Things to do in Stockholm & Uppsala

On Djurgården, the Vasa Museum lets you stand beside a 17th-century warship that sank on its maiden voyage and was salvaged after 333 years, and a short walk away the castle-like Nordic Museum covers everyday Nordic life and has a Children's Playhouse. Skansen's open-air museum spreads historic cottages, farmsteads and workshops around a zoo and the children's zoo Lill-Skansen, Junibacken's Story Train carries children aged 0–8 and their grown-ups into the world of fairytales, ABBA The Museum lets you join the four members on stage as the fifth, and Tekniska museet fills its halls with MegaMind, The Mathematical Garden, The Mine, a model railway and a video game exhibition. In Gamla stan, Stockholm's oldest district, founded in the 13th century, medieval lanes lead to Stortorget, the city's oldest square with its photogenic gabled facades and the Nobel Prize Museum in the old Stock Exchange building, while the Royal Palace opens the Royal Apartments, the Treasury with the regalia and Museum Three Crowns, and the Royal Armoury in its vaults shows royal carriages, armour and costumes. Moderna Museet on Skeppsholmen holds Sweden's national collection of modern and contemporary art, the Swedish History Museum in Östermalm has The Viking World and the Gold Room, the Hallwyl Museum opens a lavishly furnished private city palace, and the grand banquet halls of waterside Stockholm City Hall are seen on guided tours. Most metro stations are decorated with art, so T-Centralen, Kungsträdgården, Solna Centrum and Stadion turn an ordinary ride into a gallery tour, and on Södermalm the Monteliusvägen path looks over Lake Mälaren, City Hall, Riddarholmen and Gamla stan before continuing west to Skinnarviksberget for sunset. Beyond the centre, the historic steamship S/S Stockholm sails about 1.5 hours through the archipelago to the island town of Vaxholm, UNESCO-listed Drottningholm is the best-preserved 17th-century royal palace in Sweden with a park open all year, Sigtuna, Sweden's first town, founded in the 10th century on Lake Mälaren, has wooden houses, cafés and rune stones along Stora gatan, and in Uppsala the grand Gothic cathedral built around 1270 holds St Erik's reliquary. In the Christmas season, a historic Christmas market fills Skansen and a million LED lights decorate the streets and squares of central Stockholm.

Good to knowThe Nobel Prize Museum and the Hallwyl Museum are closed on Mondays, while Tekniska museet is open every day until 21:00, so Monday suits Tekniska museet or a metro art ride, which needs nothing more than a valid public transport ticket. Under-19s enter the Nobel Prize Museum, the Swedish History Museum and the Hallwyl Museum free, and the Vasa Museum is free for ages 0–18, Moderna Museet for 18 and under, Skansen for 0–15 and ABBA The Museum for 0–6; Skansen tickets are cheapest online. ABBA The Museum takes card payments only and visitors under 16 need an adult, Junibacken's theatre shows must be booked in advance, the Vasa Museum does not allow large bags or wheeled cases, and City Hall, visited only on guided tours, allows just one small bag. The Royal Apartments can close fully or partly during official receptions and Drottningholm's interiors open mainly at weekends outside summer, so check the opening pages first, and the steamship to Vaxholm sails daily in summer but mostly at weekends the rest of the year. At the Royal Armoury, adults get half price on Thursday evenings from autumn to spring, and late-afternoon entry to the Swedish History Museum is half price, though strollers are not allowed in its Gold Room. Parts of Monteliusvägen can be slippery in winter, so wear grippy shoes. Skansen's Christmas market opens Fridays to Sundays only, and the Christmas lights walk starts at Kungsträdgården with a map downloaded from the website.