Lysekil

Lysekil became a bathing resort in the nineteenth century when sea bathing was prescribed medically, and the villas along the shore date from then - large wooden houses with verandas and carved trim, and a cold bathhouse on the rocks. It sits at the mouth of Gullmarn, the only true threshold fjord in Sweden and deep enough to hold cold-water species that are otherwise found much further north, which is why marine research has been based here since the 1870s. Havets Hus, the public aquarium, shows what lives in that water, including a tank you walk through and a long-running work on rearing spotted rays.

What you actually see

• Victorian bathing villas - verandas and carved trim along the shore.
• A cold bathhouse on the rocks - from the resort period.
• Havets Hus aquarium - species from the fjord itself.
• The mouth of Gullmarn - Sweden's true fjord.

When to go

June to August for the full town; the aquarium runs longer. A full day.

Honest expectations

The aquarium is small compared with big-city ones. Out of season the town is quiet and many places close. The water is cold year round. Getting there means a long detour off the E6.

Nearby

Smogen is north; Uddevalla is inland at the head of the fjord.