A trip along the Göta Canal is a pleasure for all senses. It's not just the beautiful natural environment and the fabulous people that make your visit memorable. The scents, flavours and culinary creations also help make your canal trip an experience beyound the ordinary.

Cafés along the Göta Canal
If you're travelling on or along the Göta Canal you're never far from a coffee break. You'll find charming cafés and bakeries all along the canal. Many of them have outdoor seating in canal-side gardens or on piers, enchancing your canal experience.
In Karlsborg you will find Nymans café and Keramik and in Forsvik coffee and home-baking await you.
Tåtorp has an organic garden café and in Vassbacken's pleasant guestharbour you can enjoy a light meal. In Hajstorp you can enjoy a coffee and ice cream as you watch the boats pass through the locks and in Norrqvarn you will find restaurant, pub and entertainment on the jetty. Lyrestad has Esters café and before you head off into Vänern you can have a bite to eat in Sjötorp.

Summer is ice cream
What would summer be without the Göta Canal? And what would summer be without ice cream? Several cafés and restaurants along the canal serve their own ice cream specialities and fancy ice cream dishes.
On “Bryggan” in Töreboda you can enjoy a cooling snack at the cosy ice cream bar, which even has drive-in service for boaters.
Mariestad is famous for the delicious, locally produced Kling's ice cream from Mariestad.

In Karlsborg, you can choose between home-baked bread and top-notch gourmet cuisine. No matter what you choose, you’ll find the same care taken in the raw materials, milieu and personal treatment. You’re always welcome, whether buying home-baked bread at Nymans Café och Schweizeri, or exquisite cuisine at the renowned Idas Brygga.
This restaurant is very popular and mentioned in several restaurant guides, including the White Guide. Fish dishes are some-thing of a specialty, but there are plenty of other options on the menu. The terrace overlooks the canal and vessels arriving at the dock.

Other places worth visiting are the historical Kanalhotellet from 1894, the Hotell Wettern with its beautiful location on Lake Vättern near the fortress or the Forsviks Café & Mat next to the Forsvik lock.

Just outside of town, on the way into the deep Tivedsskogen Forest, lie Tivedstorp and Stenkällegården, which also have outdoor tables. The forest is also home to Tivedens Mat och Café. Chef Jon Söderlund has cooked at many famous restaurants in Sweden.

Fish
Don't hesitate to try the local specialities, often made from fresh-caught fish from Lakes Vänern or Vättern. Vättern char is a delicacy served mainly at restaurants in Karlsborg. SautéedVättern bleak and smoked fish of all kinds are all part of the taste sensation.