The city of Gothenburg is built by the Göta Älv where it reaches the Kattegatt and North Sea. It was designed in part by the Dutch and modelled on Amsterdam, and although a lot of the original canals have been filled in, some canals in the city still remain, making a canal tour of the city an interesting activity when you visit the city.
Paddan Tour
The Paddan Tour (The Toad Tour) has been operating for many years and in the classic canal tour in the city center. The boats are built low to the water so that they can go under the many low bridges in the city. The tour starts from Kungsportsplatsen right next to Kungsportsbron. The boat travels along the canal (at one time this was a moat protecting the city from the Danes), with the city center on the left and the park of Trädgårdsföreningen on the right. After passing under Slussbron the tour turns left past Brunnsparken and Nordstan, and then past the city museum before entering the Göta Älv near Stenpiren. On the river the tour then takes you past the Maritime Museum with the ships on the river, turning back towards the sea past Lindholmen, and then back in the canal under Skeppsbron and Masthamnsbron. The last part of the tour goes past Feskekörka and Kungsparken.
The tour is guided by a knowledgeable and fun tour guide – our particular guide kept us entertained with interesting stories and anecdotes from the history of the city, and his narration of our journey filled with funny puns all the way. He really made the tour fun and informative.
Here’s our YouTube video of the tour:
During the summer months, the tour runs 2-3 times per hour, so the waiting time for a tour is not long, or of course you can book in advance if you want a particular time during the day. The tour takes roughly 50 minutes, but allow a short amount of time to board and disembark from the boat.
With this tour you really get a different view of the city.
Bookings: https://www.stromma.com/en-se/gothenburg/sightseeing/sightseeing-by-boat/the-paddan-tour/
Ocean Bus
The Ocean Bus in Gothenburg is a novel concept for a tour that combines a land tour with a water tour. The Tour starts from outside the Grand Theater on Kungsportsavenyn at Kungsparken, taking in a lot of the major sights of central Gothenburg by land before heading into the Göta Älv under the large Älvsborgsbron, taking in the sights on the river before heading back to land and into the city.
You will see a few more of the sights with the Ocean Bus than the Paddan tour, but the big difference is that because the Ocean Bus is higher, it won’t fit under the low canal bridges. You get a good, quick tour of the city, taking in a lot in the 55 minutes that the tour runs for, with a different view than the Paddan Tour.
Website: https://oceanbus.se/en/gothenburg-the-tour/
Departs from: Kungsparken 1, 411 36 Göteborg
Bookings: https://oceanbus.se/goteborgsturen/#book
Hop On Hop Off Boat Tour
This tour pretty much follows the route that the Paddan Tour does, so it gives you a nice canal tour, onto the river and then back to the starting point at Kungsportsplatsen – so to get an idea of the route, just read my description above of the Paddan tour route. The tour has five stops, these being:
- Stop 1 and Starting Point: Kungsportsplatsen
- Stop 2: Brunnsparken
- Stop 3: Lilla Bommen
- Stop 4: Eriksberg
- Stop 5: Haga/Feskekörka
With these stops you can spend a good day out in Gothenburg taking in a lot of the sights in the center, plus a stop on the other side of Göta Älv to see a different part of the city.
Bookings: https://www.stromma.com/en-se/gothenburg/sightseeing/sightseeing-by-boat/hop-on-hop-off-by-paddan/
Private Boat Ride
There is even the possibility for a private boat tour in Gothenburg. The tour departs from Lejontrappan (near Brunnsparken), although hotel pickup is available. It then follows a similar route to the Paddan tour through the canals of the city center, out onto the river and back again. Being a private tour you get a lot more personal attention – so if you want to stop a bit long at particular points you can, with the other tours you just keep moving along. This tour is of course more expensive than the other options, but it is a private tour.