So, how Charming isn't Gamla stan in Västerås? This area seems to be called Kyrkbacken and is full of winding alleys with charming wooden houses. We walked around for a few hours yesterday and it was really beautiful. impossible to put the camera down. Moreover, we found a hotel ... in a treetop.
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Along the Black River
The meandering river Svartån runs through Västerås and flows into Lake Mälaren. When you walk from the car park in the guest harbour you can pretty much just follow the river upwards to get into town. The river runs past Vasaparken and then into the old neighbourhoods, where the houses are tightly packed next to the river.
Wooden house in the old town
The wooden houses in the old neighbourhood are charmingly crooked and it's easy to let your imagination run wild. Who lived here originally? What was life like back then? On the house with the stone foundation there was a small sign: 'Lars Westholm, 1778 I built this house'. The floor rests on a brick basement, probably from an earlier stage."
Hotel Woodpecker
If you happen to look up while walking through Vasa Park in the centre of Västerås, there is a good chance that you will see a small red cabin. The cabin itself looks quite normal, but it may not be so normal that it is 13 metres up in the air, among the branches of one of the park's most stately oak trees.
The hotel is the work of artist Mikael Genberg, who has also created the underwater hotel Utter Inn, the half-submerged hotel Ooops (which we showed photos of yesterday) and for a period placed a red cabin at the Globe.
The hotel is not bookable at the moment, but apparently it is possible to book accommodation here in the summer months. The hotel has one room with a 120 cm wide bed and kitchen equipment such as a hotplate, crockery, a 10 litre jug of fresh water and cooling facilities. The hotel has a dry toilet but no electricity or heating. To get to and from the hotel you are hoisted up and down in a harness ...
Old town in Västerås
Last but not least, a picture from Stora Torget in Västerås. I have no idea what kind of pink houses these are, but they are only so fine.
We have received even more great tips on things to see and do in Västerås from your readers, and we really thank you for that! We don't have time for everything - we also want a quiet and relaxed weekend. Anyway, we have had a very unexpected experience, which will result in a report here on the blog and we also have plans for tomorrow. We'll be back!
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Kate says:
Really cozy neighbouring town I / we have who live in Sala. Maybe take a trip there today and stroll around...! Wishing you a nice Sunday in the wind 🙂.
Hugs Kate
29 October 2017 - 7:50
Helena says:
Yes, oh how windy it is today!!! Wish you also a nice Sunday 🙂
29 October 2017 - 9:34
Matts Torebring says:
I did not know about this beautifully preserved old building in Västerås. Now I know better and will stop by when we are in the neighbourhood. Thanks for the tip. As a contractor and always some construction project going on, I wonder, how do you maintain the houses against the waterline?
29 October 2017 - 8:09
Helena says:
Really nice neighbourhood! The houses are right next to the river, but there is stone at the bottom and the houses themselves start higher up, a good bit from the waterline, so I guess it works.
29 October 2017 - 9:35
Lennart says:
Nice place!
29 October 2017 - 8:42
Kenneth Risberg says:
Nice report on Västerås, the cucumber city. Looking forward to what the "unexpected experience" might be.
29 October 2017 - 8:48
Helena says:
Glad you liked our report! And we'll get back to you about "the unexpected" on Tuesday or Wednesday 🙂.
29 October 2017 - 9:37
Ama de casa says:
Really cosy there in Västerås! Have been there a few times and visited friends - close and good with the train from Stockholm. Well, it was close and good before anyway 😉.
Looks like there are not so many cowards there either. Thinking about the padlocks - don't see any combination locks like I've seen elsewhere 😀.
Have a nice Sunday!
29 October 2017 - 9:29
Helena says:
Maybe not as close for you now ... but you are close to many other nice places 🙂 And haha, maybe a young combination lock ... 😉.
29 October 2017 - 12:58
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
I had almost forgotten how cosy places there are in Västerås. It will probably be a hb visit when we have the roads past.
29 October 2017 - 9:49
Helena says:
Yes, and also a good place to park 🙂
29 October 2017 - 12:59
Snows says:
Cosy but impractical hotel I would say!
29 October 2017 - 9:54
Helena says:
Haha can agree! It's a bit impractical that you have to be hoisted up and down with a harness ... but at least it's central 😉 .
29 October 2017 - 13:00
pilla says:
Super fun to read about my hometown from a tourist perspective. I have never thought of Vässan as a "cosy" city.
29 October 2017 - 9:57
Helena says:
It's very easy to get home blind and miss what's closest 😉.
29 October 2017 - 13:02
Sawsan bawaqneh says:
Sawsan bawaqneh
We walked yesterday with Kortavägen students from Folkuniversitetet in old västerås.I was impressed by the beautiful wooden houses and all the historical places in the church hill.
We visited the church and it was really impossible to stop looking and thinking what life was like then.
