Varberg is a west-coast town in Halland, south of Gothenburg, with enough history and sea air to feel like more than a beach resort. Its shoreline mixes sandy bays, cold baths, summer restaurants, and old spa culture, while the centre is watched over by a fortress that has seen the long tug-of-war between Denmark and Sweden.
The obvious first stop is Varberg Fortress, both for the ramparts and for the Halland Museum inside, where the medieval Bocksten Man is the unforgettable exhibit. A few kilometres away, Getterön Nature Reserve gives birders and walkers a very different version of the coast.
Varberg also has one world-class oddity: Grimeton Radio Station, a UNESCO-listed longwave transmitter site from the 1920s. Add Kallbadhuset and the beaches around Apelviken, and Varberg makes an easy, varied day from Gothenburg or a slower seaside base in its own right.