Centralt beläget shoppingparadis med ett mycket stort utbud av butiker och restauranger. Spårvagnar…read moreoch bussar stannar precis utanför och det finns även ett stort parkeringsgarage för bilar i direkt anslutning till Nordstan. Extremt mycket besökare i rusningstid och tyvärr en del problem med allmän ordning.

Ugh, this place gives me the creeps! I do not like it at all. I do not enjoy strolling here…read more It is crowded (as in CROWDED) and stressful. Besides all the smaller stores, Nordstan concists of two seperate department stores: Åhléns and Femman. Both three stories. Most people see Femman and Nordstan as one and the same. Yep, it has many great stores but most of them can be find somewhere else in the city. Åhléns is pretty good, but you can avoid the mall by entering close to the entrances from the street. I like the little papershop "Papetiere" where you can fins scrap booking items and lots of cute stuff. MacForum is second largest in Europe. Apart from short visits once in awhile, I avoid this place especially on Saturdays and in December. Lots of unpleasant people hanging here. Keep your wallet/purse tightly! Definitely avoid after opening hours!

For me Åhléns used to have a cheaper connotation to it. But that was years ago…read more Åhléns is very much a qualitative department store - luxurious, expensive, fashionable and so much fun stuff to find! I enjoy just browsing the four stories. They have probably hundreds of brands of each category/department. Good competitor to NK. I especially like their home decor and office department. The CDs and DVDs are too pricey to bother buying here. Their beauty and makeup department is really something, and even if do not buy much makeup in Sweden (too expensive IMO) I enjoy trying colors and fragrances. It is a bit odd but fascinating to see the Japanese brand MUJI actually has its own category on the navigation signs, no other brand does. MUJI seems to be the only brand for the (plastic) storage products. Are you from a non-EU country look for Global Blue Tax Free signs. They will for sure ask if you are a member. Membership is free as long as you shop enough (don't know the limit, didn't care). But why would I PAY for not buying? Like being punished if you do not tay true. Well, you get a magazine that I most likely wouldn't read. Still, I love the stores!

Yesterday I experienced absolutely incompetent and unprofessional treatment by a staff member at…read morethe customer support desk (ground floor) at NK Gothenburg. I purchased a pair of shoes and a lovely lady at the shoe store informed me about the VAT tax refund, she also guided us to proceed with the papers to the ground floor to manage the refund at the Refund point. It is relevant to say that I am a non-EU resident soon traveling home, I was a tourist in Sweden. Once I came to the customer support desk on the ground floor, I and my relative started talking to a staff member and said that we came here to issue the VAT refund for my purchase. A staff member asked me where I am from, I responded "from Ukraine". On this a staff member replied: "Do you have a direct flight to Ukraine?". It was very unprofessional and rude, maybe a person living and working in Sweden hasn't watched the news and is not aware about the war and flights cancelled since February 2022! I started to feel very offended and stressed right away. Then I showed my 2 tickets - a flight to Poland and a train ticket to Ukraine, and said that I am not a resident of the EU, I also showed my passport. A staff member said that she is concerned that I wont travel to Ukraine for real (???) and that she is concerned that the purchased item will remain in the EU (???). The purchase was done from my personal bank card which is on my name, the tax refund documents are also on my name and of course I have and will have the items with me during my travel. My travel documents are also valid and full. After long long meaningless conversation and us explaining that I am not an EU resident and I have the right to issue the VAT tax refund, we just left very frustrated and with no help received. At home I checked the Global Blue rules on their official website. So those Refund offices (customer support desks) are just an intermediary between the customer and the Global Blue. At this desk a customer can get the VAT refund issued, but then a customer becomes responsible for making sure all receipts are stamped by the customs and that the Global Blue receives a letter with those receipts within 15-21 days (official regulation from their website). If those are not received by the Global Blue on time, the Global Blue retrieves the refund and the fee from the customer's bank card which is already in the system. So it is fully customer's responsibility for doing all the needed steps and stamps on time, and it's not for NK desk to 'approve' if a VAT tax refund can be done or no if all needed papers for the VAT tax refund are available. NK customer support desk is just an intermediary for the VAT tax refund process for tourists in Sweden, and is not an airport or customs. However, a staff member who we happened to meet, seems to believe that she is customs herself and can 'approve' or 'not approve' who gets the VAT refund issued. I think NK definitely needs to focus on educating people who work there so that they are competent and know what they work with and how to do their work. It would also be great if staff members didn't accuse people of intending 'not to travel for real'!! I definitely feel I was mistreated and I feel this could be on the ground of nationality. Also, it would be good to acknowledge that not all Ukrainians are refugees, some are tourists and non-EU residents. When I later contacted the customer support via email in order to complain about this situation, the customer support manager didn't seem to understand the issue and the response was that the staff member who I talked with 'worked at the airport and knows the rules'. I am sorry, but NK VAT Refund desk is not the airport or customs. It would be good if the staff could read the VAT tax refund rules so that they could do their work competently. I wont be shopping at this store anymore if I travel in the future. By the way, the amount of the VAT tax refund I'd get is 17 EUR - now I will get it issued the other way. But it is a matter of bad service, so I decided to write my review about this situation.

Exclusive shopping under one roof!…read more I like the feeling of many small shops instead of the department store layout. The way the floors are built makes it ridiculously hard for me to navigate. I often start walk the wrong way... The floors are built more like half stairs up and down. My favourite floor is the basement where they have home decoration, household utensils and small appliances and also tea, coffee and the bakery. I don't know if I just missed it but I do not think they have books, film or music - but then again why would you go here to buy that when there are cheaper places? On street level there is an Espresso House coffee shop. I like the latte with an extra espresso shot or the chai latte. But there are also better EH locations. They accept AMEX at most stores but at some not (the small private ones).

Lagerhaus has everything kitsch you didn't know you needed not even was possible to need!…read more I like the color schemed shelves filled with candles, plastic, paper, decoration, toiletries, textiles, glasses, plates, jars, even eatable (any color) stuff. Probably not the most qualitative items, but still fun. They often have buy-4-pay-for-3 or similar offers so it is easy to bargain! There is even a flower shop and a record shop upstairs (check out for tickets for instance). Crap and kitsch and cute. You find it all here!

Gekås Ullared is the largest superstore I have ever been to, largest in Europe. They have a camping…read moreground, an overnight parking area, a motel and a hotel to accommodate long-distance travelers. This is a destination location for a lot of people in the nearby countries, not just for the Swedes. Total store area is spread across 4 floors and is about the size of 6 American football fields... We spent 6 hours going through the key areas, had IKEA style lunch, there was a shopping cart parking lot by the restaurant. 70 + check out lines. Amazing prices but definitely feeling overwhelmed with all the options and selections. We did not go through every aisle. They sell home goods, beauty products, apparel, footwear, seasonal decors, small appliances, books, toys, groceries, camping equipment, car maintenance stuff, pet supplies... anything you can think of, they sell at a reasonable price. There was a reality TV show filmed in and around the store for a few years and one of the producers was my friend's brother. The food was really good and their wine and beer were regular strength. Free coffee and drinks too! Definitely an experience of a lifetime, take me back!