This museum is a must-see in Gothenburg. It contains a slew of well-laid-out exhibits filled to the…read morebrim with artifacts. My favorite exhibit by far was the Viking exhibit. The ship, of course, was absolutely incredible to see and was also the only one you could see in Sweden. But, the other artifacts were incredible as well. The axes, beads, and coins were all beautifully displayed and were of very high quality and condition. Even though I thought that was the best exhibit, this doesn't take away from the rest of the museum. The walk-through of Medieval Gothenburg, again filled with interesting artifacts, was informative and quite endless. There was a milieu of medieval weaponry and armor, as well as a great collection of paintings. As time progressed, my eyes started to glaze over. There was a ton to see here, but you can only appreciate it so much before needing a break. To me, the exhibitions displaying the more recent history of Gothenburg were interesting, but not in the same way as the older ones. There were locations where you could write on sticky notes and put them up under a question to answer them, which resulted in an interesting display of human behavior: some took them very seriously, some the exact opposite, but you still came away with a unique perspective of Gothenburg.

This museum is free for those under the age of 25…read more As some other reviews mentioned, the layout of the museum is pretty confusing. There are multiple staircases on each floor, and hidden hallways, making it easy to miss a section of the galleries. The 2nd floor has a permanent (?) exhibit of neolithic peoples living in the Gothenburg area, as well as vikings. The layout is pretty neat, with information about displays written in both Swedish and English. I would suggest to the museum to recheck some of the displays though because there were typos in the English text. Another thing to mention is that many of the display texts end in questions. While it is okay to ask a question once in a while to make the attendee think about the history, it is totally different when there are questions on each display. "Who did the home belong to?" "Why was there a portrait of a man on the jewelry? Maybe a fashion symbol?" It makes it seem that the people putting up the displays don't know enough about to history to be putting on an exhibit on the topic. The 3rd floor had a very interesting (and also somewhat creepy in some parts) exhibit focusing on touch (exhibition using senses other than sight). While this is a really good idea, some of the artwork, and dolls used in this exhibit were pretty scary and probably not suitable for children. Also, it's good to mention that none of these displays had any English on them. Only Swedish. Other sections of the 2nd and 3rd floors had pretty cool displays of old clothes and rooms from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Pretty cool, but also kinda boring. I wouldn't come again, but if you're into history of clothes and sugar mills, and are somewhat fluent in Swedish, this may be the place for you.

The Volvo Museum is located just steps for where our cruise ship was recently docked. After a long…read moredays tour, Gayle headed back to the ship, while I went over and took a trip through Volvo's history and heritage, starting in 1927. Their collection encompasses a wide range of passenger cars, buses and heavy trucks as well as marine engines and construction equipment. I thought that the museum was laid out nicely and it certainly brought back pleasant memories of friends (1980s in particular) who owned their beloved boxy station wagons and sedans. Volvo was often on my wish list of cars to own (along with the now defunct Saab), especially if it had a stick. One surprise was the wide range of vehicles (consumer, trucking, farm, etc.) that Volvo has made beyond the cars that I know. I took a couple pictures to illustrate. The vast majority of Volvo vehicles are still assembled in Sweden, mainly at the Torslanda and Skovde facilities. Volvo cars for the Asian market are assembled across four facilities in China. Volvo Cars recently opened a plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, where all American market Volvo S60 sedans are made. The museum also has a nice cafe for coffee and snacks, and a cool little branded gift shop.

Made it a point to stop here before leaving Sweden. Not particular a car guy but when you get an…read moreopportunity to enrich yourself with history -- seize it. From past to present, the detailed timeline is fascinating. Every step of the way you're immersed in the progression of the automobile industry; technological advances, worlds-first innovations and safety breakthroughs. Very cool experience.

Although there was a lot of stuff in this museum that I liked, it did have a few issues…read more But first, the good. The top floor was great. I loved the huge array of paintings here, from Picasso to a million Illustres Inconnus that had incredible artwork. I especially liked the landscape paintings, with "En Solglimt" (Nils Kreuger) and "Brinnande ångbåt" (Marcus Larson) being some of my favorites in that category. I spent most of my time on this floor, and I imagine you will too. As you descend, it shifts to more contemporary art. There is a large hall lined with statues and sculptures that are all contemporary art, and a room branching off filled with self-portraits. On the top of the stairs on one end of that hall is a ping pong table, which would be great to keep kids occupied (you can use it). The temporary exhibition was regarding the artwork of Ilon Wikland; a comic I had never heard of, but with incredible artwork, and an even more incredible story. I enjoyed this exhibit and learned a lot about Wikland. I was not an enormous fan of the contemporary art here, but the other art made up for it.

I've lived in DC, Philadelphia, New York, and now Chicago... so my expectations for this museum…read morewere pretty low (I've been quite museum spoiled) but to my great surprise this museum was fantastic! The hours are quite generous... they usually stay open until about 9pm. I went around 6-7 and the museum was so quiet and sparse. It was amazing that when I started my journey on the top floor I was literally the only person in there. Not even the staff lurked about or kept an eye on me. I could've gotten out my rollerskates and gone unnoticed for at least a few minutes! The perk of that is I believe that crowds ruin a museum experience. I feel as though I want to rush through or just see what I need to then leave. At this museum I felt the opposite. The majority of the work shown is Nordic or Scandinavian based for obvious reasons. They had a nice Edvard Munch exhibit when I was there - some sketches of his. But the permanent collection is actually really nice. My own work gravitates towards the morbid or bizarre, and this museum definitely seems to have a melancholy theme. There are plenty of landscapes to admire but also a lot of people as subjects. Bizarre and surreal psychological based work. It was actually something to see all of the work together. The sculptures and frescoes are also quite beautiful. Keep in mind I went during March, so I think I hit an off-peak season. I'm not sure how it bodes in summer months, but I can definitely attest to this museum being right up there with AIC, PMA and MoMA. If you happen to go to Göteborg, you should absolutely visit this museum.