The success of the Linnaeus Garden created by Ulf Nordfjell, the Swedish landscape architect, in winning a gold medal at last year's Chelsea Flower Show awakened enthusiasts to the charm and style of Swedish gardens, especially those in Gothenburg.

The garden, designed to mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus, the “grandfather of horticulture” and first person to classify plants, was shipped back to the city and now stands inside the entrance to Gothenburg's inspiring botanical garden. Combining wild species and familiar flowers, spruce hedges, water features and Swedish steel and timber partitions, it is one of the highlights of the Gardens of Gothenburg Festival, which opens on Saturday and runs for three months.

Four stunning but diverse parks, three within walking distance of one another in the city, have combined for the first time to create displays that will delight horticultural purists, amateur gardeners and anyone who enjoys a stroll in the park.

The largest is the botanical garden, which climbs past a flower meadow, rose garden and Japanese glade to a rhododendron valley and expansive rock garden. It contains 20,000 different species of plants, an arboretum and greenhouses with tropical orchids and an Easter Island tree discovered by Thor Heyerdahl, the explorer.

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The most intriguing is the Garden Society of Gothenburg park, modelled on classic 19th-century British society gardens, with a palm house and canalside walks, and now restored to its former glory for the festival. Nordfjell says: “We have provided new soil and irrigation and reduced tree crowns to get the very best conditions for developing the park and give it the sense of a bygone age.”

The park is in the centre of the city, with water on two sides and Avenyn, the main boulevard with nightclubs, restaurants and bars leading from its entrance gates. The most entertaining of the four is Liseberg Park, the city's amusement park in a garden setting. A newly-landscaped area has been opened for the festival, with winding paths, rills and a mystery forest.

Gunnebo House and gardens, a short bus ride from the city, have been restored and recreated as close to the 18th-century architect's original blueprints as possible, with three kitchen gardens, a formal garden and landscaped parkland.

Gothenburg is a spacious city with canals, wide boulevards and squares and the festival will promote it further as a green destination. After touring the gardens, visitors can retire to award-winning restaurants strong on fresh fish or relax in pavement cafés. Large indoor malls and independent fashion boutiques within the old moat and the old town of Haga will satisfy inveterate shoppers, while a Paddan boat trip through the canals and into the harbour is not to be missed.

Catch the opening of the festival on a two-night break from Saturday at the new Avalon Hotel opposite the market in the centre of town. It costs £145 with B&B, entry to the gardens and a Gothenburg pass for admission to attractions and use of public transport - and is available on the city website. Flights from Stansted, Prestwick and Dublin are available with Ryanair.

Simply Sweden has three-night city breaks this summer with a choice of flights from Heathrow or Manchester and B&B in four or five-star hotels. Prices start from £355 and include the Gothenburg pass.

Boxwood Tours has a couple of places left for enthusiasts on a six-day tour, which starts on July 6 and takes in the festival and ranges across west and south Sweden. It costs £1,998 with flights, entry fees and most meals.

Need to know

www.goteborg.com; www.ryanair.com; www.simplysweden.co.uk, 0845 8900300; www.boxwoodtours.co.uk, 01341 241717

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