15 Best Things to Do in Sweden
Sweden is part of Scandinavia and a famous Viking nation. The country has experienced a lot of battles for the Swedish crown but amidst the bloody past, it is now a place where people want to visit and have a once in a lifetime experience. Tourists are excited to see ancient Scandinavian castles and museums with Swedish heritage and culture. So to satisfy that need, here is a Sweden travel guide for those who are interested in visiting the country.
1. Vasa Museum – Stockholm
It has been practiced all over the world to make historic ships into museums. Well, the
Vasa Museum is a floating ship museum and it is the top tourist attraction in Sweden. The ship is from the 17th century and it was preserved really well because for almost 350 years, it is still in great shape. It was established in 1990 and believed to have welcomed more or less 25 million people since it opened for public tours and visits.
2. Skansen – Stockholm
The
Skansen is a zoo and an open museum in one. The museum was built through the initiative of Artur Hazelius, in 1891 and it was his passion to show how Swedish people lived before the industrial age. Artur was a teacher and scholar which explain why he was so drawn to establishing a monument like Skansen. Well, it is a good thing that Artur was persistent back then and went out of his way to accumulate funds for his museum. It is now one of the things to do in Sweden, to check out the place and learn from it, by residents and tourists alike.
3. Liseberg – Göteborg
Liseberg is an amusement park in Göteborg and it is the most visited park in Sweden. It is estimated that at least 3.1 million people enter the place annually. A total of 37 rides complete the attraction with 6 roller coasters and 2 water rides. It has a botanical garden called Lisebergs Lustgarten, a Main Stage or Stora Scenen for concerts, the Polka or Polketten which is a dance hall, a sports center called Lisebergshallen, and Liseberg Theater for shows and plays, among other attractions within.
4. ABBA: The Museum – Stockholm
The
ABBA Museum is one of the most visited attractions in Sweden. ABBA is a group of singers, who sang world-wide hits like “Chiquitita”, “Fernando” and the very famous “Dancing Queen”. They were honored in Stockholm since the quartet is from Sweden. Although the name of the structure is ABBA: The Museum, it is not exactly that. It doesn’t display a collection of any kind, it is not for any type of research study and it is a paid exhibit. Still, people from all over the world flock to this tourist spot.
5. Drottningholm Palace
The Drottningholm Palace is one of the Royal palaces in Sweden. At times, members of the Royal family decide to stay in Drottningholm for a private getaway or for a social call. With that, they sleep at their Drottningholm home. If you are into castles and palaces, visiting Drottningholm is one of the things to do in Sweden.
It used to be a summer home for the Swedish monarchs back in the 18th century. The palace was constructed in the 16th century and it is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well.
6. Volvo Museum – Göteborg
Even if you’re not a Volvo enthusiast, you will truly appreciate the
Volvo Museum. Once you enter the gallery, you will see cars from different eras, revolutionary car improvements and ingenious car models – all from Volvo. They have the regular 4-wheel cars, big buses and trucks on display. You will also learn about the history of Volvo and how their cars were created.
There are some new things you can see in the museum like the Volvo XC90 replica which was made out of Lego pieces. It also has a gift shop here you can buy some memorabilia.
7. Turning Torso – Malmö
Have you ever seen a building that seems like it’s twisting from bottom to the top? Well, in Sweden there is what they call the Turning Torso and it’s exactly like that. The Turning Torso is 190 meters tall, 54 levels up with 147 apartment rooms. The whole building turns in a 90-degree angle.The building is considered a skyscraper and is the tallest building in the country. In 2005, the Turning Torso was awarded the Emporis Skyscraper Award and received a gold medal for exemplary aesthetic and functional design.
8. Stockholm Palace
The
Stockholm Palace or the Royal Palace is the official residence of Sweden’s Royal family. The offices of the King, his family and the court are in the palace, as well. This is where the Royal King of Sweden performs his duties as state head.
