Things to see and do Svealand

Do you dream of adventures in the Scandinavian countries? In the summer, go on a safari to discover the wildlife around Stockholm, opt for a guided tour of the city by Segway or bicycle, or put on your swimsuit for a canoe trip. In winter, put on your skates and hike on the many frozen lakes surrounding the capital! Here, you can enjoy a wide variety of outdoor activities all year round that are out of the ordinary. The service is impeccable and the price is almost always all-inclusive.

The non-profit Association of Licensed Guides in Stockholm (FSAG) was founded in 1953. Its aim is to promote the tourist industry in Stockholm through a number of possible tour formats in about 30 different languages, including sign language. The association offers customers the possibility to contact the guides through their website or by means of a catalogue that is distributed to tourist offices every year.

Inaugurated in 1926, this imposing building with its blue plaster and tall gray columns overlooking Hötorget is one of the symbols of Stockholm. It is here that the Nobel Prizes are awarded every December 10, rewarding the men and women who, according to the various committees, have made the greatest advances in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine and literature. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, according to the will of Alfred Nobel. The Concert House can be visited every summer day during the Nobel tour, in English. The huge fountain on the steps of the building is a work of the Swedish sculptor Carl Milles, made in 1936 and representing Orpheus.

Home of the Philharmonic Orchestra. The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra performs here throughout the year, but you can also attend concerts by international artists and orchestras. The 105-piece Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, led by American conductor Ryan Bancroft, is one of the world's most renowned orchestras. Born in 1902 with the creation of the Concert Society orchestra, the name was changed some fifty years later, in 1957, to the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, to finally become the Royal Philharmonic. For the little anecdote, the composer Allan Pettersson was a member of the orchestra in 1940 and 1953. Today, the Konserthuset organizes more than a hundred concerts per year.

The Stockholm City Hall is one of the most emblematic monuments of the city. Created by the architect Ragnar Östberg, the Stockholm City Hall was inaugurated in 1923 after 12 years of work. Beautifully located on the shores of Lake Mälaren, this building of a new architectural style, the national romanticism, immediately became the symbol of the city. It almost symbolically illustrates the marriage between the cityscape and the surrounding water. Today, the city hall houses the rooms of the city council, the central commission, the committee of aldermen as well as the offices of the central administration of the city and the ceremonial rooms.

It is possible to visit Stockholm City Hall by taking a guided tour that lasts 45 minutes (purchase tickets on site). Guided tours are given daily but may be cancelled due to events taking place at the venue. It is also possible to book a private tour, which offers more flexibility on the language spoken during the tour (book online). The city hall also has a souvenir store with some very nice items! Good plan for a last minute gift.

The Tower(open only from May to September). At the corner of the building, the tower stands 106 m high and is topped by three crowns, a national and monarchical symbol. You can access its different levels through a narrow spiral staircase that has 365 steps. From the top, one has a complete and impressive view of the city, making the city hall a major tourist attraction. The tickets (only 30 issued each hour) are accompanied by a schedule. So you have to book them as soon as possible, on the spot.

The Blue Hall (Blå Hallen). This immense sheltered courtyard hosts the great Nobel Prize award dinner every year. Largely inspired by the Italian Baroque, with its balconnets and arcades, it does not live up to its name because there is not a single trace of blue here. The reason is simple: the architect changed his mind about the color of the room several months after naming it. Thus, the name remained... Here you will see an organ with 10,000 pipes, which must surely be the largest instrument in Sweden.

The Council Chamber (Rådsalen). The 101 elected members meet here two Mondays a month. The roof structure is fully visible, a reference to the Vikings, who once held their councils under the hulls of their overturned ships. A corner of blue sky appears on the ceiling between the rafters through a trompe-l'oeil painted bay. Again, the builder wanted to recall the dwellings of the Swedish ancestors whose roofs were slit with an opening to evacuate the smoke. The red color - common in Sweden - of the beams, textiles and leather emphasizes the solemn character of the room.

The Ovalen. The antechamber of the ceremonial rooms serves as a lounge for civil weddings on Saturdays from 2 to 6 pm. This room is also called "French" because of the tapestries from the royal manufacture of Beauvais around which the room is designed.

