Holiday apartment in Skara: Cathedral, museums and nature

Skara combines a thousand-year history with museums, historic sites and varied landscapes. The town can be explored via ten themed walks, while Valle, Varnhem and the surrounding lakes reveal further facets of the destination. Skara Contact Centre is a tourist information office authorised by Visita. The InfoPoints in Skara offer brochures and maps for the surrounding area, as well as assistance from knowledgeable staff with basic visitor questions.

Culture and history

The first known cathedral in Skara was consecrated around 1150. Its well-preserved crypt dates from the 12th century. New finds indicate that a church already stood on the site of Skara Cathedral in the 11th century. The Västergötlands museum also conveys a historical connection spanning many centuries: it has its roots in the Västergötlands Fornminnesförening, founded in 1863, and presents more than 10,000 years of the region’s history. The exhibits include well-preserved Bronze Age shields.

Next to the Västergötlands museum is Fornbyn, with around twenty buildings from the 19th century. Bokäventyret is Sweden’s first playful and educational exhibition about the history of books and writing. The stations range from rune stones and printing to children’s and young adult literature. The Veterinärmuseet presents the development of the veterinary profession over 250 years.

Varnhem Abbey Church looks back on almost a thousand years of history and is the final resting place of four Swedish medieval kings, as well as Birger Jarl, the founder of Stockholm. Kata Gård preserves the ruins of a private farm church from the Viking Age. The crypt at Kata Gård could be Sweden’s oldest preserved room.

Nature and trails

The Valle area lies at the foot of the western side of the table mountain Billingen, in the municipalities of Skara and Skövde. The inland ice age left behind a distinctive, hilly kame landscape. The Platåbergens Geopark includes Varnhem and Valle and is Sweden’s first UNESCO Global Geopark.

The Vingängen nature reserve south of the village of Axvall in Skara Municipality comprises grazed pastures characterised by oaks and birches, with eight so-called giant oaks. Klostersjön runt, a shorter hiking trail, runs around the lake near Varnhem. The first half of Klostersjön runt follows a surfaced gravel path and is well suited to pushchairs, wheelchairs and walking frames. The Flämsjön runt hiking trail is approximately 9 kilometres long.

Experiences

Flämsjön has a large beach and a nature trail. Rowing boats and canoes can also be rented there. Thirteen cycling tours are available in Skara, leading through the town’s surroundings; Skara Municipality has 85 kilometres of cycle paths.

Skara Sommarland combines a large water park with an amusement park and a go-kart track. The Skara-Lundsbrunn museum railway offers rides on a narrow-gauge railway with an old steam locomotive and carriages from the first half of the 20th century. Alongside historic sites, visitors can therefore choose water, railway and cycling experiences, each with its own character.

For further location options, the pages for Axvall and Skara are also available.

When comparing a holiday apartment in Skara or another type of accommodation, the relevant listing pages can be used to check the exact location, accommodation type, occupancy, included services, price components, and booking and cancellation conditions. Reviewing these details helps assess the suitable option according to your own requirements, without assuming features that do not apply to every listing. Before booking, the relevant information can be checked directly on the respective listing page.

To the main travel overview: Västra Götaland.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Öckerö, Vara, Gothenburg, Munkedal, Istorp, Dals Rostock.