Stockholm’s best attractions to book right now (updated 2025)

Filled with gold discs, chunky platforms and all the quirky memorabilia you would expect, Abba The Museum is one dazzling tribute to the glitziest band in Swedish history. Alongside all the kitsch, you'll find clever, interactive exhibits that give you the chance to perform alongside the group, complete with digital versions of their stage outfits. You don't need to be a die-hard fan to go, and while it may be more expensive than some of the city's other attractions, you can easily spend a half-day here. Warning: you will be humming 'Daning Queen' for hours afterwards. 

Peek into historic homes, meet in-character weavers and bakers, and gawp at the enclosures of Nordic animals at Sweden’s largest open-air museum. Haven’t met any locals yet? This is the place to embrace some Swedish seasonal fun. Skansen’s staff don flower crowns and dance around a massive maypole to mark Midsummer’s Eve, dish out glögg (mulled wine) and ginger snap biscuits at the venue’s well-stocked Christmas market, and belt out folk songs on Walpurgis Night, a bonfire-based festival that marks the start of spring.

The excitement starts before you’ve even passed through the gates of Sweden’s oldest amusement park, founded 1883. Public ferry from Slussen is the optimum way to arrive at Gröna Lund, especially after nightfall when the whole place glitters, flashes and glows and the joyful screams of people being thrown around on rollercoasters echo across the bay. With only around 30 major attractions, Gröna Lund is small but perfectly formed. It makes the most of its wonderful waterfront location with rides that seem to almost fly above the waves and lots of quayside cafes and bars. The view from the top of 122-metre-tall swing ride Eclipse might be the best in the city (if also the scariest). In summer, Gröna Lund hosts a series of open-air concerts by star musicians from near and far.

Butter, chilli and mint-coloured townhouses dating back to the Middle Ages, an 18th-century fountain surrounded by cobblestones and an imposing palatial building that once hosted Sweden’s stock exchange are the star attractions on Stockholm’s photogenic main square. The focal point of the city’s Old Town (Gamla Stan) for 800 years, Stortorget draws hordes of tourists daily. Don’t miss the Christmas market if you’re visiting in December – it’s best experienced after dark when the square’s lit by a twinkling fir tree and the golden glow of oil candles dotted outside its bars and restaurants. 

Jewel-encrusted swords, low-hanging crystal chandeliers and gold-embellished coronation carriages are just a few of the treasures found inside Stockholm’s Royal Palace. The official residence of the Swedish sovereign since the 18th century, it packs in more than 600 rooms, although only a limited selection are open to the public. If you’re a history buff, make sure to take one of the 45-minute guided tours.

This imposing red-brick former customs building is home to an airy, spacious gallery that hosts meticulously-curated and frequently-changing exhibitions. Recent collections such as Andy Warhol's 'Photo Factory' and rock-star-turned photographer Bryan Adams have impressed local shutterbugs. After you've soaked up all the culture, have a respite at the stylish bar and café, which serves moreish (if overpriced) snacks, great coffee and a strong choice of quality wines.

Buried within a pine forest on the island of Värmdö, Artipelag is a striking art gallery combining two very Swedish passions, design and nature. It’s here that you’ll find a rotating collection of international art and photography exhibitions, with previous retrospectives on the likes of Andy Warhol and Swedish fashion designer Lars Wallin. If you’re feeling peckish, the restaurant offers a luxury smörgåsbord lunch on weekdays and brunch at the weekend. There’s also a Scandi-chic café and pâtisserie with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the surrounding woodland.

For over 140 years, a 38-metre-tall public passenger elevator has helped Stockholmers cheat the steep ascent from Slussen at the northern edge of Södermalm to the clifftop heights of Mosebacke. The present-day structure, a replacement for the original steam-powered lift, dates from 1936 and is one of the most distinctive landmarks on the city skyline, visible for miles around with its huge flashing LED advertising screen. Reopened in 2023 after more than a decade of closure for renovation and repair, it’s both a handy way to move between the busy Slussen transport intersection and the buzzing heart of Söder, and a place to drink in stunning elevated views over the Gamla Stan rooftops and waters to both east and west. If you’d like to linger longer at the top, you’ll find bar and restaurant Gondolen contained within the bridge connecting Katarinahissen to the adjacent KF-huset building.

Dominating Stockholm’s skyline, the dusk-red bricks and green and gold spires of Stadshuset make it one of the city’s most imposing (and impressive) landmarks. Around 200 politicians and officials work here, but the building is more famous globally for its decadent Golden Hall, where acclaimed Nobel Prize Award ceremony guests dine each winter surrounded by 18 million gold mosaic tiles. It's not like any old person can wander in though, your only way of accessing the room is via a guided tour.

Displaying a rescued 17th-century warship most people have never heard of, the Vasa Museum is one of the most-visited attractions in Stockholm. It’s not just tourists with enthusiasm for maritime memorabilia that flock here though. Soak up the impressive 69-metre-long wooden vessel, covered in decorative carvings (which sank on its maiden voyage, only to be discovered 333 years later), before learning all about the lives of passengers, the ship’s rescue operation and how it’s been so well preserved.