Tanumshede is considered a natural starting point for exploring the rock carvings in the surrounding Tanum World Heritage area. The area extends south and east of the town and includes at least 450 sites. During your stay, you can focus on a museum visit, individual panels of carvings, or hiking trails to cultural and historical sites.
Rock Carvings and the Bronze Age
At Vitlycke Museum, two kilometres south of Tanumshede on Road 914, there is an exhibition about Tanum in the Bronze Age and its rock carvings. Vitlyckehällen is a rock face more than 20 metres long, with over 500 carved images. At Aspeberget, seven rock carvings can be seen along a path just under one kilometre long. In the Fossum visitor area, two large and two smaller rock carvings are open to visitors. Near Litsleby is Spjutguden, a 230-centimetre-tall figure described as the largest rock carving of a human in Scandinavia. The rock carvings in the Tanum World Heritage area that have been prepared for visitors are accessible year-round, 24 hours a day.
Historic Buildings and Culture in Town
Tanumshede itself also offers historical and cultural points of interest. Tingshuset and its stable are listed historic buildings; Tanums Gestgiveri is also a listed historic building in the town. Tanums Gestgiveri was founded in 1663. Kulturhuset Futura is a meeting place for culture and learning, and houses the municipality's main library. Futurateatern has 140 seats and is suitable for lectures, meetings, and theatre and music events.
The Moraine and Local Landscape
Tanumshede and Kungsvägen are situated on the Berghemsmoränen, a glacial marginal formation deposited at the end of the last Ice Age. Vinbäcken flows through the moraine between the present-day centre of Tanumshede and the church village of Vinbäck to the south. This places the geological formation and the locations of the two named parts of the area in a specific spatial relationship.
Hiking Trails and Starting Points
The trails vary in both length and destination. Tanumsleden is five kilometres long, passes Valbrets grav (Hällekistan), and connects with trails in the surrounding area. Vandring i Världsarv is six kilometres long and leads to three rock carvings. Tassemarksstigen is near Tanumshede and passes several Bronze Age burial mounds. Tanumsleden and Vandring i Världsarv differ in length by one kilometre, and their destinations offer different points of interest.
Good starting points for hiking in Tanumshede include the car park at Stall Heane (Tanums Ridklubb) and Höjden (Campus Futura). Both locations have information boards about the different trails. Sparvallen can be rented for sports and exercise activities. The facility has a full athletics track and field setup, as well as an artificial-turf football pitch.
Discover more destinations: Sannäs, Flötenmarksen, Lur, Rabbalshede, Grebbestad, Hamburgsund, Fjällbacka, Resö.
Return to the main travel overview: Tanum.
