Things to Do in Stockholm

The history of the world’s most distinguished awards ceremony is the subject of Stockholm’s ever-evolving Nobel Museum, with fascinating exhibitions chartering some of history’s biggest milestones. Located in the Old Town of Gamla Stan, the museum opened in 2001 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the prestigious Nobel Prize, which has been awarded to pioneers in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace since 1901.

Visitors can’t help but be inspired by the exhibitions on award recipients and Stockholm-born inventor Alfred Nobel, whose unique vision led to the foundation of the prize, along with multi-media presentations of the Nobel Laureates’ achievements. Gain a deeper insight into famous honorees like Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Marie Curie, Niels Bohr and Henri Dunant, then go behind-the-scenes during the candidate selection process and the annual Nobel Banquet held across the water in the Stockholm City Hall.

With a stream of new bars, restaurants and nightclubs springing up along the waterfront, the island of Södermalm, or ‘Söder’ as it’s known to locals, is quickly earning a reputation as one of Stockholm’s hippest districts, popular among the city’s younger residents. Entering Södermalm from Gamla Stan, the lively areas of Slussen and nearby Medborgarplatsen are the center of island life, interlinked by the principal shopping boulevard of Götgatan, and further south the affectionately nicknamed ‘SoFo’ district is know for its fashion boutiques, vintage stores and atmospheric cafés.

Although home to a cluster of museums, including the Stockholm City Museum, Södermalm has comparatively few tourist attractions and the scenic island is best known for its cliff-top lookouts and seafront promenades which offer dramatic views over the neighboring islands.

Skansen is an open air museum and zoo in Stockholm, and was founded in the late 19th century by Artur Hazelius as a branch of the Nordic Museum. Its purpose is to show the different ways of life in of Sweden before the industrialization. After scouring the country, Hazelius bought around 150 houses and had them deconstructed and shipped to the site of the museum, where they were rebuilt to illustrate the spectrum of life in traditional Sweden. Only three of the buildings are not authentic, but they were scrupulously copied in full detail from historical models.

Skansen expanded tenfold since its inception, and now features various houses and workshops where you can experience traditional craftsmanship, such as butter making, weaving, shoemaking, and glass blowing. There is also a zoo containing a wide range of Nordic animals including the bison, brown bear, moose, gray seal, otter, red fox, reindeer, and wolverine.

One of the oldest buildings in Stockholm, Riddarholm Church is the traditional burial church for Swedish royalty. Originally built as a monastery, parts of the church date back to the late 13th century. It was transformed into a Protestant church after the Reformation and the congregation was eventually dissolved at the start of the 19th century. Today, it is used only for burial and commemorative purposes. Nearly every Swedish ruler from Gustavus Adolphus (1632) to Gustav V (1950) has been buried in the Riddarholm Church, as well as Magnus III (1290) and Charles VIII (1470). The interior of the church features dozens of coats of arms of the knights of the Order of Seraphim, a tradition that dates back to the middle of the 18th century. When a knight dies, his coat of arms is hung inside the church.

All ABBA, all the time. Stockholm’s ABBA Museum is an interactive space for fans of the Swedish pop group to dive deep into the band’s history and trivia. With plenty of the band’s costumes, gold records, memorabilia, and much more, the museum invites its visitors to experience the feeling of being ‘the fifth member of ABBA.’ Check yourself out in their stage costumes, sing with them at the Polar Studio, interact with holograms, and even go on stage with the band.

Some of the museum’s different interactive exhibits include Waterloo, where you’ll be transported back to 1974 Brighton; The Polar Studio, where you can get hands-on with the mixing desk; and Benny’s Piano, the self-playing piano that has some special tricks in store for you.

Also included in the ticket price are the exhibits: Swedish National Music Hall of Fame and The History of Swedish Popular Music.

Built around the remnants of the capital’s 16th-century city walls and crammed with significant archaeological finds, the Museum of Medieval Stockholm (Stockholm’s Medeltidsmuseum) belies its small size with a series of fascinating permanent exhibitions. If you've ever wondered how Stockholmers lived in medieval times, this is the place to find out, with informative exhibitions and full-size replica buildings offering a unique glimpse into the Swedish Middle Ages.

Encompassing a series of reconstructed medieval buildings, the museum takes visitors on a tour through the lives of the city’s former inhabitants, with displays including everything from period clothing to historic shipping vessels. Stroll through the medieval market square, learn about popular beliefs at the local church and peek into workshops to see how craftsmen and traders earned a living, then step inside a medieval home or brave a trip to the gallows.

Sweden’s oldest town nestles around Lake Mälaren in the scenic, lakeland region of Lunda north of Stockholm. Nowadays a pretty town of brightly painted wooden townhouses, narrow streets, plenty of restaurants and low-key hotels, Sigtuna is crammed with classy souvenir shops and galleries along its meandering main street of Stora gatan. The township lies at the center of a region first populated in the late 10th century by Vikings, who have left behind their rich heritage here as well as in the surrounding towns and villages.

Sigtuna was the center of Christianity in medieval Sweden and it has seven churches clustered close together; now they are in various states of repair but the Viking inscriptions in the churchyards can still be clearly seen. Another evidence of Viking presence is in the town’s layout; despite the low-slung wooden buildings in the historic center being built in the 18th and 19th centuries, the original Viking grid-like plan is still adhered to.