The Best Museums To Visit In Stockholm
There is so much to see and do in the gorgeous capital city of Stockholm that you will probably have a hard time deciding what to include on your itinerary.
I lived in Stockholm for more than 7 years and explored so much of the city while I was living there, but some of my all-time favorite activities to do in Stockholm are actually visiting museums.
Disclaimer: I am quite the museum nerd, so I might be biased. But I‘m being completely honest when I say that these museums are something truly special and would leave you with unforgettable memories even if you are not usually that fond of visiting museums while traveling.
Skansen
When I reached a cute little square, surrounded by wooden buildings and their adjacent vegetable gardens, I noticed a sign on a door: “Turn the key to open the door“.
That store is in one of 190 museum buildings that are located at Skansen. They are original wooden buildings that were basically taken apart and brought to Stockholm to be rebuilt, instead of being abandoned and left to decay in the places where they were originally built.
Not only are they from all corners of Sweden, but also from different time periods. By visiting Skansen, you will be able to enter several farmsteads and see how families of different social status used to live in different parts of the country, you will get to see how an old pharmacy looked like back in the days and how a day in a primary school looked like. There is even a post office, a church, several different stores and apartments to show how people lived back then.
Getting to enter those buildings is amazing in itself but the most special thing about Skansen is that you will find actors in most of those houses making it all come to life by explaining more about the building itself and the life of people during the time period when it was built.
While you’re there, make sure to pack a picnic to eat in one of the many green areas of the open-air museum. After that, it’s the perfect time to enjoy one of the most famous and cherished swedish traditions: Fika.
The typically swedish coffee-break with a bun has become World-famous and Skansen has some of the best and most picturesque places I’ve ever seen in Stockholm for Fika: Kafé Petissan.
This cafe has by far one of the most beautiful and traditional interiors I have ever seen and it’s the perfect place to enjoy your Fika indoors lit by a candlelight as snow falls outside during winter. If you are visiting during the summer, enjoy your Fika in the sunshine on their outdoor seating area surrounded by Skansen’s historic buildings.
Fika at Kafé Petissan
Special events at Skansen:
Skansen is worth a visit no matter the time of the year, but there are definitely some seasons when your visit is going to be extra special.
If you visit during the darkest time of the year, in December, you might be lucky enough to see their Lucia celebrations – which is, in my opinion, the most beautiful of all swedish traditions. In December there is even a Christmas Market there that you definitely shouldn‘t miss either. If you are looking for the most popular place to celebrate New Year‘s Eve in Stockholm, it‘s actually also at Skansen – that‘s even the celebration that is broadcasted on national TV in Sweden.
If you visit during the summer, you might get to experience another one of my favorite swedish traditions: Midsummer. That‘s the time of the year when Sweden is at its best, enjoying endless daylight and happy swedes coming out to soak up the sunshine. Going to Skansen during the summer time and especially during their Midsummer celebrations will leave you loving Skansen even more: the whole open-air museum comes to life with flowers, decorations and events to celebrate the longest days of the year. Make sure you are there to see them rising the Midsummer pole and take part in one of the most cherished swedish traditions by dancing around it pretending to be frogs.
Vasa Museum
Even though the Vasa Museum’s theme is not as broad as Skansen’s, since it only focuses on the Vasa ship that is on display in the middle of the Museum, it is a must visit while you are in Stockholm. It is one of the most visited museums in the whole Scandinavia and that is for a good reason.
Vasa is a Swedish warship that was built between 1626 and 1628 and sank straight after beginning its maiden voyage, due to a faulty design. The sunken ship was forgotten for quite a while at the bottom of the sea, but after lying there for 333 years, a great effort was made to take it up to surface and let the World appreciate its beauty and History.
On April 24th of 1961, thousands of people gathered in Stockholm in order to witness the amazing feat of bringing up a sunken warship from the 17th century. Nowadays, visitors of the Vasa Museum can see it on an amazing display that is sure to take your breath away even if you couldn’t care less about ships. Trust me, I have seen really reluctant and uninterested tourists completely change their minds about Vasa Museum as soon as they entered the door and saw the huge majestic warship in its full splendor at the center of the museum.
ABBA Museum
Is there anything more iconic in Sweden than ABBA? This band completely took the World by storm with hit after hit in the 70s and 80s and the four band members become international symbols of Sweden like no others.
It might have been difficult to get close to the 4 pop stars in the old days but it‘s super easy nowadays for anyone who visits Sweden: just go to the ABBA Museum in central Stockholm. You‘ll be in ABBA World, with their original outfits on exhibition, quizzes you can take to test your knowledge about the legendary band and even exact replicas of places that were important to the band members throughout their lives and music careers.
If you‘re not convinced yet that this museum needs to be on your Stockholm itinerary, let me give you the major selling point: at the ABBA museum, you can become ABBA‘s 5th member. The museum has a hologram stage where you can stand next to Benny, Frida, Agnetha and Björn and be a part of the band, performing their hits to your heart‘s content.
Can you imagine a more unforgettable experience to have on your trip to Stockholm?
Nobel Prize Museum
Straight in Stockholm’s city center, there’s a museum dedicated to another swedish icon: the Nobel Prize.
Created by the swedish businessman and inventor who discovered dynamite, the Nobel Prize is the result of the fortune that was left by Alfred Nobel to establish it after his death. The goal was to recognize people who “conferred the greatest benefit to humankind” every year and that is exactly what has been happening for more than 100 years.
The first Nobel Prizes ceremony took place in Stockholm in 1901 and more than 600 of them have been awarded so far. Nowadays, you can learn all about them at the Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm.
At this museu located in the heart of Stockholm‘s old town, you will be able to read about previous Nobel Prize winners and their achievements, as well as you can visit temporary exhibitions like a current one that‘s called “These things changed the World”.
Did you know? At the Nobel Museum, even the cafe’s chairs are special. If you turn them around and look at what’s underneath them, you will see that they are all signed by Nobel Laureates.
These are just a few of the many great museums you can visit in Stockholm. There are so many of them that it’s not easy to choose which ones to visit, so I hope this list of my absolute favorites helps you plan your trip to Stockholm and that you love these museums as much as I do!
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