Eds Gokart

In Ed, the main town of the Dals-Ed municipality in Dalsland, Eds Gokart runs a three-hundred-and-fifty-metre outdoor track with a reputation for being technically demanding. You drive Caroli karts of two hundred and seventy cubic centimetres on competition tyres, petrol-engined machines that don't forgive a sloppy line through the sequences. The layout speaks to beginners giving it a try as much as to seasoned drivers looking to polish their lines.

Karting stays open to everyone, no licence or experience needed: a briefing, a helmet, and off you go chasing the best line. As the track runs outdoors, the activity follows the warm season and the weather, so it pays to check the opening hours before coming. The open-air format, on a layout slightly longer than the covered city tracks, leaves room to enjoy yourself behind the wheel and work on your braking lap after lap.

Dals-Ed sits in Dalsland, a province of lakes and forests on the Norwegian border, one of the wildest in southern Sweden. The region is crossed by the Dalsland Canal and its famous Håverud aqueduct, where boats cross the river above the water, an engineering curiosity that draws many visitors. Large lakes such as Stora Le invite canoeing and swimming, and the ever-present nature makes the area a playground for outdoor lovers. Ed is reached by road or by the rail line linking Gothenburg to Oslo.