The Prince's Gallery (Prinsens Galleri). It is a 47 m long party room. It is illuminated by seven French windows overlooking the park, Lake Mälaren and the shores of Stockholm. In front of the windows, this vast panorama is reflected in frescoes painted by Prince Eugene. Three carved and gilded oak chandeliers hang from the ceiling of the Three Crowns Room (Salen Tre Kronor). One of the most representative paintings of the Gustavian period is Stockholm from Mosebacke by Elias Martin. It depicts the old city which, for two centuries, has remained as it is. The Prince's Gallery is closed on Saturdays, often reserved for wedding ceremonies!

The Golden Hall (Gyllene Salen). Work of the master Einar Forseth, this banqueting hall was realized in only two years and is undoubtedly the highlight of the visit. The place is as original as sumptuous: the walls are entirely covered with gold and glass mosaics that represent the history of Swedish kings (including the scenes of the "bloodbath" of Gamla Stan in 1520 and the accession of Gustav Vasa three years later) and, on the back wall, the East and the West paying tribute to Stockholm, depicted in the guise of a strange deity known as the Queen of Lake Mälaren. It is in this sumptuous hall that the annual Nobel Prize Ball is held and broadcast on radio and television.

Stadshusparken is a small park along the city hall and the shores of Lake Mälaren. There are several sculptures here, among them the artists August Strindberg and Gustaf Fröding. The park is large and spacious, offering a very pleasant view of the whole city.

Café Ragnars Skafferi. Located in the city hall, this cozy café is named after the building's architect, Ragnar Östberg. You can go there for lunch, they offer homemade dishes and all ingredients are organic! The menu is fixed, and changes every day of the week. You can find out more on their website: www.ragnarsskafferi.se/. Vegetarian friendly menu, and everything is served as a buffet. Your choice!

ABBA The Museum is a museum dedicated to the famous Swedish pop group, from its creation in 1970 to its split in 1983, and its comeback in 2021. Since its opening in 2013, it is a hit, with nearly 300,000 visitors per year! You can discover costumes, instruments, golden records and other objects that belonged to the group, but also exact replicas of the places where ABBA lived and worked to take you closer to the life of the quartet. More than a simple museum, the place has been designed to offer a true immersive and interactive experience. The multiple devices available to visitors are regularly renewed to remain at the cutting edge of technology. During your visit, these devices will allow you to virtually try on the band's costumes, sing songs, create music, play quizzes and even slip into the skin of a fifth member of the band by performing on stage alongside the avatars of Björn, Agnetha, Benny and Frida. Finally, a new space takes you behind the scenes of the quartet's latest project: ABBA Voyage, a series of futuristic concerts in the form of holograms. For an even more interactive experience, rent an audio guide and let the band members tell you their stories!

Good to know: reservations on the site are highly recommended and only credit cards are accepted in the entire museum (including the store and restaurant).

This is where you can get a copy of the famous Dalarna horse, handmade in the purest tradition. More authentic than this, we can not do. If you want to make the original, no worries, because it is possible to order wooden horses of any color, and this, directly from the website! Thus, you will have only the embarrassment of the choice to please you and your friends. Good thing: it is cheaper to buy your horse in Nusnäs than in a store or a tourist office!

It is probably the presence of this theatre on the site of Drottingholm that decided Unesco specialists to inscribe this site on the World Heritage List. It is one of the few unrenovated 18th-century baroque theatres in the world that can be visited. Its history is picturesque, since the building was built in 1766 by Queen Lovisa Ulrika and then magnified by Gustav III, who brought in French, Italian and German artists. Then, the theatre was suddenly closed in 1792. It was almost by chance that it was rediscovered by a historian in search of a painting (which is actually on display in one of the rooms). The latter realized the treasure he had just unearthed (the theatre had been dormant for nearly two hundred years), and asked for permission to restore it, which was granted. Today, operas and plays are regularly presented to the public. The hall itself is magnificent, plunged into semi-darkness to make the many trompe-l'oeil effects effective, according to the architect's wishes. The stage sets are still changed by hand using the original mechanical system. The tour will then take you to the rooms adjoining the hall, to the rooms that were used to house the artists in Gustav III's time and to the reception room, where the king liked to have breakfast with the actors, to the sound of an orchestra playing from the circular aerial balcony... A beautiful and impressive visit not to be missed by amateurs!

The summer residence of the botanist, built by him in 1758. This mansion is one of the best preserved in Sweden and reflects both the private life of this man and his scientific work. It was bought by Carl von Linné in 1758, as a refuge from the unhealthy environment of Uppsala. Many plants, cultivated by Linnaeus himself, grow in this lush park. From the hill overlooking the farm, one can enjoy the view and dream of the ^18th century landscape.