Universeum

Science you can touch

Universeum is Gothenburg's big science centre, combining three worlds under one roof: a science centre, a zoo and a public aquarium. It's one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe, spread across ten floors that run from the seabed up into the canopy of a tropical rainforest. It opened in 2001, designed by architect Gert Wingårdh; the building at Korsvägen sits right next to the amusement park Liseberg, and the two make an easy combination for a single day out.

The idea is the same throughout: hands-on rather than just looking. Almost every station is built to be touched and tried, and all the permanent exhibitions, labs, shows and guided tours are included in admission. The one exception is the special exhibition Wisdome, Sweden's largest visualisation dome, which is booked separately.

Rainforest, ocean and more

The centrepiece is a living tropical rainforest inside a large glass cube. Bridges climb up to 25 metres into the crown of a kapok tree, with real animals living among the foliage - scarlet ibises, toucans, monkeys, sloths, and red-bellied piranhas in the water below. It's warm, humid and noisy, and you walk right through the vegetation.

The second big draw is the Ocean Zone, holding more than three million litres of water in total:

• The large ocean tank holds 1.4 million litres and is home to sharks and tropical fish; a glass tunnel lets you look up at reef and nurse sharks from below
• A 16-metre aquarium shows native fish from Swedish waters
• A touch pool with blue-spotted stingrays invites a gentle stroke

There are further themed zones that, depending on your interests, can easily fill hours: Space covering the cosmos, Mathrix on mathematics, Humans on the human body, The Reptilarium with reptiles, The Wilderness, plus open experiment areas like the Vislab and the Chemistry Lab. For the youngest visitors, there's the Miniverseum, aimed at children aged 0 to 6.

Tickets and prices

Admission is not free, and booking online in advance is always cheapest: the price at the door is simply the online price plus about 30 SEK. Online, adults pay from around 255 SEK and children aged 3 to 16 from around 200 SEK. Guide prices at the door are 285 SEK for adults, 230 SEK for a child's ticket and 250 SEK for students and seniors. Children under 3 go free. On site, it's card payment only. Tickets are available on the official ticket page.

The SEK figures above are guide prices, online prices can vary from day to day, so check the current price in the booking system. With the Go City Göteborg Pass, standard admission is fully included: just scan the pass at the entrance, no booking needed. Only Wisdome is excluded and costs extra. For more on discount passes, see our guide to the Gothenburg Card.

Visiting and the best time to go

Allow 2.5 to 4 hours for a full visit, more with children, since there's something to try at almost every station. It's open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, all year round, with no weekly closing day. Entry is in half-hour time slots, which spreads out visitor numbers but can mean short waits at peak times.

The quietest time is first thing in the morning, right at opening. It gets busiest at weekends, during school holidays and on rainy days - Universeum is one of the city's most popular rainy-day attractions. If you can, come on a weekday and come early.

Getting there and the surrounding area

Universeum is at Södra vägen 50, by Korsvägen. The stop of the same name is served by several tram and bus lines; it's about a 20-minute walk from Central Station. There are bike racks at the entrance. On-site parking is heavily limited by ongoing construction work on the Västlänken rail tunnel, alternatives include the car parks at Liseberg västra (about 500 m), Focushuset (about 700 m) and Liseberg östra (about 850 m); accessible parking is available at the neighbouring Världskulturmuseet.

Right next door is the amusement park Liseberg, so the two family attractions combine easily into a single day. If you're travelling with kids, you'll find more suitable spots in our guide to Gothenburg with kids. For a maritime experience down at the harbour, try the floating ship museum Maritiman. For context within the wider city, see our list of Gothenburg's top attractions.