Gothenburg's Best Museums

Gothenburg has a Viking ship, the world’s only mounted blue whale and a newly rebuilt aquarium, and under-20s see most of it free. Who runs each museum decides the price, the pass and the rules, so this guide groups them that way.

When you need this

It’s raining and you have a day in Gothenburg. You have a 19-year-old and a student with you and want to know who pays. You’re wondering whether the Museum Card beats single tickets, or whether anything is open on a Monday. Or you’re arriving with a pushchair and a backpack. This page answers all of those from each museum’s own pages, checked in September 2026.

Who runs what, and why it matters

Gothenburg’s museums belong to three families, and the family sets the rules.

The state museum’s age limit is one year lower because state museums have charged adults since the 2023 budget ended free entry for everyone over 19. The city and the region set their own limit at 20. A 19-year-old therefore enters the city museums free and pays at the Museum of World Culture.

Two more places round it off. Maritiman is a floating museum of ten ships in the harbor, open in season only. Universeum, the national science center next door to the Museum of World Culture, is covered in our Gothenburg travel guide; it is the one big indoor attraction open every day, Mondays included.

The museums, one by one

Göteborgs stadsmuseum (Museum of Gothenburg) sits in Ostindiska huset, the old East India Company building near Brunnsparken. Its headline object is the Äskekärr ship, Sweden’s only Viking ship on display, with regular guided tours. There is a Children’s Museum on the top floor. Between 14 September and 3 April the lift to the third floor is out of service while an exhibition is built, and the façade is under scaffolding; the museum stays open.

Göteborgs konstmuseum (Gothenburg Museum of Art) at Götaplatsen, at the top of Kungsportsavenyn, includes the Hasselblad Center’s photography exhibitions in its admission. Under the current schedule it closes for rebuilding in 2028 and reopens in 2032, so anyone planning a trip from 2028 should not count on it. It also warns sensitive visitors about regular construction blasting nearby.

Röhsska museet is the city’s museum of design and craft, a short walk from the art museum at Vasagatan, near the Valand stop. It stays open late on Thursdays.

Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet (Maritime Museum and Aquarium) has reopened after an extensive renovation and extension. Older articles still describe it as closed. The new aquarium shows habitats from the world’s oceans, including a living coral reef.

Göteborgs naturhistoriska museum (Natural History Museum) stands in Slottsskogen park. It holds the Malmska whale, a young blue whale stranded south of the city on 29 October 1865 and more than 16 meters long, which the museum calls the world’s only mounted blue whale. You can step inside it only on special occasions, such as Swedish elections or special events.

Världskulturmuseet (Museum of World Culture) is at Korsvägen, between Liseberg and Universeum, with exhibitions on objects and stories from around the world.

Maritiman shows ten ships kept in original condition in the harbor. It runs program days (programdag) with guided tours and children’s activities, and cheaper base days (basdag) where you explore at your own pace with free audio guides.

What happened to the Volvo Museum? The Volvo Museum at Arendal closed in December 2023. Part of its collection is now at World of Volvo, a company-owned brand center next to Liseberg. This guide covers public museums only.

Free entry and the Museum Card

At the four city museums and the Natural History Museum, everyone under 20 and every student enters free; students show ID. At the Museum of World Culture, everyone under 19 and visitors with disabilities and their companions enter free. On Culture Night (kulturnatta), 23 October 2026, the Museum of World Culture is free for all.

The Museum Card (Museikortet) is the city’s own pass:

• It is personal and valid for one calendar year.
• It covers the four city museums only: Konstmuseum, Stadsmuseum, Röhsska and Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet.
• It costs the same as two adult day tickets, so it pays off from the second city museum.
• It gives 20% off exhibitions with a raised fee. Some exhibitions cost extra even with the card.
• A city day ticket, by contrast, is valid only at the museum where you bought it.

The card does not cover the Natural History Museum or the Museum of World Culture, which sell their own annual passes. The Museum of World Culture also runs 2-for-1 on the last Thursday of each month.

Mondays, late evenings and holidays

Plan your museum day for Tuesday to Sunday. All six museums above close on Mondays. On a Monday, Universeum is open 10:00–18:00, and Maritiman’s ships are open daily in high summer.

The city museums also close on Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, 6 June, Midsummer Eve and Day, Christmas Eve and Day, and New Year’s Eve and Day; Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet closes on Boxing Day too. On open holidays and the day before a holiday they close at 17:00. The Museum of World Culture lists no holiday closures, so check its page if your visit falls on a holiday.

Maritiman is seasonal. In 2026 it opened for Easter (2–12 April), on selected spring days, daily from 13 June to 31 August (10:00–20:00), on selected autumn days to 23 October and for the autumn half-term, 24 October to 1 November. No public dates are listed after that.

