Swedish Design Museum To Go – West

Bookings for Swedish Design Museum To Go will be temporarily closed.

What is the Swedish Design Museum To Go?

It's a design exhibition in a backpack. As far as we know, it’s the very first design exhibition in the world where you get to take the objects out in the real world. It is a collaboration between Visit Sweden and four regions in Sweden – including West Sweden and Gothenburg.

Practical information

Swedish Design Museum To Go West consists of a backpack filled with several iconic design objects from Gothenburg and West Sweden. Linked to each item there are one or several experiences and places you are advised to visit, places associated with both historical and modern design and architecture. Simply bring the backpack and transform the whole of West Sweden into your very own museum. The backpack can be booked at Visit Sweden’s website and collected at the Gothenburg Tourist Information Centre.

Read the full booking terms and book your backpack here.

Content of exhibition: The backpack items

These are the design items found in the backpack for the West region.

Recommended experiences

This wouldn't be a Museum To Go if it was set on the same location all the time. Therefore the curator Frida Ramstedt has selected some of her favorite places in the region with connection to the eight design objects.

Fika and design shopping

Swedes are known for their Fika culture. Just a short train ride from Gothenburg you´ll find the small city of Alingsås, also known as the Capital of Fika. With a long tradition of coffee and cakes and around thirty cafés in the relatively small town center, this is a trip worth taking.

Of course, the people of Gothenburg are proud of their coffee too. There is a wide range of places to go. One of them is Da Matteo. Bring the coffee cup Dancing Dune and enjoy the locally roasted coffee. Da Matteo has several coffee shops in the city, their flagship store is located on Magasinsgatan, on a small sqaure with many fashion and design shops. Next door you will find Grandpa, with a carefully curated selection of fashion and design, and in the old stables across the square is Artilleriet with an eclectic collection of interior design pieces.

When you feel like a second Fika, take a short walk to Haga just stone's throw away. Café Husaren on Haga Nygata is home to the classic Hagabullen, a cinnamon bun which is the size of a dinner plate.

Walks and architecture

Put on the shoes from Icebug, plug in your Jays earphones (and open the recommended playlist) and head out to discover some pretty remarkable sites. In several places in West Sweden you can combine some friendly hiking with spectacular architecture in a close to nature environment.

Why not try out the hiking trails on Kållandsö right next to Sweden’s largest lake Vänern. Here, just outside the porcelain town of Lidköping, you’ll find the Naturum Vänerskärgården Victoriahuset, designed by the Gothenburg-based firm White Arkitekter. With its ribbed wooden façade it almost disappears into the surrounding forest. It’s a striking example of how Swedish architecture is informed by what is around it. Next door is Läckö Castle, which has been chosen as Sweden's most beautiful castle.

Photographer: Jonas Ingman

Another option is to walk a part of the Pilgrim Trail between Falköping and Varnhem in Skaraborg. On the slope behind Varnhem Abbey is the ruin of one of Sweden’s oldest churches. It’s called Kata Gård and historians believe that the crypt of the church could actually be the oldest preserved room in the country. The old crypt is now framed by a unique superstructure designed by AIX Architects. Their wooden building has received a lot of attention internationally. It made it to the final at the World Architecture Festival and has been nominated for building of the year at Arch Daily.

Take the boat to Käringön

One of the best things about the west coast is how easy it is to leave the mainland and get out into the archipelago, even if you don’t have your own boat. Both Västtrafik (the region’s public transporter) and the many local ferry companies in the area have departures several times daily to cosy islands and coastal communities. Why not keep your ears warm with the beanie from EmmaMalena and make a day trip to Käringön island – the place where Emma and Malena laid the foundation for their company?

Käringön is one of the cosiest places on the coast and despite its small size, and the fact that the island is completely car-free, there are several restaurants, plenty of accommodation and shops (including Emma and Malena's shop). Roll out the blanket from Ekelunds on the cliffs to enjoy the sea breeze and play a game of Skogen Memory.

Museums and other places for reflection

Your first museum visit should be the Röhsska Museum of Design and Craft, which is just a few minutes walk from Gothenburg Tourist Information Centre where you pick up the backpack. There are about 50,000 objects, ranging from modern Scandinavian design to archaeological finds from China. Bring the notebook from Rum för Papper and the Ballograf pen and just jot down your impressions and ideas. Palmhuset at the Garden Society of Gothenburg and Håberget at the Botanical Garden are two other places where it is easy to sit down and just let the thoughts flow freely for a while.

If you want to continue exploring museums with design and fashion there are several to choose from within a two-hour journey from Gothenburg. Such as the Textile Museum of Sweden in Borås, Glasets Hus (meaning the house of glass) in Limmared and Rörstrand Museum in Lidköping.

 
Book your backpack

The booking of Swedish Design Museum To Go is made at Visit Sweden where you also find the full booking info.

Already fully booked? Don’t worry, it's fine to discover all the places connected to the items without having the backpack with you.