Things to do in Sweden

The 18 best things to do in Sweden

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1. 1Stockholm

   See the warship Vasa at the Vasa Museum

   The Vasa was a 69 m warship that sank on its maiden voyage in Stockholm harbor in 1628. It lay on the seabed for 333 years until it was raised in 1961, and more than 98 percent of what you see today is original, including hundreds of carved sculptures. The three masts on the museum roof show how tall the ship's own masts were. Exhibitions around the hull cover how Vasa was built, life on board and the salvage, and a film runs daily in several languages. Free guided tours of about 25 minutes are included with entry. The museum sits on Djurgården, reached by tram, bus or ferry.

   Tip: Bring a warm layer, since the hall is kept at 18 to 20°C to protect the ship, and leave large bags at your hotel because there are no lockers.

   May to September: SEK 240 (about $24) · January to April, October to December: SEK 195 (about $20) · Buy on arrival; card onlyFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Visit Stockholm (visitstockholm.com, City of Stockholm); Vasa Museum (official); Vasa Museum (official)
2. 2Stockholm

   Wander the cobbled lanes of Gamla Stan

   Gamla Stan, the Old Town, is Stockholm's oldest district, set on an island in the middle of the city where the first settlement dates back to the Middle Ages. Most of its buildings are from the 16th and 17th centuries, and the narrow, winding cobblestone streets lined with colored facades make it feel like a living museum. Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan are the main streets, but the side lanes give a truer feel of the island. Step into Storkyrkan, the medieval cathedral built in 1279, to see the St George and the Dragon sculpture from 1489 and the Vädersoltavlan painting from 1535. Allow at least half a day, with a meal in one of the district's restaurants.

   Tip: Leave the two main streets for the side lanes, and try the City Museum's self-guided Stockholm 1793 City Walk if you want the history as you go.

   Pay as you go
   Sources: Visit Stockholm (visitstockholm.com, City of Stockholm); Visit Stockholm (visitstockholm.com, City of Stockholm)
3. 3Stockholm

   Step into old Sweden at Skansen

   Skansen on Djurgården is the world's oldest open-air museum, opened in 1891 by Artur Hazelius, who moved houses here from all over Sweden to show how people lived and worked. Today about 150 farms and dwellings stand on the hill, with staff in historic settings demonstrating crafts, and both farm animals and wild Nordic animals. Swedish traditions are celebrated here through the year, including Walpurgis Night, Midsummer and Lucia, and there is a Christmas market in the weeks before Christmas. The hilltop also gives wide views over the city. Plan on at least half a day.

   Tip: From October to March the park closes at 3 PM on weekdays, so arrive in the morning, and buy tickets online, where they are cheapest.

   SEK[fee] by season; cheaper onlineKnow the fee?
   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Skansen (official); Visit Stockholm (visitstockholm.com, City of Stockholm); Skansen
4. 4StockholmBook ahead

   Tour the halls of Stockholm City Hall

   Stockholm City Hall, finished in 1923 from about 8 million bricks, is where the city council meets and where the Nobel banquet is held. A guided tour is the only way inside. In about 45 minutes you see the Blue Hall, the Golden Hall, whose walls show events from Swedish history from the 800s to World War I, the Council Chamber with its painted wooden ceiling, and the Gallery of the Prince, with a mural of Stockholm's waterfront painted by Prince Eugen. Tours run in Swedish and English. Because the building is a working city hall and a wedding venue, some rooms or tours can close at short notice.

   Tip: Tickets go on sale online one week ahead, and the Gallery of the Prince is closed on Saturdays for weddings, so pick a weekday if you can.

   Guided tour: SEK 150 (about $15) · Guided tours only; book aheadFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: City of Stockholm (stadshuset.stockholm)
5. 5Stockholm

   Watch the guard change at the Royal Palace

   The Royal Palace in Gamla Stan is the King's official residence and one of Europe's largest palaces, a baroque building by Nicodemus Tessin with more than 600 rooms over eleven floors. Much of it is open all year. One ticket covers the Royal Apartments with the Hall of State, the Treasury, where the regalia are kept in cellar vaults, and the Tre Kronor Museum about the medieval castle that stood here before. Royal guards have been posted at the palace since 1523, and the changing of the guard in the outer courtyard is one of the city's most popular sights. Riddarholmen Church, the royal burial church, is a five-minute walk away.

