The most interesting places lie on the southeastern shore of Lake Vanem, easily reached from Gothenburg, while with more time you can cut south to the western shore of Lake Vattem, and in particu to the monstrous fortress at Karlsborg. In between the lakes runs the Gota Canal, which along with the Tiveden National Park, is the main regional target for bwedes taking their holidays in July and August. yping and around ftough It flanks a grassy banked reach where the River Lidan meets Lake cS' around 140km northeast of Gothenburg, falls short on tivh??® region, coal storage areas and grain silos effec cas ! of the lake. It is, however, not a bad base for visits to the Ev rambling in the nearby KinnekuUe hills, both covered below, the R? Z?" passing through it costs you nothing to inspect the pots at whiA H • (MonFri 9.30am6pm, Sat 9am2pm, Sun noon4pm). Claims to stand on the site of Europe's second oldest porcelain factory to be honest, there aren't a great number of other contenders. Guided tours (15kr) take you through the production process, and there's more on display during the annual Porcelain Festival at the end of August, when all manner of things ceramic are celebrated, along with, amongst other competitions, a tallest pot contest. Practicalities The tourist office is in the old town hall in Nyai Stadens Torg Qune to midAug MonSat 9am7pm, Sun l7pm; midAug to May MonFri 9am5pm; ®051083 500) and can help with private rooms, from 125kr per person. The cheapest option is the youth hostel, not far away from the tourist office at Nicolaigatan 2 which runs north from the church («051066 430; 90kr); it's open all year. For a little more luxury, Edward Hotell at Skaragatan 7 (®051022 110; @) has good weekend and summer discounts; cross the river from Nya Stadens Torg and carry straight on. At other times, Park Hotell at Mellbygatan 24, running south from Nya Stadens Torg, is the cheapest (@). There's also a campsite (®051026 804; open all year) with cabins by the lake; cross the arched bridge and continue west for about 1km. Eating doesn't come highly recommended in Lidkoping. There's a couple of konditori around the main square, including one in the tourist office building, in which to while away an hour or so, but for more substantial food you'll need to take a tenminute walk along Kinnegatan (across from the train station and left), where at no. 27b, Restaurang Freden has cheapish beer and 50kr lunches. For breakfast or lunch try Ingas Cafe (closed Sun), a cheapie across Rorstrandsgatan from the train station. Getting to and from Lidkoping is easy enough by train, which stops across the river from Nya Stadens Torg. If you're heading back towards Trollhattan, bus #5 does the journey quicker than the train, which requires a change at Herrljunga, while bus #1 runs directly to Karlsborg (see below) in under two hours.