANAL
Not only is the Göta Canal Sweden’s greatest civil engineering feat, idling along it on a boat or cycling the towpaths is one of the best ways to soak up Gotland’s gorgeous countryside.
The canal connects the North Sea with the Baltic Sea, and links the great lakes Vättern and Vänern. Its total length is 190km, although only around 87km is human-made – the rest is rivers and lakes. It was built between 1802 and 1832 by a burly team of some 60,000 soldiers, and provided a hugely valuable transport and trade link between Sweden’s east and west coasts.
The canal has two sections: the eastern section from Mem (southeast of Norrköping) to Motala, (north of Vadstena on Vättern); and the western section from Karlsborg (on Vättern) to Sjötorp (on the shores of Vänern). The system is then linked to the sea by the Trollhätte Canal, in Västergötland. Along these stretches of the canal are towpaths, used in earlier times by horses and oxen pulling barges. Nowadays they’re the domain of walkers and cyclists,