"Gävle – small town in big costume" Top 5 Page for this destination Gävle by Maline

Gävle Travel Guide: 67 reviews and 94 photos

Don't just pass it through

In the pic: County council building, right in the middle of town.

G?vle is Swedens 15th largest town. I bet that means nothing to you. But it means that In G?vle town live 65 000 people, and in the county, some 90 000 people.

To find G?vle, look along the east coast of Sweden, north of Stockholm. If you find Hudiksvall, you are too far north.

Those who have travelled north by train in Sweden are almost certain to have passed through G?vle Central Station, which brags some 10 000 visitors each day (not sure if they count those who remain aboard the trains. ) But I doubt if too many of these passers-through have actually made it into G?vle town.

It is actually worth it. Stepping down from the train, the fresh sea-breeze of G?vle is a welcome change from the stale train air. When walking in G?vle, even downtown, you can feel in the air that this is a coastal town. Even though it is only the 15th largest town in Sweden ( and I can tell ya', that ain't much), G?vle town feels much larger. There is a city center, with malls, a grand pedestrian shopping street, fountains and trees and all. But cross the river and walk into south G?vle, and there are more shopping streets and a whole new cute center...
The river ? yes ? it is called Gavle?n and runs right through the town dividing it into a north and a south part. Along the riverbed the rims have been fortified with stones, and there is a number of bridges, big and small that go across it.
Facing the river are a number of important buildings including the City Library, the County Museum and the Town Castle.

If (for some reason) you want to visit the official G?vle county homepage, you can do that on www.gavle.se

Old Gefle

The old part of town is totally small (in area size and in house size) and manageable. You can stroll through the whole thing in 15 minutes. But those are some cute 15 minutes. Especially recommended in summer. You will be one in a crowd of tourists...

Night scene

And the night fell over Gävle

The centre of town is a lively affair dureing friday and saturday evenings, and to some extent on wednesdays which are know as "little saturdays" in Sweden.
In summer the downtown part of Gävle on these nights hosts a friendly warm atmosphere and you can have a beer at an outdoor café listening to some musician performing. In colder seasons people are more in a hurry to get into whatever night spot they have chosen, but the streets are still a lively scene.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Easily accessible, beautiful, right by the sea, manageable in size
Cons:Can be windy
In a nutshell:Leave the train and pay a visit!

Last visit to Gävle: Dec 2002
Intro Updated Sep 28, 2003
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Reviews (15)

Old town Things to Do (11)

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County council Things to Do (11)

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Festival CITYFESTEN Off The Beaten Path (1)

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Summer days Things to Do (11)

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Comments (6)

sihi Dec 12, 2006 at 9:35 AM Report Abuse

Nice page about this town! Gävle looks interesting. Also interesting name of the town:)
Bokhari76 Dec 25, 2005 at 11:37 PM Report Abuse

Hi Maline. Advance Happy Birthday and Marry Chrismas wishes. Have great day. Congrats for being feature member.
marktbike Nov 4, 2005 at 3:54 AM Report Abuse

Very nice pages, I love Sweden and your pics and words made me feel there again...
willy_wonka Jul 29, 2005 at 12:43 AM Report Abuse

this town looks very charming! thanks for a nice page with beautiful photos and some great tips! happy travels to you maline! wonky ;-)
Leipzig Mar 3, 2004 at 2:49 PM Report Abuse

Great presentation and beautiful photos. I see no people in your photos - - where are all the locals? I noticed the same when I was here. Are they all working in the paper-making factory?
Sjalen Jan 26, 2004 at 12:46 AM Report Abuse

Bara jag igen - trodde att jag redan röstat men du hoppar ju aldrig upp till Top 5 trots alla dina tips :-)))