#54 Moderna Museet & Arkitektur Museet

Today I visited 'Free Friday' at two of Stockholm's museums, the Modern Art and Architecture museums, both located in the same building on Skeppsholmen. They were good to fill in a few hours, but otherwise unless you have a special interest in modern art I wouldn't recommend a visit.

The Architecture museum is usually 60kr, and it is really small, so I would strongly advise against visiting here unless it's free. There is one temporary exhibition and another two small rooms of permanent exhibitions with  scale models of some of Swedens well known buildings and areas. It took me under an hour to see the whole place.

 Temporary risk exhibit

 Fake home

 Drawings by children

 A video on risk in the home!

Model of katarina hissen

The Modern Art Museum is usually 120kr, and on Fridays is only free for some parts of it (I think the temporary exhibitions). I have no interest in modern art, so the artists I saw on display were boring for me. There were some audio and video exhibits which were more interesting for me though. The artists and work you see will probably depend on when you go, but unless you love art it's probably not worth your time.

 How this is art I have no idea

 This is cool

 Modern poetry?

Not sure what this was

Arkitektur is free on Fridays from 4pm until 6pm, and Moderna is free from 6pm until 8pm, so you can do both.
You can get to the museums by taking bus 65 from central station to the Stockholm Arkitekt/Moderna stop. It is also possible to walk from the t-bana at Kungstradgarden (10 minutes) or to get the Djurgarden ferry from either Slussen or Grona Lund.
Also interesting to know, connecting the island to the mainland is the Skeppsholmen bridge, which has the famous crown you often see on postcards etc of Stockholm.

#53 A List Of Free Things To Do In Stockholm

This is for the people who want to see Stockholm on a budget! There are so many great things to do here that don't cost money, so I will keep updating this post as I discover more fun things to do in Stockholm for free. The obvious things are walking the streets and sightseeing, but during the weekdays many museums are free in the evenings so it's good to check before your visit.

Katarina Hissen - Great viewing point of Stockholm. Located beside Slussen metro station.

Monteliusvägen - Viewing point. Take the metro to Mariatorget and then 5min walk.

Gamla Stan - The Old Town. Walk around cobbled streets. Located at Gamla Stan metro station.

Ericsson Globe Arena - The World's Most Spherical building! Metro stop Globen.

Maritime Museum - NOT to be confused with Vasa! Bus 69 from Sergels Torg to Museiparken.

Sports Museum - Bus 69 from Sergels Torg to Museiparken.

Free walking tours - Every weekend and some weekdays www.freetourstockholm.com

Changing of the guard - Located at the Royal Palace, usually Wednesdays and Sundays at 12pm

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo locations - Google it! Popular places are Fiskargatan 9 and Bellmansgatan1.

IKEA Kungens Kurva - Take the free IKEA bus from the city or go to Skarholmen metro station.

The Woodland Cemetery (Skogskyrkogarden) - Skogskyrkogarden metro station

Skeppsholmsbron (the bridge with the crown) - Bus 65 from central to Nationalmuseum.

Drottinggatan shopping street - Located near Stockholm central train/metro station.

[Stockholm Travel card: You can take the ferry, tram, see metro station art]


Special Days Only (most of these exclude June, July and August, please check in advance)

[Mondays only: Royal Coin Cabinet - Located at the Royal Palace. Metro to Gamla Stan]

[Tuesdays only: Nobel Museum (free from 5pm)  - Take the metro to Gamla Stan]

[Wednesdays only: Nordic Museum (free from 5pm) - Take the tram from Sergels Torg.
and Technology Museum (free from 5pm) -  Bus 69 from Sergels Torg to Museiparken.]

[Thursdays only: Army Museum (free from 5pm) - Take tram to Nybroplan
Royal Armoury (free from 6pm) -  Located at the Royal Palace. Metro to Gamla Stan]

[Fridays only: Moderna Museet (free from 6pm) - Bus 65 from central station
and Architecture Museum (free from 4pm to 6pm) - Bus 65 from central station
National History Museum - Take tram to Djgardsbron]

#50 Katarina Hissen (or a great view of Stockholm for free)

This was once upon a time a working elevator, but obviously Stockholm city council or whoever is in charge are lazy and it's been broken for a few years. HOWEVER, once you get up there, there's a fantastic view of Gamla Stan and the surrounding area that no visitor to Stockholm should miss.

Woop there it is!

I've been here a few times, just because it's nice and it's free. It's located beside the Slussen Metro station (close to Gamla Stan) and there are two ways up, one is to enter the building it's attached to and take the elevator to the 11th floor, labelled Gondolen (this is a really fancy restaurant, you should probably eat here if you're rich) and then you have to walk up some stairs and you're at the top! Or else, you can walk up lots of stairs built into the wall across the street. It's a tiresome journey but it's worth it!

