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Stockholm Attractions

Vintage tram to Djurgarden © Stockholm Visitors Board

Royal Djurgården

Stockholm’s main attractions are conveniently packaged close to the heart of the city on the island of Djurgården, crammed with entertainment options, museums, restaurants and wooded green space. Once upon a time the island was a royal hunting ground. Now visitors can hunt for souvenirs at the Handarbetets Vanner (handicraft centre); browse the art galleries; enjoy thrills and spills at Gröna Lund, Sweden’s oldest amusement park; explore Sweden’s past at the Skansen open-air museum; meet Nordic wildlife at the zoo; and watch folk dancing. Also on the island, accessed with a pleasant stroll along the waterfront, is the Junibacken fairy-tale fun centre, the National Museum of Cultural History and the fascinating Vasa Museum featuring a fully rigged restored 17th-century galleon raised from Stockholm harbour. Top off the day with a meal at one of the many excellent restaurants.

Address: A 10-minute walk from the city centre across the Djurgarden bridge; Transport: Vintage tram; buses 44 or 47; or ferry

Changing of the Guard, Royal Palace © Stockholm Visitors Board

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 (Wednesday and Saturday 12.15pm, Sunday 1.15pm) 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 1, Gamla Stan; Website: www.royalcourt.se; Telephone: (0)8 402 6000; Transport: Metro stop Gamla Stan, or bus 2, 43, 55, 71 or 76 to Slottsbacken station; Opening time: Royal apartments: closed 8-31 January and subject to closure according to the King's official duties, but open daily 10am to 5pm (June to August), 10am to 4pm (15–31 May and 1–14 September). Opening hours are shortened the rest of the year, and closed on Mondays; Admission: 130kr (combined ticket for the whole palace), or 90kr for selected parts of the palace; concessions available

City Hall © Stockholm Visitors Board

City Hall

Stockholm's main landmark, the distinctive red brick City Hall (Stadshuset) building, has stood on Kungsholmen (King's Island) since 1923 and become world-renowned as the venue for the annual Nobel Prize Banquet. The rather practical and austere façade, dominated by three golden crowns atop a tower, hides an extraordinary art nouveau interior. The plush council chamber itself has a vaulted ceiling resembling an inverted Viking longboat, echoing the Viking tradition of using overturned vessels as shelter in winter. Most impressive, though, is the magnificent Golden Hall, its walls covered with handmade mosaics. The view of Stockholm from the tower is unsurpassed.

Address: Hantverkargatan 1; Website: www2.stockholm.se/cityhall; Telephone: (0)8 5082 9058; Transport: Underground station T-Centralen/T-Rådhuset, or bus 48 and 62; Opening time: Tours depart daily at 10am and 12pm with an additional one at 2pm in September and October. The tower is open daily in summer 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, Stockholm

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: Narvavagen 13–17; E-mail: info@historiska.se; Website: www.historiska.se; Telephone: (0)8 5195 5600; Transport: Metro station Karlaplan; bus 44 and 56; Opening time: Daily 10am to 5pm (May to September), Tuesday to Sunday 11am to 5pm with late closing at 8pm on Thursdays (October to April); Admission: 50kr (adults), children are free

Alvros farmstead, Skansen © Marie Andersson

Skansen

Visitors can explore Sweden's past at the Skansen open-air museum, the oldest in the world, where historical buildings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries have been relocated from around the country. The exhibits include a full replica of a 19th-century town complete with craftsmen in period dress who demonstrate the art of tanning, shoemaking, baking and glass-blowing. Skansen is also home to an aquarium and the World of Monkeys within the Skansen Zoo, which focuses on Scandinavian animals such as reindeer, wolverines, elk, lynx and brown bears. Every December the central square hosts a Christmas market that attracts thousands of visitors every weekend.

Address: Djurgarden; E-mail: info@skansen.se; Website: www.skansen.se; Telephone: (0)8 442 8000; Transport: Bus 47 from Central Station, vintage tram 7, or ferry from Gamla stan; Opening time: Daily 10am to 10pm (20 June to August), 10am to 8pm (May to 19 June and September), 10am to 4pm (March, April and October); the rest of the year 10am to 3pm (until 4pm on weekends). Market days 11am to 5pm on weekends; Admission: June to August: 100kr (adults), 40kr (children 6-15); admission is reduced the rest of the year, but varies according to season