Söderköping offers a clear choice between a canal experience, local history and trails with different levels of difficulty. The Göta Canal runs right through the town, where you can watch the locks in action up close. There are also medieval-looking districts, historic churches, a central 4-kilometre loop and a longer trail with steep sections. This lets you focus your trip more on culture or physical activity.

The Göta Canal and cycle route

The Göta kanalleden runs right through Söderköping and along the entire Göta Canal. This 220-kilometre cycle route starts at Söderköping/Mem on the Baltic Sea and ends at Sjötorp/Mariestad on Lake Vänern. This links a specific experience in town—watching the locks in action up close—with a route that follows the entire canal. The endpoints help put the scale of the trail into perspective: it is a long-distance cycle route, not merely a loop around Söderköping. So if you are considering the town mainly because of the canal, you can distinguish between watching the locks and exploring the long-distance cycle route.

Local history and churches

In Drothemskvarteren, low wooden houses on small plots and narrow lanes still evoke medieval Söderköping. Other landmarks add to the historical picture: a Franciscan monastery and its associated monastery church were founded in the town in 1235. The present-day Drothems kyrka dates from the late 13th century and includes, among other things, a medieval altarpiece. The buildings and district thus offer different ways to explore the town’s history, without making the individual sites seem like a single historic complex.

The Söderköpings stadshistoriska museum traces the town’s development from the early Middle Ages to the present day. It is housed in the town’s oldest school building and occupies the first and second floors; there is no lift. The exhibition offers a chronological perspective, while the churches and Drothemskvarteren focus on individual historic buildings and the character of the district. If you are planning a museum visit, bear in mind that the exhibition is on the upper floors.

Trails with different levels of difficulty

Hälsans stig is an easy-to-walk, 4-kilometre loop in the centre of Söderköping. The Borgbergsleden on Ramunderberget is longer at 9 kilometres and somewhat more challenging, with several steep sections. The two trails therefore differ both in length and in the terrain described: a central loop on the one hand, and a longer route with climbs on the other. There are also 318 steps leading from the lock area up to the viewpoint on Ramunderberget. This specific detail can help you plan if you want to include a route with a stair climb.

Events and getting there

Söderköpings Gästabud has been held annually since 2006 and usually takes place on the last weekend in August. If the festival is a key part of your trip, check the exact dates for the year in question. Tuffetåget is a sightseeing train that runs through Söderköping in summer and shows visitors around the town. Before travelling, check whether it runs on your travel dates and when. The E22 also runs through Söderköping, making it a specific road to consider when planning your journey.

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