We talked to a friend whose daughter lives in the area and got the "skip it" comment. We ran into…read morefriends and the wife was dealing with some serious FOMO so we decided to make a reservation on line for 2 hours later. The verdict - so glad we went. It was one of those experiences you will never experience again unless you do it again. Loved the ice sculptures, drinking (not just vodka) in an ice glass & having the experience. The ice sculptures are beautiful. They close the place for about 2 weeks once a year to redo the ice sculptures. It really is cool- in more ways than one! Yes, it is a tourist trap but for about $30 USD - it was well worth it.

Went here as part of the tourist package. It's located in the back of the hotel in the alley…read more Easy check in and was given a thick jacket. Entered the ice room that was created to the ice hotel that created once a year by all ice up northern Sweden. It's freezing inside and it's unique experience, part of it, you got to have a cocktail in ice glass. It's not strong enough to warm you up but you alway buy more drinks. I only last 30mins and I left. Definitely something to do in case you wonder how cold and how it is at the actual ice hotel. Yup, no need for me for sure. But really enjoyed the experience.

I've heard so much about Skansen, but all the descriptions were vague and strangely nondescript. We…read morefinally decided to check out Skansen two days before midsummer, mildly apprehensive about the entrance fee since we still couldn't figure out what Skansen was about, but we hoped there would be midsummer decorations. There was confusion about the train route and after speaking to the gate agent, skipped the extra fee for the train to go up the hill. We were here to walk. At first glance, Skansen is a living museum of how things were done in the olden days, replete with actors. There were no midsummer decorations, though I was told the main thing was the may pole, which we had already seen erected on another archipelago. A delightful surprise was the animal farm (with an almost free roaming peacock) and the Nordic animal zoo. This accidental stumble on animals (bears, bison, reindeer, etc) was my favorite part of Skansen. Overall a neat place to spend an afternoon. Would recommend!

What an awesome time here!!! If you are ever in Stockholm this is a must for sure. It may not seem…read morelike much but imagine a zoo and theme park all built into one. Not that you'll find crazy rides but there's entertainment for kids with some rides, plus not to mention the lounging areas, the animals, and so much more. Came here walking from our hotel , you can catch a bus, and it was just beautiful. I highly recommend a visit. This can be an almost all day thing or just come for a few hours like we didn't.

If a visit to Stockholm allows enough time to get out of the city for part of a day, I can't…read moreimagine a better diversion than a visit to this castle. Our ferry left from the western terminal, giving us a different view of the Royal Castle as we left. The boat ride also gives you water views of the Prince Eugene museum, the "God our Father on the Rainbow" statue/fountain, spectacular summer houses on the archipelago, and a look at some of the prettiest ships I've ever seen. After arriving in Vaxholm, we wandered the town and found a lovely lunch under a tent just steps from the dock. Our daughter (the local expert) tells me that with such a short tourist season, restaurants in Sweden won't survive if they don't provide quality and value to the locals. So, we never encountered a 'tourist trap' restaurant, no matter how close it was to any kind of attraction. A small, cable guided ferry takes you from the town to the castle itself. Vaxholm sits on one of the major shipping lanes into Stockholm, and the castle was built to protect the city from unwanted visitors. Most of what you find inside is a museum outlining the history of the protection of Sweden's coastline. Swedish museums have a delightful tendency to include little things that will frighten visitors, and this one was no exception. I won't include any spoilers, but it made my wife gasp, and then laugh. As a way of feeling like you are leaving the tourist center of the country, and are truly seeing part of Sweden, this is an amazing way to spend a summer afternoon.

Visited this island fortress based on recommendation from friends. Spent ~2 hours here during a…read moreday-trip from Stockholm. Transportation: Need to take ferry from Vaxholm but is just 2 minutes from mainland (could've been easily swimmable). Ferry goes around fortress (within less than 10 minutes) as a scenic route on way to island and goes back direct (2 minutes) on return trip. Museum: Good explanation of historical importance of town and fortress. Exhibits are all in Swedish but translated guide is provided in English. Bit difficult to cross-reference guide with exhibits and not all of them had translations. -1 star because there was enough room on walls to provide English directly on exhibits. 15 minute film provides museum overview, but it plays on loop without ability to rewind/pause - inconvenient depending on when arriving. We spent 1 hour in the museum, but it would have taken 1 hour more to go through in detail. Tower: Climb the tower nearest to the bed & breakfast for a great view of the town. 130 steps but well worth it. There is a bed and breakfast and café with tempting menu for those wishing to remain on the island for longer. Bottom Line: Make a trip to see this place if you 5 hours+ for a day trip from Stockholm.

Love photography, love this museum. Visited couple back and still think about it once in awhile…read more Located on the waterfront (great view of the city), and the building it self is just a great architectural itself. The museum has several levels and well layout and organized. Staff are everywhere and friendly. On top level, there is a restaurant overlook the city. The view is just amazingly breathtaking, service is great. Foods and drinks are also good too. On street level, before you leave the museum, a small but plenty of variety of shops for shopping. There are several exhibitions throughout the year and they're all fantastic. Love this museum.