They employ 200 people to work within the palace with various duties and responsibilities. One of the attractions in the palace is the Royal Guards and their changing ceremony. Other attractions are inside the palace. There are museums, royal gift shop, a library and a historical archive.
9. Visby City Wall
The Visby City Wall is a wall that firmly stands to this day and it used to defend Sweden from its attackers. Because of its historical significance back in the medieval times, UNESCO recognized it and included the structure in the World Heritage List. It now measures 3.44 kilometers – it used to be 3.6 kilometers during its establishment in the 13th century. It had 29 big and 22 small towers. Today, the 27 big towers still exist while only 9 of the small towers remain. If you are into fortresses, then, this is one of the things to do in Sweden – visit the Visby City Wall.
10. Uppsala Cathedral
Uppsala Domkyrka or Uppsala Cathedral used to be the tallest church in the country back in the 13th century. It was the place where royals of Sweden were crowned until 1719 and where the bishops of Sweden are being ordained up to the present time. The interior decoration of the cathedral used to be Neo-Gothic. But in the 1970’s, a massive reconstruction was done which revealed some of the most important art pieces from the medieval times. The art works were preserved and restored accordingly.
11. Kalmar Castle
The
Kalmar Castle was built in the 12th century and at first, it wasn’t that grand a structure. But it has served a very important purpose for the people of Sweden back then. In 1397, the Kalmar Union was signed within the halls of this historical castle. The union was for
Denmark, Sweden and Norway to join together as a sole monarch. Not long after that, Sweden rebelled against Denmark and the Kalmar Castle was made into a solid fortress by the leadership of Anna Eriksdotter, a lady of noble blood. Kalmar stood its ground and Sweden was successfully defended in 1520.
12. Archipelago of Gothenburg – Gothenburg and Öckerö
They refer to this archipelago as a “string of pearls”. The Archipelago of Gothenburg is a series of small islands is Sweden which is divided into two regions – the North and the South. The North part has at least 10 islands. The South part, on the other hand, has at least 6 islands including Vrångö, a fishing community and Styrsö, where the supermarket, café, hotels and local museums are located. The south region has no cars so you have to walk on foot or ride a bike if ever you decide to visit. Life here is smooth and slow which makes it the ultimate getaway destination.
13. Swedish History Museum – Stockholm
The
Swedish History Museum functions as an archaeological and cultural museum. If you visit this historical place, you will see remnants from the Viking days, gold and silver treasures discovered within the country, an art collection from the Middle Ages and memoirs from the Battle of Gotland in 1361, one of the fiercest and most intense battles in Visby, Sweden.
It has been operating since 1866 and it has two main tasks. The first task is to safeguard the ancient relics coming from the royals of the country since the 1500’s. The second task is to impart information to the visitors of how Sweden was back then. Visiting this museum is one of things to do in Sweden if you want to know more about their history.
14. Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde – Stockholm
Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde means Prince Eugen’s Cape of Waldemar. This was once the home of Prince Eugen of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Närke. He was the fourth son of Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland and Sophia of Nassau, Queen Consort of Sweden and
Norway.
The Prince used to rent a place near the property and he immediately loved the ambiance. After a few years, he bought it and raised Cape of Waldemar which was designed by architect Ferdinand Boberg. Prince Eugen loved the arts and he was a painter himself. No wonder he envisioned his mansion to be in the Art Noveau theme with some Gustavian details and now, it is a tourist attraction.
15. Gröna Lund – Stockholm
One of the things to do in Sweden is to visit
Gröna Lund. It is a lake-side amusement park in Stockholm and it is the oldest amusement park in the country. The park has been operating since 1883 thru the initiative of James Schultheiss.
Today, it has about 30 fun rides. Some are heart-pumping and thrilling but there are kiddie rides too. All in all, they have seven roller coasters named Insane, Jetline, Twister, Vilda Musen, Nyckelpigan, Kvasten, and Tuff-Tuff Tåget. It is a concert venue too during the summer months and stars like Bob Marley and Jason Mraz have performed here.
