Vänersborg is a city in the county of Västra Götaland and the historic province of Västergötland. It is located on lake Vänern, the largest lake in Europe outside Russia. It has 22,000 inhabitants.

Understand

Tourist info

The main tourist information office is on main square, at the corner of Kungsgatan and Edsgatan.

Get in

By plane

Trollhättan–Vänersborg airport (THN ^IATA) is 10 km south of the city and has daily flights to Stockholm. Göteborg-Landvetter airport is 100 km south of Vänersborg and has flights to major European cities.

By train

There are trains from Gothenburg to Vänersborg every hour during the daytime, and trains from Herrljunga on the Stockholm–Gothenburg railway.

• 1 Vänersborg railway station (Vänersborgs station). (updated Jul 2022)

By car

Vänersborg is on the E45 main highway.

Get around

By bus

There are bus connections within the city and to villages in the district and neighboring towns, all departing from the railway station transport hub (resecentrum/centralen).

See

• 1 Vänersborgs museum. Mid-sized museum featuring varying content: local history, Egyptian artifacts and one of the world's best collections of birds from southwestern Africa. (updated Jul 2022)
• Kungajaktsmuseet Älgens berg. A museum about the mountains of the area, the nature, culture and the elk hunt. 
• Vänersborgs idrottshistoriska museum. A sports museum. 

Do

• Halleberg and Hunneberg mountains. They have the biggest deer in the world: the moose/elk. In the summer there are safaris by bus. Both mountains allow for ample hiking and there are marked paths to make sure you don't get lost. 
• Skräcklan park. This beautiful park is lining the north shore of Vänersborg, where the views are some of the best imaginable. Easy to get to, just a few minutes walk from the town center, it lends itself for gentle strolls, swimming (from Jakobben, you can't miss it), boating and enjoying tea and coffee at the cafe. 
• Brinkebergskulle slussar (sluss = water lock). These water locks are sitting just south of lake Vänern, where the canal flows towards Trollhättan and eventually Gothenburg and the sea. This particular lock was constructed in 1752, has a cute little cafe next to it and offers a steady stream of small private yachts as well as larger commercial vessels. Great place to do a bit of ship watching. 
• Gaddesanna. A great sand beach on the north edge of the mountain Halleberg, it really is a beautiful place. Not to be missed if the sun is out in the summer! 

Eat

There are many restaurants, Thai, Chinese, kebab and so on, but for Swedish classics that the whole family will enjoy,

• Koppargrillen. which offers both fixed lunch or à la carte. 

Sleep

• Ursand. Ursand camping must be one of the most beautifully located camp sites in Europe. The site itself is fairly 'natural', with plenty of woods dividing up the various fields. On the north end of the area is the most beautiful sand beach with the softest sand, where children can play and swim. There is also a cafe/restaurant that offers a spectacular view of lake Vänern. 
• Quality Hotel is 4km from the city center
• Strand Hotell next to the railway station

Go next

Routes through Vänersborg

Karlstad ← Dalsland ←

N  S

→ Trollhättan → Göteborg