Between the apartment blocks and the lakes, the city's 4H farms let kids meet goats, sheep, pigs and rabbits over the paddock fence, and some offer short pony rides. When you want more than a farmyard, add Skansen's moose and seals, a butterfly house, or a wildlife park worth the day trip. Here's what we checked, from Akalla's paddocks to the gondola over Kolmården's lions.
Skansen is the world's oldest open-air museum: historic houses and farmsteads from across Sweden that show how people lived and worked over the centuries. Its zoo keeps Nordic wild animals such as moose, bears and seals, plus traditional Swedish farm breeds.
Lill-Skansen, the children's zoo, has small animals and big indoor and outdoor play areas with a snake slide. The Baltic Sea Science Center shows life under the Baltic.
Skansen-Akvariet is a privately run zoo and aquarium on the Skansen grounds, packing about 200 exotic species into 3,000 square meters: fish, corals, crocodiles, snakes, naked mole-rats, marmosets, lemurs, baboons and parrots.
In the Children's Rainforest, kids walk in among some of the animals, and a pet corner lets them touch a snake and a spider. The animals on show vary with the season.
A tropical greenhouse in Hagaparken where butterflies fly free around visitors, kept warm and humid at about 26°C all year. A large chrysalis cabinet holds newly hatched butterflies every day.
In the aquarium, reef sharks and colorful reef fish swim in a 30-meter tank holding 1.2 million liters, with frogs, turtles and koi nearby. On some weekends and holidays a zoologist gives shark talks and feeding demonstrations.
Stora Skuggans 4H-gård is a nonprofit farm run like an old Swedish farmstead, set in Ekoparken on Norra Djurgården. Most of the animals are Swedish heritage breeds kept in gene-bank conservation projects: mountain cows, Jämtland goats, Rya sheep and Hedemora hens, plus rabbits, cats, Icelandic horses and a Shetland pony.
Visitors walk between the paddocks to see the animals, and walking paths run through the parkland around the farm.
A small farm run by the nonprofit youth group 4H, with sheep, goats, pigs, hens and rabbits in paddocks that kids watch from the fence. Visitors can't go in or feed the animals, but one may wander over to say hello.
Next door is a city-run public playground with two shared grills for a picnic cookout.
Eolshälls 4H-gård is a youth-run farm on the Lake Mälaren shore in Axelsberg, run by the nonprofit 4H. It keeps Swedish heritage breeds, including Fjällnära cows, Gestrike sheep and Öland dwarf hens, plus horses, rabbits and cats.
Kids can see the animals in the paddocks and book a 30-minute ride. Members can join animal-care courses and school-holiday day camps, and the farm hosts birthday parties and seasonal markets.
A 4H farm in Akalla by, a village dating from the 1800s beside the Järvafältet nature reserve. Horses, ponies, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, chickens and ducks are out in their paddocks every day of the year, and families can book a guided visit to meet them up close.
The village also has a café, ceramics workshop, mini golf, playground, barbecue area and paddling pool.
A 4H farm run for children and teens by Ulvsundasjön lake, near Huvudsta Castle. Goats, sheep, horses, rabbits, hens and a cat live here, and the animals are out in the paddocks to see during the day.
The big yellow house holds a café with fresh buns, a play corner with toys and books, and a changing room. Outside there is a public grill anyone can use.
Hågelby 4H Farm is a small farm run by the local 4H club inside Hågelbyparken. Horses, sheep, goats, pigs, hens, rabbits and cats live here, and families can walk the park paths and look into the paddocks without booking. Kids can pet the animals that come up to the fence, and the park also has a playground. On cold days the hens and pigs stay in the henhouse and stable.
Siggesta Gård is a farm on Värmdö with a hotel, restaurants and forest all around. Kids can meet the alpacas, walk the Swamp Trolls' Path, a fairytale trail with its own farm troll, and swim at the natural beach after a forest walk.
Paid extras include an 18-hole adventure golf course whose holes are miniatures of Värmdö buildings, plus soccer golf, disc golf and a forest obstacle course.
Torekällberget is an open-air museum of 1800s farm and town buildings, with several houses furnished as they once were. Swedish heritage breeds (rabbits, goats, sheep, horses, pigs, cows, hens and geese) live in the paddocks by the farm.
Kids play shopkeeper and bake pretend pretzels in Lillboden, a playroom in the general store, jump in the hay at Lilltorpet, a miniature cottage, and explore a play exhibition on village life.
Kolmården is a wildlife park and theme park in one, covering 1.5 square kilometers south of Stockholm. Kids ride the Safari gondola above lions and giraffes, see big cats in Tiger World, and watch the dolphin show HOPE and the birds-of-prey show Wings.
The World of Bamse has a honeypot merry-go-round for the youngest, while older kids can try Wildfire, a wooden roller coaster that hits 115 kph.
