Jönköping sits at the southern tip of Lake Vättern, Sweden's second-largest lake, in south-central Sweden. The lake dominates the town's character: sunsets over Vättern from the city pier are famously beautiful, and in summer the long beach promenade along the waterfront becomes the focus of local life.
The town has one genuine oddity in its history: it was the birthplace of the safety match in 1845, and the old match factory on the waterfront now houses the Tändsticksmuseet (Match Museum), which tells this unlikely story in considerable detail.
Jönköping makes a convenient base for the surrounding region. Astrid Lindgren's World — the theme park based on Pippi Longstocking and Lindgren's other characters — is in Vimmerby, about 90 minutes east. Gränna, a small town known for its red-and-white striped candy and as the birthplace of the Swedish polar explorer Salomon August Andrée, is 40 km north along the lake. Gothenburg and its Liseberg amusement park are about two hours west.