Varberg

Varberg is a city in Halland on Sweden's west coast approximately 70 kilometres south of Gothenburg. The municipality, Varbergs kommun, has around 65,000 inhabitants, with half of them in Varberg. Varberg is known for its beaches, crowded at summer with visitors from many parts of Sweden.

Among other attractions is Varbergs fästning, a coastal fortress with a museum, and the Grimeton radio station, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Understand

During the Middle Ages, Halland was part of Denmark. Varberg had city privileges at least since the early 14th century, and has been an important centre of commerce since then. In the 16th and 17th century, the expanding Swedish Empire fought Denmark over the southern Scandinavian provinces, eventually annexing Halland in 1645. The fortress was expanded during the centuries, but was decommissioned in 1830 and is a museum today.

Get in

The daily ferry service from Grenaa closed in early 2020. A replacement service runs between Grenaa and Halmstad, 30 minutes south of Varberg. Additionally, between late 2019 and 2024, construction work on a new railway tunnel through the city is taking place. There will be disruptions to passenger traffic while the project is ongoing.

There is no airport in Varberg except for a small landing strip on Getterön only used for recreational flying, nearest international airport is in Gothenburg which has flights from most airport hubs in Europe. Ground travel to Varberg by airport bus to Gothenburg and train. Copenhagen Airport is an option, connected to Varberg by train, 2½ hours travel time.

Coming by rail, Varberg is along the line between Gothenburg and Copenhagen via Malmö with plenty of departures, every hour during the day and more often during mornings and evenings, named Öresundståg. Travel time from Gothenburg is 40 minutes and three hours from Copenhagen. Tickets for Öresundståg trains can be bought with credit card in machines at the station. They are not sold on board, must be prebought. Connections is also available from Borås with six trains daily, see Hallandstrafiken. There are no direct trains from the capital Stockholm, a change of trains in Gothenburg is necessary, with tickets from SJ. Varberg station 📍 is a block north of the city centre.

Highway E6/E20 passes by just outside the city. From Stockholm use roads E4, 40 and 41.

Cycling is also a popular option with several bicycle paths passing through.

Lorensberg parking garage (Lorensberg parkeringshus), Östra Vallgatan, 57.1044°, 12.2550°. Large parking garage next to the city centre, free parking during daytime. Ground floor limited to three hours while lower floor allows 10 hour all-day parkering. Fees applies during nights. 2021-07-13

Get around

The city center is easily accessible by foot. Other options are bicycle and car. There is a small bus network run by Hallandstrafiken, there are at least half-hourly departures from morning to early evening.

See

Varberg Fortress (Varbergs fästning), 57.106667°, 12.24°. An old castle close to the city center. Parts of the castle are open 24/7 while one needs to be in a guided tour to reach other parts. 2019-08-06
- Halland Museum of Cultural History (Hallands Kulturhistoriska Museum), +46 340-828 30. Within the fortress contains, among other things the Bocksten Man, a mummified corpse from the 14th century. 2019-08-06
Grimeton Radio Station, Radiostationen 72 (10 km east of the city), 57.105556°, 12.390278°, +46 340-674190. The only remaining radio station of the 1920s long wave network is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. During summer months it is possible to visit the site at Grimeton, with the machine transmitter used for VLF transmissions on 17.2 kHz. It is the only workable machine transmitter in the world! 2019-07-26
Getterön, 57.121501°, 12.216243°. A former island (now connected to the mainland) 2 km northwest of Varberg with a bird station and several nice beaches. There is also a beautiful area in the west part. 2017-09-29

Do

Get a spa at Apelviken or just walk around. Varberg also has some of the best wind surfing in Sweden, with a surf centre in Apelviken. The centre offers rental surf boards and it has a café that's open day time. Next to the center you find the restaurant "Majas vid Havet" [Majas by the Sea] which offers excellent food and wine. They're only open in July, and they put on concerts practically every night of the week.

Varberg's Chess Club (Varbergs Shackklubb). At Varberg's Chess Club you can come as you are and enjoy a game of chess, either with your friends or with someone in the club. 2021-04-18
Kallbadhuset, Otto Torells gata 7, 57.108795°, 12.241095°, +46 340 17396, varberg@kallbadhuset.se. A beautiful wooden bathhouse in the ocean (hence the kall prefix meaning cold) near the city center open all year round. 2019-08-06
Varbergs Kurort, Nils Kreugers väg 5, 57.088899°, 12.243287°, +46 340 629800. One of Sweden's most historic health institutions, established in 1902 as a sanatorium. Since the early 1970s Varbergs Kurort have been developed as a premier spa hotel winning several European awards. 2019-08-06

Buy

Eat

Varberg has several different restaurants and bars serving food. It also has a fish shop in the harbour for those wanting to make their own meal. Apelviken, a short taxi ride south of the city, offers a wide range of food, with 4 popular restaurants spread out along the sand strip. "Solviken" attracts mostly customers from the nearby camping. "John's Place" is famous for its fantastic location - on the beach - and it has a good but pricey Bar-B-Q. "Majas vid Havet" is well known for its concerts with major Swedish pop groups, their good food and nice atmosphere. Be sure to order their tender ribs. The shooting star is "Olles", a small and very popular outdoor restaurant in the south part of the bay. They serve good food at great value.

