Sweden has many great museums to visit, and the capital Stockholm has some must see museums only a short distance of the city center. In this article I’ll cover some of my personal favourites.
Vasa Museum
The Vasa Museum is unique in that it is a museum dedicated to a colossal failure! The wonderfully preserved ship Vasa didn’t even make it out of the harbour and spent centuries at the bottom of the sea, and today is a viewed by thousands of tourists every day. The Vasa ship was built between 1626 and 1628, and on her maiden voyage sailed about 1.3 km before gusts of wind caused her to topple over and sink to the bottom of the harbour.
The ship was built as a symbol of the king’s ambitions at the time, and was richly decorated to reflect this. However, the ship was top-heavy, i.e. has too much weight at the top, making the ship very unstable in the water. Even though this was known, the ship was ordered to sail anyway. The ship sat at the bottom of the harbour until it was salvaged in 1968.
It is one of the must visit museums in Stockholm, and is the most visited museum.
How to Get There
To get there, you could drive, or take the tram or bus. The best way is to take the ferry from Gamlastan and then walk up to the museum.
Is the Vasa Museum Worth It?
The Vasa Museum is one of the must visit museums in Stockholm. The sheer enormity of the ship, and the fact that it has been preserved perfectly, make it a fascinating museum to visit.
Nobel Prize Museum
The Nobel Prize is one of the premier prizes for researchers and scientists whose discoveries have had an impact on our world, particularly in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, economics, literature, and peace. Founded after the death of Alfred Nobel, who incidentally became wealthy through the production of dynamite, in 1901, the prizes attract a lot of attention globally each year. The Nobel Prize Museum contains interesting stories and personal possessions from Nobel prize winners through history. If you have limited knowledge of the prize, or even just a passing interest, it is an educational and interesting museum to visit.
How to Get There
The Nobel Prize Museum is located in the centre of Gamlastan – the old town of Stockholm.
Address: Stortorget 2, 103 16 Stockholm
Is the Nobel Prize Museum Worth It?
The Nobel Museum museum is worth it if you do the free guided tour. The tour includes some fascinating stories and really brings the museum to life.
Viking Museum
The Viking Museum in Stockholm is a great museum to visit if it is your first stop in Scandinavia, and you want an introduction to this fascinating period. The museum is based around telling the stories of the Viking, and life in that period of time, including the culture, beliefs and everyday struggles of the people at the time. It has a good collection of Viking artefacts, and clothing. One of the highlights for us was the ride downstairs, where you travel back through time and hear the epic tale of one Viking through Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.
How to Get There
The Viking Museum is on Djurgården, which is basically an island in Stockholm that contains a large park and lots of museums, plus the Tivoli Gröna Lund fun park. To get there, you could drive (not ideal, but possible), or take the tram or bus. The best way is to take the ferry from Gamlastan and then walk up to the museum.
Djurgårdsvägen 48, Djurgårdsstrand 15, 115 21 Stockholm
Is the Viking Museum Worth It?
The Viking Museum is worth visiting for an introduction to the Viking age in Sweden. It has some artefacts and modern reproductions of Viking clothes, but it is more about the real stories and broader context of the period that are the biggest reasons for visiting the museum.