Sightseeing in Stockholm

The Vasa is a massive warship salvaged from a wreck on its maiden voyage. In 1628, the Vasa ship sailed out in front of hundreds at 4:30 pm – only to sink to the depths at 4:45 pm. Some blame faulty construction. Centuries later, it’s one of the best-intact 17th-century warships in the world, and the Vasa museum is the most visited in Scandinavia.

The Old Town of Stockholm needs no introduction – it’s a museum within itself, rich with beautiful medieval through 19th-century buildings, cobblestone streets, quality souvenirs, snack shops – oh and the Royal Palace itself!

Built in 1891 as the world’s first open-air museum, Skansen is an indelible landmark to the Stockholm cityscape. Here you’ll find historic farm homesteads and windmills, relocated from their original sites, traditional handicraft workshops, gift shops, and a large zoo that includes small critters to possums to native Swedish large fauna like elk, reindeer, bears, and wolves.

Lauded around the world as one of the finest museums of contemporary photography, Fotografiska was opened by Annie Leibovitz on the edge of trendy Södermalm. Along with its rotating exhibitions, the museum also offers workshops, photography classes, special events and awesome lunch views over the water in The Bistro.

Not every city hall is as impressive as Stockholm’s – but the Swedes keep theirs active with the annual Nobel Banquet each year. The elegant arched building, with its tower over lake Mälaren can only be visited with a guided tour on select days. Completed in 1923, the hall rests on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island. The Nobel Prize is held in the Blue Hall, with arcades and organ made with 10,270 pipes, the largest in Scandinavia. Above the Blue Hall likes the Golden Hall, named after decorative mosaics of more than 18 million tiles, shaped in motifs from Swedish history.

The Museum of Spirits is a great introduction to the Swedish culture of alcohol, from schnapps to vodka. You’ll learn everything it takes to create a choice vodka and even get a chance to try some samples at the museum bar.

The former home of Prince Eugen was opened as a museum following his death in 1947. One of Sweden’s best-known landscape painters, the museum houses much of his collection and original works, along with temporary exhibitions of varied kind.

The Royal Swedish Opera (‘Kungliga Operan’), Sweden’s National Stage for opera and ballet, is open to the public both for performances and tour of the Opera House’s beautiful premises: the royal rooms, ‘Guldfoajén’ (golden lobby), the backstage, and the orchestra pit.

The excellently curated Army Museum is filled with costumes, staged scenes and historical objects, covering Swedish history from the 16th century to the present.

The extensive collection of the National Library (‘Kungliga biblioteket’) includes 18 million objects, including books, electronic publications, manuscripts, maps, photos and other multimedia. The origins of the library started back to the collections of King Gustav Vasa and expanded in the palace known as the Tre Kronor (which burned down in 1697).

Known in Swedish as Storkyrkan, the medieval Cathedral was built in 1279 and now keeps unique objects like the sculpture St. George and the Dragon, the painting ‘Vädersoltavlan’, and hosts religious services and royal weddings.

The National Museum of Science and Technology (‘Tekniska Museet’) is the coolest tech museum in all of Sweden, dedicated to both kids and adults discovering the world through its interactive exhibitions. Discover mysteries of the body and its senses, digital wonders, and history of science in this humongous museum located just across the bay from Djurgården.

Thielska Galleriet (The Thiel Gallery) is located in a walled park at Djurgården and houses a large gallery of 20th-century Scandinavian and French art. Finished in 1907, the house contains a number of notable art pieces from the likes of Bruno Liljefors, Anders Zorn, Eugène Jansson and Edvard Munch. In 1926, it opened to the public as a museum accessible to all.

The Hallwyl House was originally built for the wealthy Count and Countess Walther and Wilhelmina von Hallwyl in 1898, fashioned in the style of Venetian Late Gothic and Early Spanish Renaissance. These days, the museum (Hallwylska museet in Swedish) houses Wilhelmina’s large collection of objects, antiques, and paintings as well as an extensive collection of costumes and period clothing. The house’s interior is also preserved and gives us a unique testimonial of the lifestyle and decor of the late Victorian period in Sweden.