Swedish design
Röhsska museum shop is magic for collecting the latest in trend-setting Swedish household design objects from ceramics to glassware with the focus on pure Scandinavian functionality.
For quirky household and personal design objects stop off at Designtorget, where new talent gets the chance to sell their designs in everything from jewellery to kitchenware and children’s toys. For inspiring colourful everyday items and knitwear, shop at Design House Stockholm in the NK department store.
Cultural souvenirs
Victoria Passagen is a most charming roofed pedestrian street where you can pick up Swedish handicrafts as well as designs from the indigenous Sami people of Swedish Lapland. The cobbled and bohemian Haga district also carries an abundance of tasteful souvenir shops, art galleries and antique emporiums.
Historical shopping hub
Kronhusbodarna is a collection of Gothenburg’s oldest secular buildings dating from the 1640s but is now a concert venue and hub of handicrafts that houses shops and workshops. Visit the glassworks, interiors shop, watchmaker and pottery workshop. The chocolate and toffee shop is a delight, and you can enjoy fresh cakes from the bakery and café.
Urban chic
For a therapeutic dose of affordable high street retail, shop on Avenyn, the main street and shopping thoroughfare. But if you prefer everything under one roof, shop in Nordstan, Scandinavia’s largest shopping centre. Trawl Fredsgatan, Vallgatan, Magasinsgatan in Innerstaden for an eclectic mix of boutiques, gift shops, and cafés. Want to buy jeans so skinny that you can forget about it if you have big feet? Make for a ‘Weekday’ store, the Swedish brand icon for fashion die-hards.
Vintage
Haga is the district to head for if you have kooky vintage and creative alternative designers in mind. Loved as much by locals as tourists, the pretty cobbled streets are riddled with odds-and-ends type shops where you can pick up an antique as easily as a handmade hat.
Department stores
For fashion and design under one roof, Gothenburg has two favourites. NK (Nordiska Kompaniet) is the department store where the posh can shop ‘til they drop and carries Swedish designers such as Filippa K, Paul & Friends and Svenska Designers. For more affordable fashion and more Swedish labels, go to the ever-popular Åhléns.