   Tip: Come in summer for the full parade, when the guard marches or rides through the streets with the Music Corps up to the outer courtyard.

   October to April: SEK 220 (about $22) · May to September: SEK 240 (about $24) · Ticketed; open dailyFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: The Royal Palaces (Royal Court of Sweden, official); The Royal Court of Sweden (kungligaslotten.se); The Royal Palaces (Royal Court of Sweden, official)
6. 6Stockholm

   Meet the laureates at the Nobel Prize Museum

   The Nobel Prize Museum sits in the heart of Gamla Stan, in the old Stock Exchange building. Its exhibitions tell the stories of Nobel Prize laureates and their ideas, and an audio guide in eight languages plays on your own phone. Guided tours are included with admission. Afterward, sit down at Bistro Nobel, which serves lunch, pastries and the Nobel ice cream; lift your chair and you will find it signed by a laureate, since the chairs serve as the bistro's guestbook. Allow one to two hours. Tickets are sold only at the entrance desk, and the bistro is card only.

   Tip: From September to May the museum is closed on Mondays, and it stays open until 9 PM on Fridays, which makes a good evening plan.

   Entry: SEK 160 (about $16) · Buy at the entrance deskFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Nobel Prize Museum; Nobel Prize Museum; Nobel Prize Museum; Nobel Prize Museum (official)
7. 7Stockholm

   Catch the sunset from Monteliusvägen

   Monteliusvägen is a walking path of about 500 m along the north edge of Södermalm, lined with charming houses on one side and a wide view on the other. From the railing you look across the water of Lake Mälaren to City Hall, Riddarholmen and much of the inner city. Keep walking west to Skinnarviksberget, the highest point, a favorite place to watch the sun go down in any season. The easiest start is Mariatorget metro station, then up the cobbled Blecktornsgränd to the path. It is a free public path, so it fits at the end of almost any day.

   Tip: Come for sunrise or sunset, and watch your footing in winter, when parts of the path can be slippery.

   Free to visit
   Search tours on TiqetsSources: Visit Stockholm (visitstockholm.com, City of Stockholm); Visit Stockholm (official)
8. 8Stockholm

   Ride the metro to see station art

   Stockholm's metro is often called the world's longest art exhibition: about 100 stations along 110 km of track have their own murals, sculptures or installations. Artists have shaped new stations since 1957, and older ones have been given art over the years. T-Centralen, Kungsträdgården, Solna Centrum and Stadion are good stations to start with. You need only a regular SL ticket, valid for 75 minutes, which you can buy with a payment card at the turnstiles or in the SL app. Plan an hour or two to hop between a handful of stations, or simply look up on your way to other sights.

   Tip: Join one of SL's free guided art tours in English, which run all year and need only a valid ticket.

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Visit Stockholm (official); Visit Stockholm (visitstockholm.com, City of Stockholm); Visit Stockholm (visitstockholm.com, City of Stockholm)
9. 9StockholmBook ahead

   Visit ABBA The Museum on Djurgården

   ABBA The Museum on Djurgården tells the story of the band's rise, its hits and its stage costumes, with plenty to do as well as see. You can step on stage to perform alongside Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Frida, sing karaoke in The Audition, set up to feel like the Polar Studio, and test yourself in an ABBA quiz. A small cinema shows films throughout the day. Guided tours can be booked. The museum is about 20 minutes from the city center: take tram 7 to Liljevalchs/Gröna Lund or the Djurgården ferry to Allmänna Gränd. It is card only, and food and drink stay out of the exhibition.

   Tip: Buy a timed ticket online before you go to be sure of the time slot you want.

