Gothenburg Business City Guide: introduction
With less than half a million inhabitants, Gothenburg combines its status as a business mecca with genuine small-town charm. Gothenburg (Göteborg in Swedish) goes by many other names: "Little London", "Sweden's friendliest city" and "Gateway to Northern Europe". But it's "Europe's own San Francisco" that best describes this waterfront city with its trams, seafood restaurants, ferries, nautical sights and surprisingly active nightlife.

The soul of Gothenburg lies in its harbour, the busiest in Scandinavia. The second largest city in Sweden is fast becoming Europe's leading IT, events and convention city and one of the world’s leading centres for telematics. Over 70% of Scandinavia’s total industrial capacity lies within a 500km radius of Gothenburg.

Gothenburg business districts

Lorensberg
The most exclusive area of the city, home to major tourist attractions, museums, performance halls, business offices and luxury residences. Kungsportsavenyn – known to locals as simply “Avenyn” – is Gothenburg’s most bustling high street.

Inom Vallgraven
The centre of the centre (literally “within the moat”) is the oldest part of Gothenburg and its leading business area. The historic buildings boast the city's highest rents and house almost entirely office and commercial space.

Linnéstaden
"Linné" is all about urban chic. This is where you’ll find hip restaurants, upscale shopping, quirky design, independent cinemas and the city’s primary green space, Slottsskogen, for an afternoon in the park.

Haga
Picturesque Haga, with its cobbled streets, historic architecture and minimal traffic is perhaps the most charming of Gothenburg’s neighbourhoods. Popular with the city’s academic and cultural elite.

While these neighbourhoods are distinct, central Gothenburg is so compact that the entire city can be easily explored on foot.

Gothenburg: 10 facts

1. Gothenburg’s 900m suspension bridge, Älvsborgsbron, is known as Sweden's Golden Gate.
2. In the 17th century, the King paid a ransom of 1 million kronas to get Gothenburg back from the Danes.
3. The artisans of Kronhusbodarna provide a glimpse of 18th-century Swedish craftsmanship.
4. The annual Gothia Cup is the world's largest youth football tournament with 1,500 teams from 60 countries.
5. Trams are named after famous Gothenburgers. “It is the only city where you can be run over by yourself," mused one honouree.
6. The nickname "Little London" arose in the 18th century, when all things British were the height of local fashion.
7. Wealthy Gothenburgers spend summers sailing in fashionable Marstrand, the Hamptons of Sweden.
8. If Gothenburg reminds you of Amsterdam, it’s because the canals were designed by Dutchmen in the 17th century.
9. The Maritime Museum – dedicated to the history of shipping – is the world's largest floating museum.
10. Volvo, a Swedish icon since the 1920s, has its own museum next to the Arendal factory.