So much depends on what's on exhibit and how much you enjoy it. Setting that aside, this museum was…read morefully installed on our visit, so we saw three major exhibits. Their staging of exhibitions and curation are world-class. Their cafe and restaurant on their top floor is spectacular, and can satisfy a range of wants from dining to a coffee. Their prices for admission are fair. Plan for 1.5-2 hours for your visit, excluding time in the cafe or dining, and getting to and from the museum. We'd go back. TIP wine and other drinks are available beginning around 18 at the galleries entrance TIP account for walking to and from Slussen (600-750 m), which is the nearest transit

Stunning collection of art, furniture, weapons and baroque style rooms in a great location. There's…read moreeven a beautiful courtyard area where you can grab a cocktail after if you come in the evening like we did! Check this out - I enjoyed this museum more than the royal palace as there are English cards in each room with wonderful explanations of how the rooms were used and a glimpse into the family's life. Also it is free! So stay 10 min or hours.

The museum is housed in a historical building in central Stockholm and faces Berzelii Park. The…read morehouse used to belong to the Count and Countess von Hallwyl, but was donated to the state in 1920s. The museum takes you back in time to late 19th century and strikes its visitors with opulence and glitter of the rich aristocratic family. Impressive collection of paintings, furniture, China, and weaponry is displayed in rooms of grand nature decorated in various styles. An window into a private life of aristocracy! It's free to attend, but you would have to pay 70 SEK for a guided tour. Tour will also get you an access into certain rooms closed for general public.

A charming museum of contemporary art. We spent an entire morning walking through the galleries and…read moresaw some wonderful works. There are lovely grounds and outdoor sculptures as well. The museum has some sort of huge tubes outside and kids were zooming down the tubs having a fabulous time. We are a really delicious lunch in the museum cafe and I recommend it. I had a wonderful vegetarian lunch that was delicious and my husband had a salad with some really good smoked salmon. A lovely place to look at art and have lunch.

The Moderna Museet is Stockholm's museum for modern and contemporary art, located on the island of…read moreSkeppsholmen. The museum has an impressive permanent collection (pieces by Picasso, Dalí, Duchamp, Matisse, etc.). When we visited last week, I was really blown away by an exhibit made up of works from their permanent collection: "Pink Sails: Swedish Modernism in the Moderna Museet Collection." I wasn't familiar with too many Swedish artists, so it was a pleasure to explore this exhibit and experience art that was new to me! The museum is open late (until 8pm on Tuesdays and Fridays), which was great for us - it let us tag on a visit to the museum at the end of a full day of touristing around Gamla Stan. The museum is gorgeous, very modern, with a great gift shop, cafe, and restaurant. A really beautiful museum and well worth visiting if you're interested in modern and contemporary art.

It's a magnificent place. The building is such an eye catching architectural full of details of…read morecurves. Located at the beginning of the King's park and across from the waterfront and the water fountain. The building is small but packed with iniquity structures both inside and outside. All I can say is fabulous place with fabulous decor, fills with customs from the shows. Grand ceiling with grand chandelier and fabulous seating. Stage is fantastic and the show are just beautiful. Love it here.

WOW! I didn't know what to expect from the Royal Swedish Opera Ballet, this dance troupe is rarely…read moretalked about compared to the Paris Opera Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, American Ballet Theater, or The Royal Ballet. But the Swedes did a phenomenal work art of Sleeping Beauty. The live orchestra, talented dancers, colorful costumes, and elaborate sets all worked together harmoniously to create a wonderful classic ballet...the Carabosse was mesmerizing and seductive! Be careful when buying tickets online for this opera house. I picked out a couple of seats for 330SEK($37) each. They looked decent on the website chart, which unfortunately is not to scale and doesn't fully project the true sharp horseshoe shape of the theater. The seats were still decent, but required turning your head sharply for 3 hours. Fortunately, the show wasn't sold out. After 15 minutes into the show, we snuck over to some better seats that were much central and provided a significantly better view. I guestimate these seats were 500-700+ SEK. Still, I would've been happy with the 330SEK seats, they would've been 50% more in America. Though I'm guessing tax revenue subsidizes the ticket costs, thanks Sweden! If you're into the Arts, go check out a concert, opera, or ballet at this classical & beautiful opera house.

Nordiska is a classic, massive museum on Djurgården. It focuses on life in the Nordics, so if you…read moreare generally interested in the people and culture of a place, this will likely be an interesting visit for you. The main exhibit right now is called Nordbor, and chronicles the lifestyles of rich and poor people from 1500 to 2000. Videos and artifacts are used to tell the stories from the different eras across three levels, on themes like family, the city, work, etc. There is a really nice presentation of photographs spanning from the 1800s to 2000 as well. You could easily spend 4 hours or more here, if you took the time to watch every video and read about each item on display. Tickets are approx. $170 for adults. There is an accessible entrance, and an elevator to get to each floor. There are also lockers for coats and bags on the Lower level, by the restrooms. The museum shop on the lower level is worth a stop as well. There is no admission required for visiting the museum shop or restaurant.

Great museum even when there's about 1-2 hrs left till closing time. All lot of things to read and…read moresee on Swedish history. Shout out to Debbie for letting my group in for free in trade for filling out the feedback form since the computers were down.