John's Place, Tångkörarvägen 4, 57.083360°, 12.258109°, +46 340-109 03. 2019-08-05
Tre Toppar, Storgatan 2, Träslövsläge, 57.057873°, 12.273129°, +46 340-671230, info@tretoppar.se. Open daily from April to September. One of the biggest ice cream parlours in Sweden, serving up to 60 different varieties of ice cream. Expect to queue!
Joels Brygga, Fiskehamnsvägen 2, Träslövsläge, 57.0574°, 12.2704°, +46 340 225010. Seafood restaurant located in the harbour. 2021-07-13

Drink

Varberg has several bars and a good nightlife in the summer. Most bars are open to 02:00 on the weekends.

Cafe Nyfiket, Kungsgatan 20, 57.106529°, 12.250103°, +46 340-14714. Cafe and sports bar. Watch soccer while having a kanelbulle and a cup of coffee. Offers a cake buffet in the afternoon.

Sleep

Hotels

Revolutionary lodging

Gästis and Havanna is owned by the same eccentric millionaire, Lasse Diding, who has long been known for his socialist sympathies. Therefore, in both hotels you will find a large library of socialist literature and many nods to revolutionary figures past and present. Hotell Havanna serves Fidel's favourite cigars and in Gästis you can indulge in the Lenin Baths.

Varbergs Stadshotell & Asia Spa, Kungsgatan 24-26, 57.105314°, 12.249512°, +46 340-690100, info@varbergsstadshotell.com. Centrally located at the main square and probably the most high-end you can get in town. Rooms starts at 1195 kr per night 2016-04-05
Hotell Gästis, Borgmästaregatan 1, 57.107138°, 12.249105°, +46 340-18050, gastis@hotellgastis.se. A small family-run hotel located in the heart of Varberg, the basement houses the Lenin Baths, a spa establishment made as a replica of a bath in Saint Petersburg frequented by Lenin. From 995 kr per night 2016-04-05
Hotell Havanna, Krabbes väg 4, 57.100669°, 12.246685°, +46 340-100 50, info@hotellhavanna.se. 2016-04-05
Varbergs Kusthotell, Nils Kreugers väg 5, 57.088540°, 12.242751°, +46 340-629800, info.varbergskurort@comwell.se. A very popular spa hotel right by the sea. 2016-04-05

Camping

Agrell´s stugor o camping, Ullebovägen 14, 57.089628°, 12.252807°, +46 340-12054, info@agrellstugor.se. Camp site 2 km south of the city centre 2016-07-14
Apelviken, Sanatorievägen 4, 57.087975°, 12.247853°, +46 340-64 13 00. Camp site between two beaches 1.5 km south of the city centre 2016-07-14
Björkängs havsbad, Havsbadsvägen, 57.009372°, 12.350993°, +46 340-42134, info@bjorkangshavsbad.se. Camp site 13 km south of the city centre 2016-07-14
Espeviks camping, Västerängsvägen 7, 57.191073°, 12.189645°, +46 340 - 62 20 22. Camp site by the ocean 13 km north of the city centre 2016-07-14
First Camp Kärradal Varberg, Nisebäcksvägen 1, 57.182957°, 12.220675°, +46 340 - 62 23 77, karradal@firstcamp.se. Camp site 10 km north of the city centre 2016-07-14
Getteröns camping, Valvikavägen 3, 57.116708°, 12.213674°, +46 340 - 62 20 22. Camp site on Getterön 2 km north west of the city centre 2016-07-14
Läjets camping, Nygård 3, 57.072935°, 12.282103°, +46 340 - 20 54 80, info@lajetscamping.se. Camp site 5 km south of the city centre 2016-07-14
Stråvalla camping, Kärra 40, 57.300146°, 12.189653°, +46 340 - 65 73 73, info@stravallacamping.se. Camp site 27 km north of the city centre 2016-07-14

Go next

From Varberg there are excellent bicycle paths as well as good road connections (E6/E20) and frequent trains both northbound and southbound along the coast connecting:

Kungsbacka, 40 km north
Göteborg, 80 km north
Falkenberg, 40 km south

There is also a train connection as well as the road 40 connecting to Borås.

Other notable places to go to is Ullared 33 km east along the road 153 in Falkenberg municipality with the massive shopping mall Gekås.

Moreover, you can take the ferry (dead link: January 2023) to Grenå in Denmark. There are two daily departures and the crossing takes about 4 hours.

Varberg - urban area in Varberg Municipality, Sweden