Bergs Slussar (The sluices in Berg)

Bergs slussar is one of the greatest landmarks on Göta kanal, a chanel that floats near Linköping. Here thousands of people come every year to see the boats pass by. The chanel was dug mostly for one purpose, to transport goods across the country. On the places where it, according to the laws of nature, would have been a waterfall, these sluices were made to let boats go up and down streams. While passing passing the seven steps you are either lifted or lowered a staggering 19 meters, depending on the direction in which you are traveling. In the area you will find loads of other things that you can do, when you have seen enough boats for the day. Among those there are resturants, cafes, bike rentals, mini golf and bathing, outside. From here you can aslo take a trip on the channel, on the boat M/S Wasa Lejon, which makes daily trips during the summer season.

Kolmården (Animal park and zoo)

This is Scandinavia’s largest wildlife park and zoo. There are a lot of aspects to this park. There is the marine world where you can watch a spectacular dolphin show, seal show or go by the dolphin roller coaster and see the funny penguins. There is also "Tiger World" where you can see real tigers up close as well as seeing the endangered Siberian tiger. Kolmården also have an international celebrity, the gorilla Enzo, who now also have a little brother named Echo. You can see them on Gorilla Island at Kolmården.

The safari park is very popular, here you can enjoy and watch wild animals like ostriches, giraffes, bears and wolves right from your own car. But if you did not bring your own car you can go with one of the guided buses where you can see all the animals as well as learning a bit about them from the guide.

How to get there: If you go by car you use the E4 motorway towards Norrköping for about 40 minutes (60 km) and there are sign-pots along the way to lead you right from there on. To get more detailed directions visit below website where you can see a map and directions (N.B. page in Swedish)
http://kartor.eniro.se/query?addr2=+618+93+KOLM%C3%85RDEN&addr1=link%C3%B6ping+resecentrum&what=route


Address
Norrköping, Kolmården

Telephone
+46 11 249 000

Website
http://www.kolmarden.com/Om-Kolmarden/Sprak/English/

Smultronstället (Ice Cream Restaurant)

Smultronstället is located about 40 minutes from Linköping and this is really a national summer tradition. Here you can order ice creams which you never thought existed. There are 40 different ice creams that you can bye, one more unique and extravagant than the other. The idea of this ice cream bar was introduced in the year of 1983 when a little ice cream bar opened with only four tables for its guests. Today they have over 60 employees and they sell over 75 000 liters of ice cream every season! It is located just beside the canal where a boats passes by in the cool summer breeze, so after you have enjoyed your ice cream you can go along the canal and just take pleasure in the Swedish nature in the summertime.

How to get there:
Drive upwards (towards Norrköping) for about 20 km, then turn off towards Söderköping and follow directions by the road. For directions in more detail visit below website (N.B. page in Swedish).

http://kartor.eniro.se/query?addr2=+618+93+KOLM%C3%85RDEN&addr1=link%C3%B6ping+resecentrum&what=route

Address
Kanalgatan, Söderköping

Telephone
+46 1212 1611

Swiming Opportunities

During hot summer days the inhabitants of Linköping seek refuge in the cooling water, that you find in lakes and man made pools in and around the fair city.

The most popular one is Tinnerbäcksbadet, or “Tinnis” as it is called. The facillity's popularity is partially due to its central location, partially due to its large size. Tinnis is located a couple of hundred meters from the city center on the same grounds as the swimming hall. If you pay some extra money you get access to the inside parts as well. The outdoors area consists of an artificial lake and a 25-meter pool. There is a water slide at the lake and there are also paddling boats available for renting, when you are not swimming there are vast grass areas to just chill out on. The entrance fee for a day is 40 kr for adults (18 yrs and up), and 30 for 17 and below.



Inside the swimming hall you find, among other things, a “wave pool”, an artificial stream, a 5 meter high jumping tower and saunas. The price to get in varies from 75-85 kr (3 hours or whole day) for adults and 40-55 kr for youths.

Both of the villages that you can reach by taking the regional train one station east or west has been given an outdoors swimming facility. Himnabadet in Linghem (to the east) and Valkebobadet in Vikingstad (to the west) are in every important sense very similar. They both have the pools of different size, one 50-meter long with a maximum depth of almost 3 meters, and two smaller. A positive thing about these places are that the can be a bit less crowded than "Tinnis" on really beautiful days. The prize to get in is also generally a bit lower, about 20-30 kr.

Vadstena

Vadstena is a small, old town situated next to the lake Vättern. Vadstena is a very beautiful town with medieval ancestry. Here you can stroll between different small stores in cute allays. In Vadstena you can find both amazing old buildings and peaceful nature.

Worth visiting when you are in Vadstena is the monastery church which was founded by the Catholic saint Birgitta. The church features medieval architecture and has high cultural value. In the church you can find a relic from the founder. As you can indicate by the name, the church is connected to a monastery where the first nuns lived during the fourteenth century. There is still nuns living in this monastery today and if you would like to, you could spend a night there.

Another great building in Vadstena is Vadstena slott (the Castle of Vadstena). It was started to be built in 1545 but was not finished until the year 1620. Today you can visit the castle and join a guided tour to get to know more about its remarkable history.

Varamobaden

Varamobaden is, with its 5 kilometers, the largest lake shore in Scandinavia. Here many people from southern Sweden come bathing every year. It is located just outside Motala, which you can get to, in an hour, by bus from Linköping. The beach has very soft sand and the water is very shallow by the shore, which makes the lake's cold water slightly warmer. What compensates for the coldness of the water is that it is, unlike in most other lakes, very clean and clear.

In the area you will find lots of ice cream bars and fast food restaurants, pedal boat rentals and, if you dont mind walking a couple of kilometers, a 13 meter high tower from which you can jump into the water.´

To get there the easiest way is by bus, as mentioned before. There are two different buses, 620 and 520, that departs from the bus station in Linköping and goes all the way to motala. Once there you can either walk to reach your desination, or you can take a new bus, 301, to Folkets park, which is located nearby the beach.