Road Trip Suggestions

When driving from Gothenburg towards Stockholm, Linkoping is on the way, I usually recommend visitors to choose the scenic route close to water of Vättern. It's marked with brown signs with a flower- like symbol on them. Going that path don't miss the picturesque town Granna and if you have the time, take the ferry to the island Visingso in the middle of Vattern. Going north from Granna there is hill with steep cliffs into the lake called Omberg. 

Just north of Omberg is a small town called Borghamn which has a nice restaurant. Finally I would recommend a visit to the monastery of Vadstena. 

Have a nice trip.

I can only speak for the Gothenburg portion of your question- will you be staying here or just flying in and leaving after rental car pickup? It's the second largest city in Sweden after Stockholm so I think it would be worth your while to hang out for a few hours at the least. There are quite a few parks around town with Slottsskogen being one of the larger and more popular parks. If you are looking for good food I would recommend Levantine (french) for really nice food served in an awesome atmosphere- they have a great outdoor area (if you go here please order a citron le cognac and you can thank me later). As far as traditional swedish food goes, I'm afraid I can't be of too much help there, we do all of our Swedish cooking at home. Svenska Mässan always has something going on and they have a great bar called Heaven 23 on the top floor that gives a great view of the city and I believe they serve food there as well, if you are looking for typical swedish food this may be the place for you. I have heard that the shrimp sandwich (a swedish classic) they serve is one of the best in town. Korsvägen is a good area to hang around if you're only going to be staying for a couple of hours as most of the big attractions are around that area. The amusement park Liseberg is in the area and also Universeum - the science museum. There is a naval museum Maritiman next to the Göteborg Opera and they are a quick walk to the mall Nordstan across the street. The best part is that the public transport is awesome here and if you don't feel like walking or want to visit more than one area of the city you can take a quick tram anywhere you'd like. 

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions and I will answer to the best of my ability. I am somewhat new to the city myself as I've been living here for less than a year right now.

Enjoy Sweden!

You should definitely stop in Granna! It's a small cute little town and they are famous for making peppermint rocks and other types of candy, a lot of tourists go there every year. I'm actually going there my self in August.  

In Gränna you are able to see when they make the candy from scratch and of course try some.  

I haven't been there since I was a kid but I have really good memories from that place (probably cuz of the candy... JK😜) 

I don't think there is that much more to see during that short route, instead you should spend a few hours/days in Gothenburg. When I'm in Gothenburg I always go to Liseberg, it's an amusement park. Even if you don't like to go on rides it's still very fun to be there, play games, walk around, etc.  

Gothenburg has a lot of islands, it's really beautiful during summer and they serve amazing seafood!

The road by the west side of lake Vättern. Hjo is a nice small town for food.