Sweden Guide
Stockholm
Skansen
Opening time: Daily: May 10am–8pm; June– Aug 10am–10pm; Sept 10am–5pm; Oct– April 10am–4pm
Price: 70kr June– Aug, 50kr rest of the year
Website: www.skansen.se
It's for Skansen that most people come to Djurgården, a great open-air museum with 150 reconstructed buildings ranging from an entire town to windmills and farms. They're all laid out on a region-by-region basis, with each section boasting its own daily activities – traditional handicrafts, games and displays – that anyone can join in. The best of the buildings are the small Sámi dwellings, warm and functional, and the craftsmen's workshops in the old town quarter. You can also potter around a small zoo and a bizarre aquarium, where fish live cheek by jowl with crocodiles, monkeys and snakes. Partly because of the attention paid to accuracy, partly due to the admirable lack of commercialization, Skansen manages to avoid the tackiness associated with similar ventures in other countries. Even the snack bars dole out traditional foods and in winter serve up great bowls of warming soup.