Back on the E6 heading north, the next destination is Tanumshede, known for the greatest concentration of Bronze Age rock carvings in Scandinavia. They were designated in 1994 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you're not driving, you can take one of the express buses to Tanumshede; they travel from Gothenburg five times each day, and the trip takes 2 hours.
As you enter town, you can pay a visit first to the Tourist Office, Bygdegardsplan (tel. 0525/183-80). Information regarding the best ways to visit the Bronze Age carvings is available here. The office is open from June to mid-August Monday to Friday 8am to noon and 1 to 4:30pm. Off-season hours are Monday to Friday 8am to noon and 1 to 4:30pm.
Just to the east of Tanumshede is the Vitlycke Museum (tel. 0525/209-50; www.vitlyckemuseum.se), open May to September daily 10am to 6pm, off season Tuesday to Sunday 11am to 5pm. The museum is free. The museum documents the history of the rock carvings and offers excursions -- sometimes by moonlight -- to the actual attraction. You also can obtain a map, "The Rock Carving Tour," which guides you easily among the carvings of northern Bohuslän, showing the way to Bohuslän's 10 best rock-carving faces. Four are in Tanum and constitute the World Heritage area. Close to the museum lies a Bronze Age farm, a full-scale reconstruction of a dwelling and farm from the era of the rock carvings. At a restaurant in the museum, the cuisine is inspired by Bronze Age raw materials such as meat and venison, fish and shellfish, parsley root, sorrel, and chickweed. Gooseberry ice cream rounds off the repast.
