How to Have a Good Time in Gothenburg
Haga
Haga is the old town of Gothenburg, and taking a stroll through the cozy streets of Haga has quickly become one of my most favorite things to do. In Sweden, it is very common to find a lot of second-hand shops and cafés here. Most of the cafés also offer a wide range of sweet bakeries. The most prominent example in Haga are "Hagabullen", which are the biggest cinnamon rolls you will ever have. They are as big as a plate!
Järntorget
If you are a student on an exchange semester, meeting up with people and going to a bar to get to know each other better over some drinks will be a big part of your stay abroad. The place to go for this occasion in Gothenburg is definitely the tram stop Järntorget. In this area, there are lots of nice bars and cafés. Now as I am here during the COVID-19 pandemic, I can't really speak of the club life around here, because everything closes down at 8 pm. However, as I have heard from other students, this is also the place to go if you want to go out at night. The coolest place that I have been to up until now is called Foo Kafé. It is a very hip place, with nice music and other activities around the area, e.g. a ping-pong table!
Archipelago
Another great thing about Gothenburg is the archipelago, which is a group of small islands easily accessible via ferry. Now if you are always hard working and studying during the week and need some time off from sitting in front of your laptop. One of the best ways to reset your mood and clear your mind is to take a day trip to one of the islands of the archipelago. I took the chance to visit Vrångö, which is the most southern. Like most of the other islands, there are no cars and a lot of nature to discover. It's just perfect for a day trip and a little bit of hiking. There are also some nice sand beaches, which I am really looking forward to visiting again during the warmer months of the year
Fysiken Gym & Klätterlabbet
Since I am a very sporty person, one of the first things I looked up was a gym. Surprisingly, I found one very quickly which is also close to Chalmers University and my apartment, named Fysiken. They have good offers for students who want to train there for at least three months. The cool thing is that not only the gym is included in the membership, but also all group activities and course sessions (I can highly recommend the group cycling and yoga sessions!). Moreover, you also gain access to three climbing centers (called Klätterlabbet) in Gothenburg, and one of them is right next to the Chalmers campus
Chalmers University
And last but not least, of course the campus of Chalmers University of Technology offers a great variety of possible activities. To name just a few of them:
J.A. PRIPPS PUB & CAFÉ - A pub directly on campus! How nice is that!? The pub offers drinks and even burgers or some snacks and of course as a student there, you get good prices too.
Motion Hall - As a student of Chalmers, you can book the motion sports hall whenever it is not occupied, and it is for free. You can use it to play basketball, badminton, soccer, or whatever comes to your mind. I frequently go there to play volleyball with other Erasmus students.
Kårrestaurangen - Probably the most important venue of all – the Chalmers Restaurant. You can choose daily between three different menus for a reasonable student price, which includes a drink, a salad and a coffee as well.
So as you can see, besides studying there are lots of nice locations to visit around here and lots of activities to choose from!