Stockholm sits on islands, so boats are everyday transport here, and kids grow up riding ferries and the T-bana. This list is for the ones who never tire of either: harbor ferries and canal boats, old trams and subway cars, a salvaged warship, and steam railways for a day out. Here's what we checked, from the Djurgården ferry to the Lennakatten line.
Spårvägsmuseet tells the story of Stockholm's public transport inside the renovated Gasverket gasworks. Floors 1 to 3 hold 13 vehicles, from horse-drawn carriages and boats to trams and buses, plus old uniforms, tickets and T-bana art. Floor 4 walks through the history in order.
Kids can ride the mini T-bana, and those who need to burn off energy get Snabbare, a running track on floor 3.
The Djurgården ferry is SL's line 82, a short public-transport crossing from Slussen to Allmänna gränd on Djurgården, with a request stop at Skeppsholmen. The boats are built the same at both ends, so they never turn around, a design used since the line began in 1897 for the Stockholm Exhibition.
The Djurgården landing is close to Gröna Lund, the Vasa Museum and Skansen.
A guided boat tour run by Strömma that leaves Strömkajen, enters the quiet Djurgården canal (Djurgårdsbrunnskanalen) and runs through the Royal National City Park. Kids watch historic buildings, museums, green shores and the big contemporary sculptures of the Princess Estelle Sculpture Park slide past, then the city skyline opens up on the way back. A live English-speaking guide tells stories about the island's history and nature.
A volunteer-run museum railway that runs steam trains on 600 mm track, the narrowest gauge Sweden used for passenger traffic. Trains leave Mariefred for Läggesta Nedre, and on some days continue to Taxinge-Näsby. Kids can ride out on the open carriage platforms.
On Castles & Steam days, the train links Gripsholm Castle and Taxinge Castle, with the S/S Mariefred steamboat for the other leg.
Lennakatten is a 33 km museum railway from central Uppsala to Faringe across Uppland. Historic steam engines, diesel locomotives and railbuses run the line, with the smell of coal smoke and the thud of rail joints of an early-1900s trip.
The train stops at six stations and eight halts, so a ride can end at a swimming spot, a forest walk, rune stones near Bärby or the café at Marielund.
The Swedish National Maritime Museum tells the story of people and the sea through ship models, figureheads and real wreckage. Straight ahead from the entrance sits the gilded stern of Amphion, Gustav III's 1778 pleasure ship, with its cabin preserved inside.
Battle Stations! shows centuries of navy ship models and parts of the submarine Ulven. Under-7s get Blubb, an underwater play room with submarines, fish and sunken treasure.
The Vasa Museum is built around Vasa, a warship that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 and was raised after 333 years on the seabed. About 98% of the ship dates from the 1600s, covered in hundreds of wooden sculptures.
Kids can follow the family trail, compare the ship with a brightly painted model, watch the film about the Vasa Piglet, and join hands-on activities with museum staff.
Fjäderholmarna is a cluster of small islands, the nearest part of the Stockholm archipelago to the city center. Stora Fjäderholmen has craft studios including a glassworks, a forge and a pottery, some offering day workshops, plus a permanent exhibition of traditional boats and rocks to swim from.
Food runs from a smokehouse and an archipelago restaurant to a brewery and a chocolate maker.
Vaxholms Kastell is an island fortress in the Stockholm archipelago whose history goes back to the early 16th century. Its museum traces 500 years of coastal defense, with what is likely Sweden's largest collection of sea mines and a hydrophone station for listening to passing boats.
Other rooms cover spies and animals at war, with interactive code stations, and the basement recreates fortress life in the 1890s.
Stockholm sits on islands, so boats are everyday transport here, and kids grow up riding ferries and the T-bana. This list is for the ones who never tire of either: harbor ferries and canal boats, old trams and subway cars, a salvaged warship, and steam railways for a day out. Here's what we checked, from the Djurgården ferry to the Lennakatten line.
Spårvägsmuseet tells the story of Stockholm's public transport inside the renovated Gasverket gasworks. Floors 1 to 3 hold 13 vehicles, from horse-drawn carriages and boats to trams and buses, plus old uniforms, tickets and T-bana art. Floor 4 walks through the history in order.
Kids can ride the mini T-bana, and those who need to burn off energy get Snabbare, a running track on floor 3.
The Djurgården ferry is SL's line 82, a short public-transport crossing from Slussen to Allmänna gränd on Djurgården, with a request stop at Skeppsholmen. The boats are built the same at both ends, so they never turn around, a design used since the line began in 1897 for the Stockholm Exhibition.
The Djurgården landing is close to Gröna Lund, the Vasa Museum and Skansen.
A guided boat tour run by Strömma that leaves Strömkajen, enters the quiet Djurgården canal (Djurgårdsbrunnskanalen) and runs through the Royal National City Park. Kids watch historic buildings, museums, green shores and the big contemporary sculptures of the Princess Estelle Sculpture Park slide past, then the city skyline opens up on the way back. A live English-speaking guide tells stories about the island's history and nature.
A volunteer-run museum railway that runs steam trains on 600 mm track, the narrowest gauge Sweden used for passenger traffic. Trains leave Mariefred for Läggesta Nedre, and on some days continue to Taxinge-Näsby. Kids can ride out on the open carriage platforms.
On Castles & Steam days, the train links Gripsholm Castle and Taxinge Castle, with the S/S Mariefred steamboat for the other leg.
Lennakatten is a 33 km museum railway from central Uppsala to Faringe across Uppland. Historic steam engines, diesel locomotives and railbuses run the line, with the smell of coal smoke and the thud of rail joints of an early-1900s trip.
The train stops at six stations and eight halts, so a ride can end at a swimming spot, a forest walk, rune stones near Bärby or the café at Marielund.
The Swedish National Maritime Museum tells the story of people and the sea through ship models, figureheads and real wreckage. Straight ahead from the entrance sits the gilded stern of Amphion, Gustav III's 1778 pleasure ship, with its cabin preserved inside.
Battle Stations! shows centuries of navy ship models and parts of the submarine Ulven. Under-7s get Blubb, an underwater play room with submarines, fish and sunken treasure.
The Vasa Museum is built around Vasa, a warship that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 and was raised after 333 years on the seabed. About 98% of the ship dates from the 1600s, covered in hundreds of wooden sculptures.
Kids can follow the family trail, compare the ship with a brightly painted model, watch the film about the Vasa Piglet, and join hands-on activities with museum staff.
Fjäderholmarna is a cluster of small islands, the nearest part of the Stockholm archipelago to the city center. Stora Fjäderholmen has craft studios including a glassworks, a forge and a pottery, some offering day workshops, plus a permanent exhibition of traditional boats and rocks to swim from.
Food runs from a smokehouse and an archipelago restaurant to a brewery and a chocolate maker.
Vaxholms Kastell is an island fortress in the Stockholm archipelago whose history goes back to the early 16th century. Its museum traces 500 years of coastal defense, with what is likely Sweden's largest collection of sea mines and a hydrophone station for listening to passing boats.
Other rooms cover spies and animals at war, with interactive code stations, and the basement recreates fortress life in the 1890s.
