Opened in 1832, the Gota Canal provided a vital ling for transporting timber and iron between Stockholm and Gothenburg. But it was another 100 years before leisure traffic took off on the waterway. Today in summer, the canal bustles with small craft and passenger boats and it is possible to cruse the entire length on the classic MS Diana, Wilhelm Tham, Juno. Other boats take passengers along shorter stretches and there are numerous special packages available, such as combining cycling holidays with canal trips.

There are guest marinas offering services along the entire length of the canal. Motala is regarded as the capital of the canal, and the man behind its construction, Baltzar von Platen, is buried here.

The blue band of Sweden as the Gota Canal is known, is the high point of Swedish engineering history. It took 58,000 men, mainly soldiers, and 22 years to build a waterway across Sweden from the Baltic Sea to join the already completed Trollhattan Canal, and provide a route through to the Kattegatt.