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Stockholm With Kids
Arriving in Stockholm via the main train station I was immediately impressed at how safe and welcoming the city felt. Admittedly we were also running through the streets with backpacks trying to reach our ferry on time! Unfortunately for us the ferry was cancelled, but a friendly AirBnB owner let us stay an extra night at their place. So it all worked out in the end! Fortunately Stockholm is a very family friendly city with plenty for the kids to do. It also has excellent public transportation system using the metro and tram.
Where To Stay in Stockholm With Kids
Obviously the centre is the best place if you’re looking for somewhere close to all the attractions. However, if you are on a budget there are lots of options further out, close to metro stations. The Stockholm metro stations are also works of art in their own right, see below, but trains are regular and easy to catch. You can buy tickets from the person at the ticket gates (a day pass is better than a single ride) and kids under 12 travel free with a fare paying adult.
We stayed on the island of Kungsholmen in an AirBnB, although you can find other hotel options in the centre that are cheaper if you book in advance. When we were looking to book a month in advance all the family rooms were in excess of £1000 for 2 nights!
So do make sure you:
- Pick somewhere central in advance (several months)
- Or pick somewhere cheaper further from the centre, but near a metro station
- Choose an Airbnb if you are on a budget and want to make your own dinner
Budgeting For Food In Stockholm
This leads on well from the above. The best way to budget for food in Stockholm is to stay in an apartment where you can cook your own food. It’s fairly cheap at the supermarkets, and it’s always fun to visit foreign supermarkets!
Eating out is expensive in Stockholm and it soon adds up, although you can find some places to eat within museums that are a bit cheaper. Also, if you don’t want to eat out for lunch, head to the supermarket to pick up a bread, or pastries etc.
Don’t miss eating out at all though, there are some wonderful restaurants in Stockholm!
Where To Avoid In Stockholm
Most people will tell you that there is nowhere to avoid in Stockholm, the city is safe and friendly. Which it is! However, we personally found it incredibly busy with tourists in certain areas. This was at the end of August when many European school holidays have ended, including the Swedish schools.
So, if you are visiting during July and August give Gamla Stan a miss, it was jam packed with tourists in the square and all the streets around the area. It was NOT fun walking through hoards of people at all. So try and skip this if you can. It seemed quieter around the Royal Palace itself, so perhaps fewer people visit the palace to walking around the nearby streets?
10 Best Things To Do In Stockholm With Kids
Now, what are the best things to do in Stockholm with kids? You’ll be impressed that Stockholm has plenty to do, from an open-air museum to Viking museums and the national Museum of Science. You can easily spend several days exploring everything that Stockholm has to offer!
Skansen
Skansen is the first place people tell you to visit when you say that you are going to Stockholm. And there is a good reason for this! It’s a great place to discover what Sweden used to look like, before he industrial age. With quaint wooden houses painstakingly moved here from other areas of Sweden, you can find shops, manors and farmsteads. There are objects from the correct time period inside the houses and many have re-enactors who tell you about the history.
Also in Skansen is a zoo with various animals, including otters, moose and bears. Plus there is the Baltic science centre and the aquarium to explore too. Everything is a short walk from each other, so it’s easy to navigate.
Viking Museum
The Viking museum is just a few minutes walk away from the entrance to Skansen, also located on Djurgården. The viking museum can get very busy at times, particularly when there’s heavy rain, like there was when we visited! However, it‘s a great museum and well worth visiting, especially if you are interested in Swedish Viking history. They have a kids trail around the museum, which was fun for my youngest and various interactive areas. You can also download a self guided tour to your phone and play it whilst you walk around. It’s mostly the same as the written sections, but it makes it easy to listen to it whilst walking around. Don’t miss the ride at the end, it tells you about a fictional man and his family who are trying to earn money.
Vasa Museum
Also in Djurgården is Stockholm’s most famous museum – the Vasa Musuem. It tells the story of the Vasa Ship that sunk just minutes in to its maiden voyage, off the edge of Djurgården, where the old docks used to be. It’s certainly an impressive museum, with plenty of information and excellent preservation of the Vasa wreck that now sits proudly in the museum, a little duller than it originally would have appeared. You can learn about why it sank, the court case around it and who was ultimately to blame for the ship sinking. It’s definitely a must-visit on your Stockholm adventure.
The Swedish History Museum
The Swedish History Museum has over 10 million historical objects and plenty of interactive exhibitions that kids will enjoy. However the best reason to visit for families visiting Stockholm is the Viking World exhibition. There’s 1000 square metres of exciting stories and interactive stations to capture everyone’s interest. It looks truly amazing and I’m a little sad we didn’t make it here! It’s definitely worth visiting to learn more about Vikings, even if you aren’t as interested on other Swedish history.
Gröna Lund Theme Park
Gröna Lund amusement park dates back to 1883 and is a blend of modern and historic roller coaster and other rides. You can see some of taller rides from quite a distance, watching people flying into the sky screaming! There are different rides for all the family, although the pricing can be a little confusing. You can pay for the park entrance only, so you can enjoy the atmosphere and pay separately for each ride by using coupons, which can work out at £2-£5 per person per ride depending on which one you choose. Or you can buy a wristband that will allow unlimited access to all rides. There are discounts and tourist passes, so look around before you buy!
Trip to the Archipelago
One of my favourite parts of Stockholm was taking a ferry out to the Stockholm archipelago. Stockholm itself is built on multiple islands, as well as the mainland. However, just a short ferry ride away and you can hop-off boats onto other islands. There are so many ferries that you can easily visit many islands over a few days, it’s well connected. However, as we were limited with time we visit one island – Grinda island. Which is the perfect island for a day trip. Far enough out to feel remote, but also plenty to explore in a day. You can also stay on the island, which we had planned to, but this fell through due to a late sleeper train. Spend your time walking, swimming, use the saunas (book in advance) and even kayaking. It’s a wonderful place to visit!
Metro with kids who like art
If you or your children enjoy art then you definitely need to do a DIY tour of the metro stations in Stockholm. Many different artists have been employed to paint and add sculptures to central stations. The best station is debatable as it‘s entirely down to personal tastes! However, for the most dramatic artwork make sure you visit Stadion for the giant rainbow artwork, Tekniska Högskolan a celebration of scientific advances and discoveries and Kungsträdgården for the unusual statues and formal looking area.
Junibacken
Younger children will have a great time at Junibacken. It’s basically a giant kids play area based on children’s literature, with a story train, children’s theatre and creative activities. Aimed at children aged 8 years and younger, little children will absolutely love it!
Djurgården
The island of Djurgården is home to many of Stockholm’s famous museums and attractions, including Skansen open-air museum and Vasa museum. However, the east of the island is mostly forested parkland and is perfect for spending some recreational time relaxing and playing. The kids will enjoy running around and playing in the woodlands, a world away from the busy city streets in Central Stockholm.
The Museum Ships
Finally, if you have time, the museum ships opposite the viking museum are free to visit and an interesting addition to a full day on Djurgården. The ships are open to the public during the summer months. With the light ship a historical ship that works the same as a lighthouse, just in ship form. Then there’s the Sankt Erik, an icebreaker ship, once used to keep shipping routes to Stockholm open during the winter time. Both worth learning more about!
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