Liseberg is the largest amusement park in Northern Europe. When we visited Gothenburg, we decided that three million visitors a year go there for a reason. Due to that, we decided to pay the heavy entrance fee and enjoyed the park even though it was a cold November day. However, this was an advantage as well as Liseberg turns into a Winter Wonderland in the cold months!
Liseberg in Gothenburg is known for attractions like Balder, Helix, Kanonen, Rabalder or Stampbanan. When we visited the park in November, we did not have the chance to try these. However, entering the Liseberg is enjoyable also in the winter times. Why?
Because the park makes a lot of effort to present the guests something like a Winter Wonderland with an amazing Christmas Market and many specials dedicated to the cold time of the year.
Unfortunately for us and the Liseberg, snow was very limited in November. Due to that, the Winter Wonderland feeling had to be created by using fake snow. Even though there was not much fake snow, it was kind of a nice touch to make the experience a little more unique.
The Christmas Market itself was one of the largest I’ve ever seen in my life. It stretched out through different areas with hundreds of stands. Most of those sold food or Christmas souvenirs, but there were many “gambling” stands as well. For example, you can win large chocolate bars and other kinds of candy by betting on a number.
As we weren’t lucky enough, we were not able to get one of these immense bars and went home sad.
Okay, that may be a little exaggerated, but we were at least a little sad. What made us happy instead was the fact that there were enough stands that offered hot Valrhona chocolate and other amazing sweet treats. We especially loved the “snowballs” which consist of cake mixture and a lot of chocolate.
However, we didn’t visit Liseberg for the food solely. Due to that, we went away from the food stands and found a very nice Viking Market. Traditional cottages, nice paneling and much more made the market very authentic. Personally, we especially liked the fireplaces that were perfect to warm hands after strolling around Liseberg for some time.
What we found a bit strange was the gambling hall that was located close to the Viking Market. There were several different machines and consoles with pretty much every computer game on the planet.
Age restrictions? It didn’t seem like anyone cared as even young boys played shooter games. After that strange moment, we decided to go on to a more natural place: The petting zoo. This one is very cute with several goats, pigs and other small animals.
Be prepared to find a lot of young kids there as those who don’t play shooter games love petting the animals!
Something we are very glad we didn’t miss was the path to the hidden home of Santa Claus that you may only reach by walking a relatively long and interlacing path.
The attention to detail in the Christmas Factory was great and all the little gnomes were lovely. Another lovely thing was the lighting in the dark. When we left the home of Santa Claus, we strolled around the Christmas Market for some more time and enjoyed the views on the enlightened Liseberg.
A real one-of-a-kind experience! I’d recommend visiting Liseberg in winter for everyone who loves Christmas markets and pastries. However, I’m of the opinion that the entrance fee (excluding food, drinks and all kinds of games and gambling) is a little over the top.
Interested in more other specials? Here’s an overview!
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Looks great! We’re staying in the hotel very close to the themepark! Haven’t been there yet, but colleagues of mine have been. Despite the hugh entrance fee, indeed worth visiting! I am waiting for summer to visit 🙂 Gothenburg is one of my favorite city’s for a layover 🙂
Liseberg in summer is something very special. I just had a look at the attractions in summer once, but it looked absolutely stunning. I can fully understand why you like Gothenburg that much. It’s a great city 🙂
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