Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Top Destinations to Visit in Sweden in 2018
Outdoors activities, water park fun, and gaming Skövde has something hidden up its sleeve. In addition to Sweden’s best water park and fantastic outdoors activities, this is the hottest gaming hub in the country. By Malin Norman | Photos: Jesper Anhede
Located in Skaraborg between Sweden’s two largest lakes, Vänern and Vättern, Skövde is built partially on the slopes of the low mountain ridge Billingen and the town centre lies at the foot of the mesa. This recreation area is popular among locals as well as tourists. “We have plenty of things to do all year round,” says Charlotte Backman, marketing director of Next Skövde. “Actually, this is one of the main reasons for visitors to come to Skövde – sports and outdoor activities. And us locals, we really love our Billingen!” She highlights 60 | Issue 108 | January 2018
for instance cross-country skiing, iceskating, down-hill skiing with an adjacent fun park, and hiking. Billingen is an official Vasaloppet training centre for cross-country skiing, cycling and running. Next year, Skövde municipality will extend its four-kilometre track for cross-country skiing with artificial snow to ten kilometres, using a new technology for creating and storing the snow. According to Backman, it is set to become the longest track for artificial snow in Sweden and will prolong the season considerably.
Famous water park For those to whom a tropical experience indoors sounds more alluring than snowy adventures, Skövde hosts one of Sweden’s biggest water parks. Arena Skövde has in fact been named the country’s best adventure pool for seven consecutive years – unsurprisingly, as it has a wide range of chutes and slides for splashy fun. For the youngest visitors, the Dragon Pool is an exciting experience with dragon Sim-Sala-Bim sneaking around the pool. There are around 370 metres of slides in total, in addition to a wave pool and an outdoor pool, and the more adventurous can try the slides Magic Hole and Black Hole, a dark tunnel with flashing lights. As if that were not enough,