Royal Djurgården
Kungliga Djurgården (Royal Djurgården) is an island consisting mainly of parkland and forest, with enough to see to keep visitors busy for several days.
There is Skansen, for instance, an open-air museum presenting historical Sweden, and Vasamuseet (the Vasa Museum), featuring the warship Vasa, which sank in Stockholm on her maiden voyage in 1628. Younger visitors will love Junibacken with its storybook worlds of iconic Swedish children’s author, Astrid Lindgren. Thielska Galleriet (the Thielska Gallery) and Prince Eugen’s Waldermarsudde are two outstanding art museums, housed in former private palaces and famous for their collections of Scandinavian paintings and sculptures from the period around 1900.
The Jewish Theatre is a true gem in the small, exclusive scale. The imposing Nordiska museet (the Nordic Museum), mistaken by some visitors for the Royal Palace, is a leading international museum for Scandinavian culture and history.
Address: A 10-minute walk from the city centre across the Djurgarden bridge; Telephone: (0)8 442 8000 (Skansen); E-mail:
info@skansen.se; Website:
www.skansen.se; Transport: Vintage tram; buses 44 or 47; or ferry; Opening time: Grona Lund opens between May and September, days and hours vary. Skansen opens daily 10am to 4pm, up to 10pm in the height of the summer season
Royal Palace and Gamla Stan
The official Swedish Royal residence is one of the largest and most glorious palaces in Europe, dating from 1754 (although it was built on the remains of an earlier medieval castle). The Baroque edifice is in the heart of Gamla Stan, the old city, and many of its 608 staterooms are open to the public all year round. Visitors can admire the Hall of State, the Royal Treasury, Apartment of the Orders of Chivalry, Gustav III Museum of Antiquities and the Royal Chapel. In front of the palace the changing of the guard ceremony takes place each day (12.15pm, and 1.15pm on Sundays) with splendid pomp and ceremony that rivals the similar tradition played out at Britain's Buckingham Palace. Gamla Stan itself is a treasure-trove of Swedish architecture from the 17th century. Today tourists throng the alleyways, once notorious for brothels, but now lined with shops and restaurants, and admire the 13th-century Cathedral, the Storkyrkan.
Address: Slottsbacken; Telephone: (0)8 402 6130; Website:
www.royalcourt.se; Transport: Metro stop Gamla Stan, or bus 43,46,55, 59 or 76; Opening time: Closed Mondays. Open 10am to 4pm (15 May to 14 September), 12pm to 3pm (15 September to 14 May). Closed 8-31 January and subject to closer according to the King's official duties; Admission: 130kr (combined ticket for the whole palace), or 90kr for selected parts of the palace
City Hall
Stockholm City Hall is the building of the Municipal Council for the City of Stockholm in Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and Södermalm. It houses offices and conference rooms as well as ceremonial halls, and the luxury restaurant Stadshuskällaren. It is the venue of the Nobel Prize banquet and one of Stockholm's major tourist attractions.
Address: Hantverkargatan 1; Telephone: (0)8 5082 9058; Website:
www2.stockholm.se/cityhall; Transport: Underground station T-Centralen/T-Rådhuset, or bus 48 and 62; Opening time: Tours depart daily at 10am, 11am, 12pm and 2pm in June, July and August, and at 10am and 12pm daily the rest of the year. The tower is open daily from 10am to 4.15pm; Admission: 60kr (adults), 30kr (children 12-18). Tower: 20kr (adults). Children under 12 free of charge
Museum of National Antiquities
Sweden’s history from prehistoric times to the present day is fascinatingly laid out in the Museum of National Antiquities, which contains a hoard of archaeological artefacts and treasures, including an impressive collection of gold objects recovered from the tombs and treasure caches of the Vikings. The museum’s most prized possession dates from the Middle Ages. This is the splendid gold reliquary, set with precious stones, which contained the skull of Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia.
Address: Narvargen 13–17; Telephone: (0)8 5195 5600; E-mail:
info@historiska.se; Website:
www.historiska.se; Transport: Metro station Karlaplan; bus 44, 47, 56, 69 or 76; Opening time: Closed Mondays. Open 10am to 5pm (2 May to 30 September) and 11am to 5pm with late closing at 8pm on Thursdays (1 October to 1 May). ; Admission: Free