Motion sickness at Liseberg: what's rough and how to cope

Photo: Marcus Löfstrand, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized and converted.

Gothenburg, Sweden · Liseberg AB (owned by the City of Gothenburg) · ~2.4M visitors (2024, industry estimate)

Yes, but in a concentrated way. Liseberg is a compact park, so its big motion rides sit within a short walk of each other and it is easy to stack three in an hour without meaning to. Helix multi-launches through several inversions, Valkyria holds you at the lip of a vertical drop before dropping into a tunnel, and Balder is a wooden coaster built on repeated airtime hills. The flat rides are where sensitive visitors usually come unstuck, though. Mechanica flips and spins its seats on rotating arms, Loke swings a giant pendulum through high arcs, and AtmosFear drops from the top of the tower. Spread them across the day and the park works fine. Take them back to back and its size works against you.

The rides most likely to set you off

• Helix: multi-launch coaster with several inversions, spread across a hillside.

• Valkyria: dive coaster that holds you at the edge of a vertical drop, then drops into a tunnel.

• Balder: wooden coaster built on repeated airtime hills.

• Mechanica: rotating arms with programmed flips and spinning seats, so the rotation runs on more than one axis.

• Loke: giant pendulum that swings through high arcs with moments of weightlessness at the top.

• AtmosFear: free fall from the top of the drop tower.

Mechanica is the one to think hardest about. Its arms rotate while the seats spin and flip on a programmed cycle, so you get sustained rotation on several axes at once. That combination unsettles riders who handle Valkyria's drop without a flicker, because a drop is over in seconds and rotation keeps going.

Where to reset between rides

When your stomach needs a break, head for Lisebergshjulet (observation wheel), Kaninlandsbanan (slow train), Blomsterkarusellen (flower carousel) or Flygis (mild kids flying ride). Slow visuals, a fixed horizon and a seat that is not spinning give your inner ear time to settle before the next big ride.

Feeling queasy at Liseberg right now?

Stop the nausea

Open Dizzout, plug in any headphones, tap play. Drug-free sound therapy, and most people feel better in about 90 seconds. No pills, no drowsiness, no waiting for a tablet to kick in.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

On a computer? Dizzout installs on your phone. Scan the code, or open dizzout.com/get on your phone and it'll take you straight to the right store.

Your survival plan for Liseberg

1. 1

   Ride Helix, Valkyria and Balder early, while your inner ear is fresh and your stomach is not full.

2. 2

   Treat Mechanica and Loke as separate decisions from the coasters. Spinning and swinging catch different people than speed and height do.

3. 3

   Put a gap between the flat rides. AtmosFear, Loke and Mechanica in one stretch is the fastest way to end your day early.

4. 4

   Use Lisebergshjulet to reset. The wheel turns slowly and gives you a fixed horizon over Gothenburg, which is what a confused inner ear needs.

5. 5

   Kaninlandsbanan and Blomsterkarusellen are the calmest seats in the park when the wheel queue is long.

6. 6

   Keep headphones in your pocket and start Dizzout at the first wobble. Drug-free sound therapy, and most people feel better in about 90 seconds.

Going with kids

The small-child rides sit close together, so one adult can hold the calm corner of the park while the rest work through the coasters. Flygis and the flower carousel suit the youngest.

Common questions