Not the cleanest, but it's free!

Taken back in snowy January!

 City Hall on left, Gamla Stan on right

 Taken on a bright March evening

And I haven't even mentioned the best part, the entrance/exit at the top is about 5 minutes away from Lisbeth Salanders luxurious apartment at Fiskargatan 9. You exit almost directly beside Sodra Theatre, and then from there simply walk up the steps past the little red brick tower and you'll find it, it's the yellow apartment block with the partial green roof. Exciting for those Stieg Larsson fans out there!

Oh there it is!

So to conclude, Katarina Hissen is quite a popular place for tourists, but I think there are still many people who visit Stockholm and don't know about it, and opt to visit somewhere like the Kaknastornet TV tower instead, which costs 50kr.

Update: There are also other free viewing places, such as Skinnarviksberget, which is near Mariatorget.

#49 Djurgården Ferry (or Stockholm by boat)

If you have an SL travelcard (which is pretty much everyone, it's impossible to live without even if you're only in Stockholm  for a few days), then you can get the Djurgårds-Farjan (Djurgården ferry) for FREE!

If you don't have the time, interest or money to get a real boat tour around Stockholm, then this my friends is an excellent alternative. This commuter ferry leaves a few times an hour everyday from about 9am until about 7pm in winter, and up to midnight in summer. It offers some nice views of Stockholm from the water, and it won't cost you a crown!

It goes from Slussen (near Gamla stan/Old town and Katarina hissen viewing point) to Djurgården, right beside the Gröna Lund Tivoli amusement park. It usually also stops in the middle at Skeppsholmen, which is home to Moderna Museet (Museum of modern art).

It takes about 10 minutes in total, and despite the fresh sea air and the great views, it also helps in connecting some main tourist attractions - the Old Town near Slussen to the plethora of museums on Djurgården like Skansen, Vasa, Nordiska, Absolut Spirit and the soon to be opened Abba Museum.

So there you have it, another mildly exciting and fun thing to do in Stockholm!

Bon Voyage!

#48 Nordic Museum

The Nordic Museum (Nordiska Museet) is free every Wednesday evening from 5pm until closing at 8pm. So naturally I decided it was time for a visit. It seems living in Stockholm has its benefits!

The most surprising thing about Nordiska is perhaps that it's not as Nordic as you might expect. . .it was agreed by my international group of friends that we had expected much older exhibits and something more to do with Vikings and the such. However, it is pretty big and they have some interesting items on display.

The outside

The main hall

This large statue is the first thing you see as you enter

Part of the special Jewellery exhibit

Fashion exhibit

Christmas scene

Underwear made from HUMAN hair!!

Sami things made from reindeer (I think)

A woman being tortured...the only thing not signposted in English!

Unlike most places, you can rent audio guides for free here, which is nice. Almost everything is signposted in English, and I think there are guided tours in English too.

Some of the exhibits included jewellery, clothing, table settings, small items, toys and Sami items. There are also some strange exhibits, including one to do with hair which included a fake salon setting and clothes made from human hair, as well as information about different types of personal grooming through the ages.

Finally, there was a little ornament in the "small things" section that I would like to highlight:

A frog on a toilet. . .inspirational

#47 Maritime Museum Stockholm

The best thing about the Maritime Museum in Stockholm is that it is totally FREE for everyone, all the time. Most of the other museums in Stockholm will set you back at least 100kr, which really adds up if you're planning to go to more than one.

 Anyway, back to the Museum. Considering its totally free price, it was excellent. It is suitable for both adults and children and the exhibits were interesting, even if you have no knowledge or interest in anything nautical. The highlight for is the end part of a ship once owned by the King of Sweden years and years ago. (It's like a mini-Vasa for free!). From there, you enter a room full of model ships, as well as costumes, weapons, sailing equipment etc. For children, there is a great modern exhibit about shipping and where different goods come from. There is also an interesting tattoo exhibit about sailors tattoos that will be running for the next few months. The museum has good English information signposted on everything - except for the tattoo exhibit, which was a little disappointing.

 Part of the boat

The thing that goes on the front of a ship. . .it's pretty big

This was on a ship

Lots and lots of detailed model boats

Costumes

The shipping exhibit

This was the floor

The temporary tattoo exhibit

The Maritime Museum is located on the no.69 bus route a short distance from the city, near a TV tower with a viewing point of Stockholm. It is also located beside other unusual museums , such as the Ethnography museum and the Police Museum. These other ones aren't free, but they are cheaper than the usual 100kr. Finally, it's called 'Sjöhistoriska' in Swedish.