Between the apartment blocks and the lakes, the city's 4H farms let kids meet goats, sheep, pigs and rabbits over the paddock fence, and some offer short pony rides. When you want more than a farmyard, add Skansen's moose and seals, a butterfly house, or a wildlife park worth the day trip. Here's what we checked, from Akalla's paddocks to the gondola over Kolmården's lions.
Skansen is the world's oldest open-air museum: historic houses and farmsteads from across Sweden that show how people lived and worked over the centuries. Its zoo keeps Nordic wild animals such as moose, bears and seals, plus traditional Swedish farm breeds.
Lill-Skansen, the children's zoo, has small animals and big indoor and outdoor play areas with a snake slide. The Baltic Sea Science Center shows life under the Baltic.
Skansen-Akvariet is a privately run zoo and aquarium on the Skansen grounds, packing about 200 exotic species into 3,000 square meters: fish, corals, crocodiles, snakes, naked mole-rats, marmosets, lemurs, baboons and parrots.
In the Children's Rainforest, kids walk in among some of the animals, and a pet corner lets them touch a snake and a spider. The animals on show vary with the season.
A tropical greenhouse in Hagaparken where butterflies fly free around visitors, kept warm and humid at about 26°C all year. A large chrysalis cabinet holds newly hatched butterflies every day.
In the aquarium, reef sharks and colorful reef fish swim in a 30-meter tank holding 1.2 million liters, with frogs, turtles and koi nearby. On some weekends and holidays a zoologist gives shark talks and feeding demonstrations.
Stora Skuggans 4H-gård is a nonprofit farm run like an old Swedish farmstead, set in Ekoparken on Norra Djurgården. Most of the animals are Swedish heritage breeds kept in gene-bank conservation projects: mountain cows, Jämtland goats, Rya sheep and Hedemora hens, plus rabbits, cats, Icelandic horses and a Shetland pony.
Visitors walk between the paddocks to see the animals, and walking paths run through the parkland around the farm.
A small farm run by the nonprofit youth group 4H, with sheep, goats, pigs, hens and rabbits in paddocks that kids watch from the fence. Visitors can't go in or feed the animals, but one may wander over to say hello.
Next door is a city-run public playground with two shared grills for a picnic cookout.
Eolshälls 4H-gård is a youth-run farm on the Lake Mälaren shore in Axelsberg, run by the nonprofit 4H. It keeps Swedish heritage breeds, including Fjällnära cows, Gestrike sheep and Öland dwarf hens, plus horses, rabbits and cats.
Kids can see the animals in the paddocks and book a 30-minute ride. Members can join animal-care courses and school-holiday day camps, and the farm hosts birthday parties and seasonal markets.
A 4H farm in Akalla by, a village dating from the 1800s beside the Järvafältet nature reserve. Horses, ponies, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, chickens and ducks are out in their paddocks every day of the year, and families can book a guided visit to meet them up close.
The village also has a café, ceramics workshop, mini golf, playground, barbecue area and paddling pool.
A 4H farm run for children and teens by Ulvsundasjön lake, near Huvudsta Castle. Goats, sheep, horses, rabbits, hens and a cat live here, and the animals are out in the paddocks to see during the day.
The big yellow house holds a café with fresh buns, a play corner with toys and books, and a changing room. Outside there is a public grill anyone can use.
Hågelby 4H Farm is a small farm run by the local 4H club inside Hågelbyparken. Horses, sheep, goats, pigs, hens, rabbits and cats live here, and families can walk the park paths and look into the paddocks without booking. Kids can pet the animals that come up to the fence, and the park also has a playground. On cold days the hens and pigs stay in the henhouse and stable.
Siggesta Gård is a farm on Värmdö with a hotel, restaurants and forest all around. Kids can meet the alpacas, walk the Swamp Trolls' Path, a fairytale trail with its own farm troll, and swim at the natural beach after a forest walk.
Paid extras include an 18-hole adventure golf course whose holes are miniatures of Värmdö buildings, plus soccer golf, disc golf and a forest obstacle course.
Torekällberget is an open-air museum of 1800s farm and town buildings, with several houses furnished as they once were. Swedish heritage breeds (rabbits, goats, sheep, horses, pigs, cows, hens and geese) live in the paddocks by the farm.
Kids play shopkeeper and bake pretend pretzels in Lillboden, a playroom in the general store, jump in the hay at Lilltorpet, a miniature cottage, and explore a play exhibition on village life.
Kolmården is a wildlife park and theme park in one, covering 1.5 square kilometers south of Stockholm. Kids ride the Safari gondola above lions and giraffes, see big cats in Tiger World, and watch the dolphin show HOPE and the birds-of-prey show Wings.
The World of Bamse has a honeypot merry-go-round for the youngest, while older kids can try Wildfire, a wooden roller coaster that hits 115 kph.
