Gävle punches above its size for attractions. The Swedish Railway Museum is the best of its kind in Scandinavia; the Gävle Goat is a piece of absurdist Swedish folk tradition with a devoted international following; Gamla Gefle is one of the few intact wooden town districts left in Sweden; and the Prison Museum is a genuinely worthwhile stop. Add a hockey game at the Brynäs arena if the season is right, and you have a full day or two.
Furuvik, an amusement park and zoo 8km south of the city, is particularly good for families — the combination of a working amusement park with a proper zoo (including great apes) in a beech forest is unusual anywhere in Scandinavia.