The major weather station in the area is in Gladhammar 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of Västervik.

[citation needed] Every year since 1966 there is a folk music festival in Västervik, at the ruins of the Stegeholm castle.

Being a summer town popular with yachtspeople, campers, daytrippers, and returning former residents, Västervik experiences an annual revival in July.

Västervik offers an outdoor life of climbing, canoeing and sailing or islands to visit and stay at.

Björn Ulvaeus, a member of the internationally successful pop group ABBA who grew up in Västervik, is building a complex consisting of hotel, restaurant, and apartments in the bay near Stegeholm castle, which will be a tourist attraction for Västervik.