Location: Motala
Top Things to do in Motala
10 Things to Do in Motala That You Shouldn't Miss
Motala (Swedish pronunciation: [²muːˌtɑːla]) is a locality and the seat of Motala Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 29,823 inhabitants (41,956 in the entire municipality) in 2010. It is the third largest city of Östergötland, following Linköping and Norrköping. Motala is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Vättern and is regarded as the main centre of both the Göta Canal and the surrounding lake region.
Restaurants in Motala
1. Motala Motormuseum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 130 reviews
Reviewed By AdventureUnlimited01 - Washington
We came to Motala to experience the Gota Canal and were pleasantly surprised to find this amazing motor museum located at the enterance to our hotel. I can't even imagine the effort and expense it's taken to accumulate such a wide variety of 'motors' We spent several hours in the museum admiring the entire collection. We enjoyed spending time with one of the men on the team tasked with maintaining the museum. This is so much more than a museum...it's an experience.
2. Vadstena Klosterkyrka
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 84 reviews
Reviewed By francescopadova111 - padova
Quiet spiritual atmosphere, we prayed for a little while and were partcularly impressed by the altar pala.
3. Hogby Spa & Konferens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 19 reviews
I vastra Ostergotland i granslandet mellan slatt och skog ligger var Spa och Konferensanlaggning. Var Spaavdelning ar inspirerad av Hamam och har njuter man i nagon av vara fem pooler, angbastu eller torrbastu. Skona behandlingar erbjuds. Dagspa eller ocksa med overnattning. Hotellet har 25 baddar. Har ar ocksa en plats for moten. Vi har tva konferensrum, for 10 resp 25 personer. Vi erbjuder en lugn och avkopplande med miljo.
Reviewed By Camilla Å
We were a bunch of girls staying in the spa for three hours. The time passed fast, due to very much to talk about. The place is clean and fresh, but the rooms where you switch into the bathing suit are small, so small that I first thought that we went the wrong way. Inside the spa it's very peaceful, but to my surprise people hanging around everywhere. There were no place for us girls to sit except for in the pools or the sauna. Therefore we went outside straight away and after some hard work we managed to get the protection cap off the jacuzzi. We stayed there for a long time, since it was great. The air was chilly and it was getting dark around us. Super nice! After a while we went inside to get something to drink, but again it was hard to find a place to sit inside the spa. Therefore we went out and tried the other pool that is only knee-deep high. Sitting in that one was actually even better than the jacuzzi.
4. Vattern
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 38 reviews
Reviewed By Griff138 - London, United Kingdom
The most southerly alpine lake in Sweden with crystal clear water. It offers fishing, boat trips archipelago, sandy Beaches or steep cliffs. We stayed on the Island Visingso which was awesome for anyone who comes from a city and wants to get away from it all. The main form of transport (and best) to hire is bicycles. We had a fantastic time just getting away from the bustle of city life to walking in the woods to relaxing around the bar-b-que watching the sun set.
5. Vadstena Castle
Overall Ratings
4 based on 116 reviews
Reviewed By Trek-Always - Alpharetta, Georgia
No map to really guide you once inside. Confusing where to go with several flights up and down. English tours were not available due them being beyond the main season. Film first is a good idea. Pretty good signage in English. $12 per person entry...MoreThank you for your review. We are working continuously to improve the experience for our international visitors. Your review will help us in our development of Vadstena Castle. Sincerely Tom Andersson, Head of communications. Vadstena Castle
6. Varamobaden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 34 reviews
Reviewed By Mark O - Stockholm, Sweden
Beautiful lake side beach in central Sweden. We cycled in a race around the lake taking in the views over 300 klms finishing at this beach area with 23000 other bikes! Vatternrundan is the Worlds biggest cycle race And Motala becomes a biking fest over 24 hours in mid June. Really recommended and it is exceptionally well organised culminating in a cool swim at the beach and a few
7. Borenshults Slussar
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 28 reviews
Reviewed By AdventureUnlimited01 - Washington
The main reason we came to Motala was to experience the Gota Kanal and specifically to experience the steepest locks on the canal at Borenshult slussar. We booked passage on the M/S King Sverker and lodging at the Hotel Nostalgi and thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Watching the locks and experiencing the locks was a very special experience that we will cherish forever. This is the most beautiful part of Sweden countryside we've experienced so far!
8. Ovralid
Overall Ratings
5 based on 7 reviews
Reviewed By Bo B - Linkoping, Sweden
Ledda av guiden Elisabeth fick vår grupp på 10 personer en god inblick i Verner von Heidenstams liv. Elisabeth berättade med inlevelse, kunskap och humor om Heidenstams geografiska och kärleksfyllda eskapader. Heidenstam var en rackare på kvinnor. Han reste i Europa, målade diktade, skrev, hade ett spännande umgänge. Utsikten från Övralid är helt enastående. Väl värt ett besök. Guideturer varje heltimme.
9. Vatternakvariet
Overall Ratings
4 based on 24 reviews
Sweden's largest inland aquarium has now opened in Motala. The aquarium consists of 8 pieces large cold-water Aquariums where we particularly notice the three large concrete tanks of 3000, 5000 and 10,000 liters of water. The tropical part consists Aquariums in size from 500 to 2000 liters with fish from South America, Africa and Asia. A new addition to the exhibition welcomes visitors at the entrance where you can watch the two so-called Tropicarium. The exhibition also consists of a series of information modules of the lake, topology of Motala Ström and a giant stand of stuffed birds from the lake
Reviewed By hellblom - Lund, Sweden
It is a amasing how little we know about what is beneath the surface of our lakes. The attraction Vätternakavariet gives everyone wonderful opportunities to really look inside a lake and what is hidden in the water. That we have so many different fishes, I at least was not aware of.
Also how cruel the life can be when you see a pike eat one of the small fishes. It goes so quickly so you can hardly see the movement of the pike.
The "Vätternakvariet" is amusing and interesting for everyone, both grown up and small children
10. M/S Kung Sverker
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 7 reviews
With M/S Kung Sverker you will experience and guided along the the most beautiful part of the canal, Motala to Borensberg. It´s an experience of a lifetime. The cruise on the Gota Canal is an experience you will talk about. During the Cruise you will see the grave of Gota Canals founding father, Baltzar von Platen, Gota Canals head office from 1820's and see the Canal steepest locks,
Reviewed By AdventureUnlimited01 - Washington
When planning our trip to Sweden I learned about the Gota Kanal and then about the M/S Kung Sverker offering day trips along the canal. Most appealing to us was going through the steepest series of locks along the canal! I contacted the proprietor a couple of months in advance and booked our trip!
After we arrived in Motala we learned that there was an evening dinner cruise with music on the lake the opposite direction from the locks. We contacted the proprietor and he fit us in. We sat with two of the most wonderful Swedish couples! The cruise was beautiful, the food service was excellent, and the music and singing were fun and entertaining.
The next day we cruised the Gota Kanal and the locks. It was everything and more than I expected! There is lots of opportunities for photography. We arranged to have lunch on board. The price is reasonable and the food good. We had salmon which was served cold. It was great, we just weren't expecting it to be cold so that took us a little by surprise.
We stayed at the Hotel Nostalgi for two nights which provided very close access to the M/S Kung Sverker. We were coming from Stockholm via train and it was a very reasonable walk from the train station to the hotel. Although our two M/S Kung Sverker boating trips were the highlight of our trip to Motala, it's a beautiful little town with lots to see and do. We could have easily filled 3 or 4 days there. It's a calm peaceful beautiful town which we plan to make a return visit to someday!
I highly recommend this excursion!