   SEK[fee] by date; book a time slotKnow the fee?
   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: ABBA The Museum (Pop Story AB); ABBA The Museum (Pop Story AB)
10. 10Stockholm archipelago

    Take a boat into the Stockholm archipelago

    The Stockholm archipelago, about 30,000 islands of wind-swept cliffs, skerries, forest and meadows, begins about 20 minutes from the city. For a first taste, pick an island within an hour of downtown, such as Fjäderholmarna or Vaxholm. Vaxholm is a small archipelago town of well-preserved wooden houses from around 1900, painted in soft pastel tones, with cafés, shops, restaurants and views of its fortress and harbor. It is reachable all year by Waxholmsbolaget boats, or by bus on a regular SL ticket. Fried herring with mashed potato and lingonberries is the classic archipelago meal. Give it a full day.

    Tip: Your SL travel card is valid on the Djurgården ferries and the commuter ferries all year, so check the commuter boats before buying a tour.

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Visit Stockholm (official); Visit Stockholm (official); Visit Stockholm (visitstockholm.com, City of Stockholm)
11. 11Stockholm

    Spend a day at Drottningholm Palace

    Drottningholm, on the island of Lovön about 10 km outside Stockholm, is Sweden's best-preserved royal palace from the 1600s and the first Swedish site added to UNESCO's World Heritage list, in 1991. Nicodemus Tessin the Elder designed it after French models for Queen Hedvig Eleonora, and the royal family has lived in its southern wing since 1981, while the rest is open to visitors. Beyond the salons, see the baroque garden laid out from 1681, the Chinese Pavilion, and the Palace Theatre of 1766, where the wooden stage machinery is still worked by hand. Take the metro to Brommaplan, then the bus.

    Tip: In summer you can arrive by boat from the City Hall quay, and that is also the season for guided tours and performances at the Palace Theatre.

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Visit Stockholm (official); The Royal Palaces (Royal Court of Sweden, official); The Royal Palaces (Royal Court of Sweden, official); The Royal Palaces (Royal Court of Sweden, official)
12. 12Stockholm

    Graze the counters at Östermalm Saluhall

    Östermalm Saluhall has been a Stockholm food institution since it opened in 1888 in a brick building on Östermalmstorg. The counters are packed with fresh fish, meat, sweets and traditional Swedish delicacies, and around them are restaurants and wine bars where you can sit down and watch the hall at work. Many of its 18 traders have been here for generations; the Elmqvist seafood business, for one, moved into the hall in 1926. After several years of renovation it reopened in 2020 with its original star-shaped floor plan restored over three floors. An hour over lunch is about right.

    Tip: Come hungry at lunchtime and eat at one of the counter restaurants rather than only browsing the counters.

    Pay as you go
    Sources: Visit Stockholm (visitstockholm.com, City of Stockholm); Östermalms Saluhall
13. 13Uppsala

    Climb into history at Uppsala Cathedral

    Uppsala, 30 to 50 minutes from Stockholm by train, makes the easiest day trip from the capital. Its cathedral, 118.7 m tall, is the largest church in the Nordic countries. Building began around 1270 and it was consecrated in 1435; Swedish monarchs were crowned here until 1719. Inside are the reliquary of Saint Erik, Sweden's largest stained-glass window, and the graves of King Gustav Vasa and the botanist Carl Linnaeus, with a treasury in the north tower. In town, Gustavianum, the university's oldest building, holds Viking finds and an anatomical theater from the 1660s. The cathedral is open every day, usually 8 AM to 6 PM.

    Tip: Visit on a Sunday to join the cathedral's free guided tour, offered every week of the year.

    Open daily; check service times
    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Destination Uppsala (destinationuppsala.se); Uppsala domkyrkoförsamling (Church of Sweden); Destination Uppsala (destinationuppsala.se); Destination Uppsala (destinationuppsala.se)
14. 14Uppsala

    Walk the Royal Mounds of Gamla Uppsala

    Gamla Uppsala, a short bus ride from central Uppsala, was an important political and religious center as early as the 6th century, and its great burial mounds make it one of the most interesting historic sites in Scandinavia. Walk the grassy paths between the Royal Mounds, then step into Gamla Uppsala Museum beside them, where finds from the excavations tell the story of the Yngling kings, the old gods and the Iron Age warriors through to the building of the cathedral in the 12th century. Children can try on Viking clothes in Frej's Hall. Bus 2 from central Uppsala stops right outside at Kungshögarna.

