You don't need to stop having fun once the day's over, do you? Gothenburg’s nighttime atmosphere is not likely to let you sleep!
Performing arts
Folkteatern
This theater stages productions of Swedish plays or foreign plays translated into Swedish. The season is from September to May, and performances are Tuesday to Friday at 7pm and Saturday at 6pm.
Address Olof Palmes Plats
Location by Jarntorget
Transportation Tram: 1, 3, or 4
Phone 031/20-38-20
Prices Tickets 50-135 SEK ($6.40-$17.30)
Goteborgsoperan (Gothenburg Opera House)
This elegant new opera house was opened by the Swedish king in 1994 and features theater, opera, operettas, musicals, and ballet performances. It's situated right on a dock with views overlooking the water, and there are five bars and a cafe in the lobby. The main entrance (on östra Hamngatan) leads to a foyer with a view of the harbor; here you'll find the box office and cloak room. Big productions can be staged here on a full scale. You'll have to check to see what performances may be scheduled at the time of your visit.
Address Packhuskajen
Phone 031/10-80-00, 031/13-13-00 for ticket information
Prices Ticket prices depend on the event
Konserthuset
In the very center of Gothenburg, this is the major performance hall for classical music. In season (September to June), top world-class performers appear.
Address Gotaplatsen
Transportation Bus: 40
Phone 031/16-70-00
Prices Tickets 150-300 SEK (S19.20-$38.40), but could range lower or higher depending on the performance
Stadsteatern
This is one of the major theaters in Gothenburg, but invariably the plays are performed in Swedish. Ibsen in Swedish might be a bit hard to take without a knowledge of the language, but a musical might be understandable. The season runs from September to May.
Hours Performances are usually Tuesday to Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 6pm, and Sunday at 3pm Address Gotaplatsen
Transportation Bus: 40
Phone 031/61-50-80
Prices Tickets 125-145 SEK ($16-$18.55)
The club and music scene
Gamle Port
This is the best-known and longest functioning dining, drinking, and dancing emporium in Gothenburg. At the street level is a pub with a small-stakes casino, on the second floor is an informal restaurant that's popular with office workers at lunchtime, and the third floor has a disco. Beginning around 9pm all three areas are crowded with singles looking for each other. The pub is open Monday to Saturday from 11:30am to 1:30am and Sunday from 1pm to 1am. The restaurant is open Monday to Friday from 11:30am to 3pm and 6 to 11pm, Saturday from 6pm to midnight, and Sunday from 1 to 6pm. Fixed-price lunches cost 55 to 110 SEK ($7.05 to $14.10); ala carte dinners cost 170 to 210 SEK ($21.75 to $26.90).
In winter, the disco is open every night from 10pm until around 2am; in summer, only Thursday to Saturday.
Address Ostra Larmgatan 18
Transportation Bus: 40
Phone 031/711-17-19
Prices Cover 65-85 SEK ($8.30-$10.90) for the disco, depending on the night, although women usually enter free
Oakley's Country Club
Set within what was originally conceived as a fire station, and with a scarlet facade that stands out from its neighbors, the restaurant portion of this club opened in 1998 as a tongue-in-cheek parody of what you might find in the deserts of Nevada.
Beginning at 9pm things get lively with reincarnations of Dale Evans about to break into song, cancan dancers belting out excerpts from Annie Get Your Gun, and a scantily clad trapeze artiste who advises the menfolk in the audience how best to lasso a bedmate, a bride, or both. Expect a sense of camp and an interpretation of the American vernacular style that you might never, ever have expected east of the Atlantic. Menu items include sophisticated interpretations of New American cuisine, including chile-roasted crayfish, Mississippi alligator ribs; Caesar salads studded with crayfish; Annie's blackened salmon; Buffalo Bill's rib-eye steak; and "our own" version of spare ribs. On the premises is a particularly elegant room for cigars and brandies.
Hours open daily 11am to 2pm and 6 to 11pm
Address Tredje Långgatan 16
Transportation Tram: 1, 3, 4, or 9
Phone 031/42-60-50
Prices Main courses cost 98 to 249 SEK ($12.55 to $31.85)
Park Lane Nightclub
The leading nightclub along Sweden's west coast, the dinner-dance room here sometimes features international stars. Past celebrities have included Marlene Dietrich, Eartha Kitt, and the artist formerly known as Prince. The dance floor is usually packed. The international menu consists of light supper platters such as crab salad or toasted sandwiches. Beer begins at 50 SEK ($6.40).
Hours Open Wednesday to Sunday from 11pm to 3am
Address In the Radisson SAS Park Avenue Hotel, Kungsportsavenyn 36-38
Transportation Tram: 1, 4, 5, or 6.
Bus: 40
Phone 031/20-60-58
Prices Cover 50-70 SEK ($6.40-$8.95); hotel guests enter free
Valand
This combination restaurant and disco, one floor above street level in the center of town, is the biggest and best known in Gothenburg. As you enter there's a restaurant on your left and a large bar and dance floor on your right. There's also a small-stakes casino with blackjack and roulette. The minimum age for entry is 23. The club is open Thursday to Saturday from 8pm to 3am. For some memorable food, head for Lilla London, one floor below.
Address: Vasagatan 41
Transportation: Tram: 1, 4, 5, or 6.
Bus: 40
Phone: 031/18-30-93
Prices: Cover 80-100 SEK ($10.25-$12.80) for disco
Gay and lesbian bars
Nemo
This is the premier gay bar and disco in Gothenburg, and as such, attracts a burgeoning roster of gay men and women from the surrounding region, some of whom view it as one of their most important social outlets. Scattered over 1 1/2 floors of a building dating from the 1870s, it's open only on Friday and Saturday, from 10pm till 3am. At this writing, there was no restaurant associated with the place, although by the time of your visit, the owners might have added one. Regardless, energy levels tend to stay high here, with lots of frenetic dancing. Beer costs 39 SEK ($5); whiskey with soda costs 68 SEK ($8.70).
Address: Bellmansgatan 7-9
Transportation: Tram: 1, 4, 5, or 6
Phone: 031/13-20-42
Prices: No cover
