Discover Stockholm: Culture, Nature and Urban History

Culture

Skansen is the oldest open-air museum in the world and comprises 190 museum buildings; the oldest dates from the early 14th century. The site also includes a zoo with animals from Scandinavia, a petting zoo for children and two covered aquariums.

Skogskyrkogården combines vegetation and architecture in a landscape adapted to its function as a cemetery. This design has influenced the design of cemeteries in many countries around the world.

The Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm’s Gamla Stan is dedicated to the Nobel Prize, discoveries awarded Nobel Prizes and the people behind them. You can explore the exhibitions on a guided tour, with an audio guide or through films. Family offerings include an audio guide for children, a quiz rally, free children’s workshops every weekend and a playroom.

The Royal Palace in Stockholm is open to visitors all year round. The palace includes, among other things, the Treasury and the Tre Kronor Museum. Fotografiska offers guided group visits to its exhibitions and photography courses.

The Nordic Museum on Djurgården in Stockholm presents exhibitions featuring original objects, stories and environments that reflect life in the Nordic countries. The “Nordbor” exhibition includes interactive areas where visitors take on roles in historical settings and engage with contemporary dilemmas.

The Stockholm City Museum offers guided tours in the museum and throughout the city. Free audio-guided walks focus on Stockholm’s history; the audio guide exhibition covers the city’s history over 500 years.

Admission to the Hallwyl Museum includes two of the palace’s five floors; the remaining floors can be visited as part of a booked guided tour. The tours focus on the period around 1900, the history and collections of the house, as well as the von Hallwyl family and the domestic staff. The museum offers theatrical tours, audio guides and programmes for children, transporting visitors in central Stockholm to a palace setting from around 100 years ago.

Stockholm City Hall is an outstanding example of National Romantic architecture and was built from eight million bricks. Visitors may enter only as part of a guided tour.

Nature and Landscape

Järvafältet is a large wooded recreational area in northern Stockholm with walking trails, meadows, ponds and several nature reserves. The nature reserves and many green spaces in Stockholm have marked paths and trails for hikers with different levels of experience.

Skinnarviksberget is the highest natural point in central Stockholm and offers views over Kungsholmen, Gamla Stan and Stockholm City Hall.

City and Events

Stockholm’s underground system offers an art experience across 110 kilometres. Each of 100 stations features unique art on the platforms, walls or in the waiting areas.

Kulturhuset is a Stockholm cultural centre with several exhibition halls, libraries, a cinema and a concert hall, as well as Stadsteatern’s main stage. Kulturnatt Stockholm is an annual cultural festival featuring dance, art, architecture, literature, music and theatre.

Food and Local Places

Östermalm Food Hall has been located in the brick building at Östermalmstorg since it opened in 1888. Stalls sell fresh fish, meat, confectionery and traditional delicacies; there are also restaurants and wine bars.

Rosendals Garden Café on Djurgården offers salads, soups, sandwiches and pastries made in the neighbouring bakery. Organic and biodynamic ingredients are used, many of which come from the garden itself.

More local pages: Skärholmen, Rönninge, Bandhagen, Sköndal, Hägersten, Bredäng, Uttran, Skarpnäck, Enskede, Älvsjö, Arsta, Tuna, Stockholm

In the wider regional area around Stockholm, the Stockholm archipelago comprises more than 30,000 islands and covers an area of over 650 square miles.

To the higher-level travel overview: Stockholm Region.