    Tip: Go at a weekend, when the museum runs guided tours in Swedish and English.

    Mounds outdoors; museum SEK[fee]Know the fee?
    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Destination Uppsala (destinationuppsala.se); Upplandsmuseet
15. 15Gothenburg

    Have fika in Haga below Skansen Kronan

    Haga is one of Gothenburg's oldest quarters, once home to many seamen and the city's first suburb outside its walls. Today Haga Nygata, its cobbled main street, is lined with independent shops, antiques and classic cafés set among the area's distinctive landshövdingehus. Café Husaren is known for its giant cinnamon bun, the Hagabulle. Then walk up to Skansen Kronan, a fortress designed by Erik Dahlbergh and completed in 1700, armed with 23 cannons but never attacked. It is not open for casual visits, but the hilltop gives a fine view over the city. Trams stop at Hagakyrkan and Järntorget.

    Tip: Make Haga your fika stop in the afternoon, then walk up to Skansen Kronan for the view before dinner.

    Free to visit
    Sources: Göteborg & Co (goteborg.com, City of Gothenburg); Göteborg & Co (goteborg.com, City of Gothenburg)
16. 16Gothenburg

    Ferry out to car-free Styrsö

    Gothenburg's southern archipelago is a string of car-free islands served all year by public ferries, and a regular Zone A ticket covers the tram and the boat. Take tram 11 to Saltholmen, about 35 minutes from the center, and board a ferry for Styrsö, an island of about 1,400 people with shops, cafés and places to swim. It has four villages: Byn, the oldest, with a church from 1752, the fishing village of Tången with its huddled houses, Halsvik, and Bratten, once a little seaside resort for Gothenburg society. Climb Stora Rös, the highest point, for a view over the whole archipelago. Give it most of a day.

    Tip: Buy a Zone A day ticket in the Västtrafik To Go app, which covers trams, buses and the island ferries, and check the return ferry times before you set off.

    Ferry on a zone A ticket
    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Göteborg & Co (goteborg.com, City of Gothenburg); Göteborg & Co (goteborg.com, City of Gothenburg); Göteborg & Co (goteborg.com, City of Gothenburg)
17. 17Gothenburg

    Shop for seafood at Feskekörka, the fish church

    Feskekörka, the fish church, has been Gothenburg's fish market hall since 1874. Its nickname comes from the building: pointed arched windows and a wide hall with no pillars, which architect Victor von Gegerfelt modeled on old Nordic stave churches and Gothic revival style. Inside, fish counters sell fresh fish, shrimp, crayfish, lobster, oysters, smoked salmon and roe, and newer restaurants and a bar serve everything from street food to classic Swedish dishes. Outside is one of the city's largest terraces, facing the old moat. Give it an hour, or longer if you stay to eat.

    Tip: Pick up shrimp or smoked fish at a counter to enjoy by the canal, since several counters also sell ready-made dishes to take away.

    Pay as you go
    Sources: Göteborg & Co (goteborg.com, City of Gothenburg); Feskekörka
18. 18Gothenburg

    See Nordic masters at Gothenburg Museum of Art

    Gothenburg Museum of Art stands at the top of Kungsportsavenyn on Götaplatsen, the square where Carl Milles' statue of Poseidon stands. Its building of yellow brick was built for the city's Jubilee Exhibition in 1923, and the collection of around 70,000 works leans toward the Nordic countries: Carl Larsson, Anders Zorn, Edvard Munch and P.S. Krøyer, alongside van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet and Picasso. Do not miss the Fürstenberg Gallery of late 19th-century Nordic painting, or the works of the Gothenburg Colourists. The Hasselblad Center for photography shares the entrance. Allow two hours, and stop on the front steps for the classic view down the avenue.

    Tip: The museum is closed on Mondays and open until 8 PM on Wednesdays, and it takes cards and Swish only, not cash.

    Entry: SEK 75 (about $8) · Buy at the museum or onlineFee changed?

    Last verified Nov 7, 2026

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Göteborg & Co (goteborg.com, City of Gothenburg); Göteborgs konstmuseum (City of Gothenburg)

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