23 March 2023 - 21:06
Mr Steve says:
A city well suited for refreshing walks.
During my professional life I was quite often in Västerås so I got to know the city quite well.
29 October 2017 - 10:04
Helena says:
Glad you know Västerås! Nice city we think 🙂
29 October 2017 - 13:03
Nils-Åke says:
Västerås is a fine old industrial city.
29 October 2017 - 10:05
Liniz Travel says:
Yes Västerås is so beautiful 🙂 my old hometown 🙂 hugs
29 October 2017 - 10:12
Helena says:
Oh, so you're from Västerås, I didn't know that! Nice city!
29 October 2017 - 13:04
Ditte says:
Västerås is highly favoured here too. Really a nice old city that we like to visit quite often. Good to have friends scattered because then there will be some visits to make.
29 October 2017 - 10:37
Helena says:
Of course it can be good to have friends scattered here and there 🙂 .
29 October 2017 - 13:06
Ditte says:
Forgot! I think you really captured västerås nicely in your pictures.
A trip here in summer is also recommended.
29 October 2017 - 10:38
Helena says:
Glad you like our pictures!
29 October 2017 - 13:06
BP says:
It has been a while since I was in Västerås and I also think the city is cosy. The atmosphere with the beautiful buildings reminds me of Uppsala, Sigtuna and Norrtälje - all at once.
Then I wonder why it's so crowded there...
Great pictures by the way!
29 October 2017 - 14:22
Helena says:
Glad you like the pictures! It was not crowded in Västerås, but it felt like people were hanging out more among the shops and shopping centres than among the old-fashioned houses in Kyrbacken ... for some reason 😉.
29 October 2017 - 21:42
Biggeros says:
I don't think I have been to Västerås. It seems to be a cosy place with its boat harbour. What unusual hotels you discovered a treehouse and a boat hotel. I really like buildings that stand out :)
29 October 2017 - 14:33
Helena says:
I like when there are a lot of harbours and boats! 🙂 And yes, the different hotels are fun 🙂 .
29 October 2017 - 21:42
Lena - good for the soul says:
Yes, those neighbourhoods are really charming! It's fun to fantasise about what it was like to live like that a couple of hundred years ago!
Hug Lena
29 October 2017 - 17:32
Helena says:
I love thinking about these things. A dizzying feeling! 🙂
29 October 2017 - 21:45
Husis blog says:
There are so many gems, you just have to find them. These nice old cities / neighbourhoods. Available in Karlshamn, Linköping, Gothenburg yes the cities are many and the owners really enjoy these neighbourhoods, so cosy. Good of the cities to preserve the old in this way.
29 October 2017 - 18:15
Helena says:
I don't think I've been to Karlshamn. Maybe it will be a trip on occasion! 🙂
29 October 2017 - 21:45
Christine's Stories says:
It looked undeniably cosy. I've never been to Västerås but it seems like a nice little town. Even though I'm a typical city dweller 😉.
29 October 2017 - 20:00
Helena says:
I also enjoy living in a big city, but I think smaller towns can be very nice to visit 🙂.
29 October 2017 - 21:46
Ms M says:
Oh, for me, västerås is industry... but I'm obviously wrong 🙂 Looks as cosy as ever.
30 October 2017 - 5:55
Helena says:
Perhaps a city has more than one face... 😉.
01 November 2017 - 22:24
Maya Nordlund says:
Yes, the Old Town looked really cosy! Also love crooked alleys with cute little houses! And that hotel would have been really fun to try living in!?
01 November 2017 - 21:43
Helena says:
The hotel seems fun, if not entirely practical perhaps, haha 😉.
01 November 2017 - 22:24
Maria's Memoirs says:
But oh how nice Västerås is! I have probably been there in my younger teens but have no memory of these beautiful places... I was probably only interested in shopping at that time... So beautiful with the river winding between the houses, Sweden's little Venice or what? 🙂
02 November 2017 - 12:36
Helena says:
Right? You have other things to think about when you are a teenager 😉 But nice!
05 November 2017 - 20:50
Linda, resamedvetet.se says:
It's amazing that you can still be surprised by how charming and beautiful Sweden is. Maybe it's time to learn?
05 November 2017 - 20:05
Helena says:
Well, isn't it? I feel the same way, just as surprised every time 😉 Seriously, we have to realise that Sweden is full of nice cities!
05 November 2017 - 20:51
Annette says:
Thanks for the awakening! With me that is 😉 When we visit Västerås we usually go straight to the other side of the bay where you stood, to Framnäs where my mother-in-law and husband live. Or to Västerås galleria. Next time we visit our relatives I will suggest a photo walk to Kyrkbacken. I googled and saw that Café Brogården at Svartån closed down, sadly, but maybe there is another café to visit there in the nice environment.
08 November 2017 - 12:12