Almedalen, the long park running along the western edge of the old town, is where the harbour was in Visby's heyday — silted up in the centuries after the Hansa moved on, then landscaped into one of the loveliest urban green spaces in Sweden. Old elm trees, gravel paths, a duck pond, and unbroken views of the city wall on one side and the Baltic on the other.
Every July the park hosts Almedalsveckan (Almedalen Week), Sweden's biggest political gathering — every party leader gives a speech in the open-air arena, and the entire country political establishment crams into Visby for the duration. Outside that week, it is a quiet place to read a book or eat a pastry from one of the surrounding cafes.