This year we’re mixing things up. Keep your Crimbo turkey and Bruges market trip…

We’re having julskinka (ham) and glögg (spicy wine) in GOTHENBURG 🎄 Going to call it now, this is the most underrated Christmas destination going.

Gothenburg are going big for Christmas this year, with seafood spreads, sustainable markets, and ice rink madness around every sparkly corner 🎁Here’s why we stan the Burg...

Gothenburg, ey?

We get it. You thought Bruges, Vienna, and Strasbourg had Christmas all wrapped up. Then along comes Gothenburg. The upstart. The ‘second’ city... Your mum would probs call it “hip.”

But here’s why this is your ideal alt Christmas break, there are twisty canals wrapped round leafy streets and neoclassical architecture next to art galleries in warehouses. It was the European Capital of Smart Tourism for 2020 AND is one of the most sustainable destinations in the world.

And, you guys… the world is big

Liseberg Market madness

“LOL what is this, a Christmas market for ants?” - Liseberg to every other Christmas market 🐜

This is Sweden’s biggest Christmas market drawing in a mindblowing 500,000 Scrooges (they get converted, obvs) and Tiny Tim’s every year. It’s got food stalls serving up smokey sausages and spiced wines, craft huts for shopping, and Valkyria… Europe’s longest ‘dive coaster.’

We also recommend the Tjöloholm Castle Christmas Market. It’s on from the 12th to the 28th November and is an actual fairytale come to life 🏰 Browse the sustainable exhibitor's gifts, walk through the ‘shower of sweets’, and check out the fire show. All in the shadow of a castle.

Sustainability is big here 💚 Some exhibitors are creating dishes from leftover food and others are planting fir trees for every product sold.

Run into Christmas...

Work off those lussekatter (saffron buns) with a city run 😋 Hear us out. Gothenburg is decked out like a life-size bauble. There are strings of fairy lights across the streets and decorations in the shopfronts.

This is a run with a difference. It’s a 6k that weaves its way through (!) shops and alleys, salons, and coffee shops. It’s on 5th December and it’s proper Christmas spirit stuff to get you in the mood 🍾

Films and figure skating

Nothing says Christmas like freezing your nip tips off 🥶 And we’ve got two great ways for you to do it. From the 3rd December to the 19th, head to Bältesspännarparken for a 360° film experience that celebrates Gothenburg’s 400-year history 🎬 It’s free!

We’re keeping it outdoorsy with a trip to the ice rink at Kronhusbodarna. Catch it from the 27th November to 17th December.

Sing it loud

The Oscar Fredrik Church almost definitely has loaded parents that sent it to private school 💅 But putting that to one side, it’s a dreamy setting for a Christmas concert. This neo gothic beaut has icicle-looking spires and hanging chandeliers inside 😍 Come here from the 12th to the 13th December for the Granddaddy of all Christmas concerts.

Psst! Extra tip - if you can’t get enough Christmas concert, there’s one at Gothenburg Cathedral too.

Feeeed me...

Gothenburg isn’t here to feed you pigs in blankets and tell you your pretty 🐷

It’s here to challenge you to an alt Crimbo.

Nothing says alt Christmas like ditching meat and eating sustainable seafood. That’s exactly what’s happening over at Tullhuset 🦐 Hit these guys up for a festive feast on the island of Hönö in the Gothenburg archipelago. They’ll be serving up heaving platters of fresh seafood from the 19th to the 21st December.

Image Credits:
Peter Kvarnström/Göteborg & Co
Per Pixel Petersson/imagebank.sweden.se
Göran Assner/imagebank.sweden.se
Sofia Sabel/imagebank.sweden.se