Stockholm Card or Pay As We Go?

[travelynn]

We will be visiting Stockholm on August 25 with RCI's Jewel of the Sea and will be in port from 9am - 5pm. I have read about the Stockholm Card that provides free transportation and free entry into all museums. It is clear that if one uses the card for 3 or 4 museums, it can pay for itself. My question is how much can we really see in those 8 hours? I know that Vasa Museum is a must, and we want to also do Rick Steves' self-guided Gamla Stan walk. What else will we have time to do? Is it overkill to try to see Vasa, the Nordic Museum and Skansen all in one day? What about the Royal Palace and/or City Hall? We don't want to be exhausted, but we also don't want to miss anything :rolleyes:

 

Finally, does anyone know the price on the hop-on hop-off bus if one has a Stockholm card? It is hard to tell from the Stockholm card website whether the discount is 30 SEK or the price with the card is 30 SEK. How important is it to get an overall view of the city rather than concentrating on a few sights that we know are must-see?

 

Sorry to be so lengthy, but I know there are some Stockholm residents who check this board and am trying to get everything answered at once.

 

Lynn

[Eken]

Hi Travelynn!

 

To answer your question about the buses, you get a discount of SEK 30 with the Stockholm Card on the Panoramic Tour (SEK 200) and the Hop-on Hop-off buses (SEK 180). It also gives you a free boat ride around Djurgarden or Kungsholmen.

 

If I visited Stockholm for one day I would visit the Vasa as she is a unique war ship. The museum is small so it need not take more than 1 hr. I only visit the Nordic Museum if they have special exhibitons. Right now they have one about horses through history. I'd say save this museum for a longer trip.

 

http://www.nordiskamuseet.se/

 

Skansen is nice but it's very big so try to decide whether you'd like to see the zoo part (only Nordic animals like elks, wolfs, reindeers, bears etc) or the historic part of it which contains old buildings. That part of Skansen is fun if you wish to see all of Sweden in one place.

 

http://www.skansen.se/eng/index.html

 

If you are interested in Vikings, I suggest a visit to the gold room at the Historic Museum where you can see silver and gold treasures from the Bronze Age to the 16th century. The museum is located at Narvavagen, only a 5-minute ride on bus 44 from Skansen or Vasa Museum. Its open every day from 11 am to 5 pm.

 

http://www.historiska.se/exhibitions/english/goldroom.html

 

The Royal Palace has several museums:The Royal Apartments, The Tre Kronor Museum, The Treasury and Gustav III's Museum of Antiquities. Entrance to each museum is SEK 70 for adults and SEK 35 for children. There is also a combination ticket to see all four museums for SEK 110/SEK 65.

 

If you are interested in the history of the old palace, visit the Tre Kronor Musuem, if you're interested in the crown jewelry, visit the Treasury and if you ant to see the state rooms visit the Royal Apartments. There is also another museum called The Armoury (Livrustkammaren). This is the one I like the best as it has the different kings and queens clothes on display. It is run separately so it has its own entrance at Slottsbacken. Entrance fee is SEK 65.

 

http://www.lsh.se/livrustkammaren/

 

I love the City Hall for three reasons, it's a beautiful building, it represents my city - and I got married there! It was completed in 1923 and if you like architecture from that period, I'd say its a must. Don't miss the golden room!From the tower (you have to walk all the way up!) you have a great view over the city. Guided tours only!

 

http://www2.stockholm.se/cityhall/

 

Another nice museum is the former private home of countess von Hallwyl, built 1893-98. It's located on Hamngatan, between Norrmalmstorg and Dramaten (the Dramatic theatre). Guided tours only!

 

http://www.hallwylskamuseet.se/eng/index2.html

 

 

The best way to see the city is to climb the City Hall tower and then take a boat ride around some of the islands, like the one around Kungsholmen. What makes Stockholm so beautiful is the large body of water and its also a great way to get around the city. Add to that 1-2 museums and an Old Town walk and you are set for a really nice day.

 

Welcome to Stockholm!

[hillcats4]

Wow, thank you so very much. We are not cruising until next year but that was a great deal of information and help.

[travelynn]

Eken,

 

Thank you so much for your very thorough reply. I have seen your posts and also your wonderful pictures on another thread here on the Baltic board and was hoping that you might see this note and reply. Now it is back to our guide books and making some final decisions. You've certainly helped us to plan a wonderful day in your city.

 

Lynn

[celem]

With that short of a visit you would probably break even or come close to it, so, in your case, it would probably be more for convenience than value. Plus, the ferry, which is a convenient way between the Vasa museum and Gamla Stan doesn't honor the card. The free canal cruise that is included starts too late for you to use - the free one is around 4:30PM.

 

The Gamla Stan is actually very small and will take about a third of your eight hours, including the several palace museums - if you hurry.

 

We very much enjoyed the National Art museum - plus the cafe there is quite nice for lunch.

 

Vasa was very interesting to both of us My wife usually doesn't like this sort of musuem but this even impressed her.

 

Again, its is a matter of taste, but we didn't really enjoy the Nordic Musuem. The building itself was more interesting to us that its contents. It is a museum of clothing, furniture, and interior design over the region's past.

 

Skansen is quite large with a lot of walking and given you short schedule, would eliminate much of your other touring possibilities. To skip it or not depends upon your personal preferences. I skipped it and I had fours days in Stockholm. Of course I knew that I would have the opportunity to visit a similar open air lifestyle musuam in Norway, which I did.

 

We just returned from our Baltic cruise on the 17th and Stockholm was our starting port. Consequently we added some hotel time on the start and spent four days in Stockholm. Thus, for us, the Stockholm card was a major savings as we extensively used busses, trains and visited many museums.

 

We will be visiting Stockholm on August 25 with RCI's Jewel of the Sea and will be in port from 9am - 5pm. I have read about the Stockholm Card that provides free transportation and free entry into all museums. It is clear that if one uses the card for 3 or 4 museums, it can pay for itself. My question is how much can we really see in those 8 hours? I know that Vasa Museum is a must, and we want to also do Rick Steves' self-guided Gamla Stan walk. What else will we have time to do? Is it overkill to try to see Vasa, the Nordic Museum and Skansen all in one day? What about the Royal Palace and/or City Hall? We don't want to be exhausted, but we also don't want to miss anything :rolleyes:

 

Finally, does anyone know the price on the hop-on hop-off bus if one has a Stockholm card? It is hard to tell from the Stockholm card website whether the discount is 30 SEK or the price with the card is 30 SEK. How important is it to get an overall view of the city rather than concentrating on a few sights that we know are must-see?

 

Sorry to be so lengthy, but I know there are some Stockholm residents who check this board and am trying to get everything answered at once.

 

Lynn