Pushchairs, bags and access

The rules differ by building, and families get caught out.

• Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet: no pushchairs inside at all. There is covered pushchair parking next door and a few baby carriers to borrow. Lifts reach every floor.
• Natural History Museum: no pushchairs in the exhibitions and no large bags or backpacks; lockers are on the entrance level. Lifts serve all three floors.
• Museum of World Culture: no pushchairs on floors 3 and 4; leave them in the cloakroom under the stairs. Free lockers by the entrance, lifts to every floor, a wheelchair to borrow and a hearing loop in the auditorium.
• Stadsmuseum: lockers in the foyer; pushchairs stay there while the third-floor lift is out. You may eat packed food in the foyer.
• Maritiman: the ships keep their high thresholds and steep ladders, so much of the fleet is hard to reach in a wheelchair.

Pay by card. Stadsmuseum takes only card and Swish, and Konstmuseum, Röhsska and Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet are cashless too. Only assistance dogs are allowed at Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet. Maritiman, like the art museum, warns of blasting vibrations from nearby rail construction.

Getting there

Every museum is on Gothenburg’s tram and bus network in zone A, where you can tap your own contactless bank card or phone (one card per traveller). See Gothenburg public transport for how it works. Konstmuseum and Röhsska pair well on foot; the Museum of World Culture and Universeum sit side by side at Korsvägen.

Mistakes to avoid

• Planning museums for a Monday. Six of the seven are shut.
• Paying for a teenager or student at a city museum. Under 20 and students are free.
• Expecting the Museum Card to cover the Natural History Museum or the Museum of World Culture.
• Bringing only cash.
• Wheeling a pushchair to Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet’s door and expecting to take it in.
• Heading to Arendal for the Volvo Museum, which closed in 2023.

Practical information

The Museum Card costs the same as two adult city day tickets; see each museum’s page for current amounts.

FAQ

Are museums in Gothenburg free?

For visitors under 20 and students, the four city museums and the Natural History Museum are free: Konstmuseum, Stadsmuseum, Röhsska and Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet. The state Museum of World Culture is free for everyone under 19 and, on 23 October 2026, for all during Culture Night. Other adults pay a day ticket or buy a pass.

Are Gothenburg museums open on Mondays?

Almost none. Konstmuseum, Stadsmuseum, Röhsska, Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet, the Museum of World Culture and the Natural History Museum all close on Mondays. Universeum, the science center at Korsvägen, is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, and Maritiman’s ships open daily in high summer. Plan the museum day for Tuesday to Sunday.

What is the Gothenburg Museum Card?

The Museum Card (Museikortet) is a personal card valid for one calendar year at the four city museums: Konstmuseum, Stadsmuseum, Röhsska and Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet. It costs the same as two adult day tickets, so it pays off from the second museum, and gives 20% off exhibitions with a raised fee. It does not cover the Natural History Museum or the Museum of World Culture.

Is the Maritime Museum and Aquarium open again?

Yes. Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet has reopened after an extensive renovation and extension, with new aquariums showing habitats from the world’s oceans, including a living coral reef. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, until 20:00 on Wednesdays, and is free under 20. Pushchairs must be left in the covered parking next to the building.

Can you go inside the blue whale in Gothenburg?

Only on special occasions. The Malmska whale at the Natural History Museum, a young blue whale stranded south of Gothenburg in 1865 and more than 16 meters long, is described by the museum as the world’s only mounted blue whale. Its interior opens on special occasions such as Swedish elections or special events.

Is Maritiman open in winter?

Maritiman’s 2026 calendar ends on 1 November, and no public opening dates are listed after that. In summer, 13 June to 31 August 2026, the ships were open daily 10:00–20:00; in spring and autumn only on selected days. Base days cost less than program days. Steep ladders make much of the fleet hard to reach in a wheelchair.

What happened to the Volvo Museum?

The Volvo Museum at Arendal closed in December 2023. Part of its collection is now shown at World of Volvo, a company-owned brand and experience center next to Liseberg. Older guides and maps still point to the Arendal site on Hisingen, so check before travelling out there. This page covers only public museums.

Related guides

• Gothenburg travel guide — getting in, Universeum, and the art museum’s closure years
• Gothenburg public transport — tap-to-pay trams to every museum on this page
• Free museums in Stockholm — the same free-entry logic in the capital
• The Vasa Museum — Sweden’s other great ship museum
• Fotografiska — photography museum
• Opening hours in Sweden — why Monday is museum closing day

Facts verified 2026-09-25. Sources: City of Gothenburg museums (Göteborgs stadsmuseum, Göteborgs konstmuseum, Röhsska museet, Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet), Världskulturmuseet, Göteborgs naturhistoriska museum (Västra Götaland Region), Maritiman, World of Volvo, Universeum, Västtrafik — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.