110 cheap and free things to do in Stockholm

The Swedish capital is famously expensive but we’ve still managed to create this epic guide showing 110 cheap and free things to do in Stockholm.

Whether you want to go gallery hopping, get behind the wheel of the nation’s newest cars, or simply dress up like the Swedish king, we’ll show you how it’s done.

As this guide is pretty long (and you probably won’t have time to squeeze in all of our recommendations), we’ve divided it up into handy categories.

Click below to hop straight to the section you’re interested in.

• Historic sights and attractions
• Fun and entertainment
• Museums and galleries
• Just chilling
• Parks and nature
• Excursions and day trips
• Tours
• Viewpoints and lookouts
• Health and fitness
• Window shopping
• Eating and drinking
• Kids

Historic sights and attractions

1) Get lost in the old town, Gamla Stan, and find Stockholm’s narrowest street among the tangle of cobbled lanes.

Mårten Trotzigs Gränd is just 90 cm (three feet) wide. This cheap, guided tour is a good option if you’d like to learn more.
Buy tickets here.

2) Find your way to Stortorget, the old town’s main square. In 1520, following the Danish invasion of Stockholm, the square was the scene of a bloodbath – these days it’s a wonderful (if touristy) spot for a coffee.

Try Kaffekoppen on the western edge of the square, which attracts locals as well as tourists.

3) Go to church. Storkyrkan, Stockholm’s de facto cathedral, charges tourists an admission fee (100 SEK) but it’s included on the Stockholm pass, so if you’ve got one of these entrance is free.

Dating back to 1571, Tyska Kyrkan (the German Church) charges a nominal entrance fee of around 30 SEK and has a stunning baroque interior.

Alternatively, there are some other beautiful churches in Stockholm that are free to look around, such as the Katarina church in Södermalm.

4) Watch the changing of the guard ceremony. The parade takes place daily in Gamla Stan during summer and at least three times a week during the winter.

The timings of the parade change depending on the season, so check before setting off.

Fun and entertainment

5) Try parkour. Stockholm is home to Sweden’s first purpose-built training ground for parkour.

Located in Nydalsparken, Tensta, the park is completely free to use and has a whole bunch of different obstacles to hop over and around.

6) Watch a film in the park. For a few nights each August, free films are screened under open skies in Rålambhovsparken, on the island of Kungsholmen.

Go early to get a good space on the grass (and to stock up on popcorn).

7) Play laser tag. This one isn’t strictly free, but it is pretty cheap – head to Laserdome at St Eriksgatan 56 (on Kungsholmen) and you’ll get 15 minutes of childish fun for around 85 SEK.

There are ramps, mazes and bridges set across the 600 sq m arena.

8) Go geocaching. Geocaching isn’t just the modern answer to a good old-fashioned treasure hunt; it gives you a good excuse to get off the beaten track and explore areas that tourists don’t usually bother with.

There are hundreds of caches hidden all over the Stockholm area.

9) Rent a bike. Stockholm is great city for cycling with 114 km of cycle paths.

There are plenty of bike rental places around the city, while some hostels also rent out bargain bikes, making it cheap and easy to get around without relying on buses and subway trains.

Another fun way to see Stockholm’s best bits on two wheels is to  join this organised bike tour.

Buy tickets here.

10) Go longboarding through Stockholm’s parks. City Backpackers has some great boards for rent. Alternatively, you could buy your own board from a shop like Junkyard.

For ramps, pools and street skating, try Kristinebergs Skatepark on the island of Kungsholmen.

11) Try dancing on ice. During winter, the octagonal ice rink at Kungsträdgården opens for business.

It’s free to use if you have your own skates – otherwise you can rent a set for around 100 SEK per hour. There are also disco-skating sessions on selected Saturday nights.

12) Play pub games. There are a couple of mega pubs in Stockholm that offer more than the usual dartboards and fruit machines.

At O’Learys Tolv you can go bowling, play ping-pong or mess around on whacky golf simulators for a small fee.

BallBreaker has slot-car racing, billiards and simulators that let you hunt virtual bears and elk (it doesn’t get much more Swedish than that).

13) Watch free stand-up comedy. The Big Ben Pub in Södermalm has free stand-up shows every Monday at 8pm.

Thursdays are international nights, with acts performing in both English and Swedish (80–100 SEK).

14) Listen to free organ music. Escape the noise of the city with a little musical interlude – every Tuesday at 11.15pm, Adolfs Frediks kyrka in Norrmalm has free recitals.

15) Head to the Lida Nature Reserve to do some winter sports. Tobogganing, cross-country skiing and ice-skating are all free (though you can rent skis and skates if you don’t have your own).

16) Go bouldering. There are some good, purpose-built bouldering walls near the play park in Rålambshovsparken. Just turn up and start climbing.

17) Watch a free performance. Check out the many free gigs, plays and cultural activities that take place across Stockholm in summer.

Parkteatern puts on free outdoor shows from theatre to opera to jazz and dance performances from June–August.

18) Play a round of frisbee golf. There are a full 18 holes to try out at  Visättra Discgolf in Huddinge, which has free entry.

19) Grab a beer at Pub Anchor and watch some real-life head-banging karaoke unfold before your eyes every Tuesday and Sunday, or listen to live cover bands on Fridays and Saturdays.

Museums and galleries

20) Visit Stockholm’s Sports Museum to find out all about sports in Sweden, including the city’s 1912 Olympic Games. You can also try out various sports activities, such as using running blocks, and it’s all completely free.

21) See how Sweden conquered the seas at the maritime museum, Sjöhistoriska, which costs just 120 SEK to visit.

22) Go to court (without committing a crime). You’ll have to pass security to get inside Stockholm’s courthouse, Rådhuset, but there’s no admission fee – and it’s one of the best examples of the national romantic architectural style in Sweden.

23) See some of the world’s biggest coins (which weigh in at almost 20kg!) and explore Sweden’s Viking history at Stockholm’s history museum.

It’s always free for under 19s, and admission on Wednesdays from 5–8pm is 75 SEK. At other times all over 19s pay 150 SEK.

24) Learn what it takes to win a Nobel Prize at Nobelmuseet, which tells the stories of past recipients. It’s normally 140 SEK to get inside, but admission is free if you have a Stockholm Pass.

25) Head to Nordiska Museet for the inside track on Swedish traditions.

Look out for the quirky part of the museum dedicated to Swedish table settings, which shows how attitudes to entertaining have changed throughout the ages.

It’s 170 SEK to enter, or you can get free admission with the Stockholm Pass.

26) Check out the contemporary art exhibitions on display at the Bonniers Konsthall. Admission is 130 SEK, but it’s completely free on Fridays and all week if you’ve got a Stockholm Pass.

27) Wander among the trippy sculptures in the grounds around Moderna Museet, which are always free to visit. The museum’s main collection is free on Fridays from 6–8pm; at other times it costs 150 SEK.

28) One of Sweden’s oldest museums, the Royal Armoury Museum displays costumes and arms belonging to the Swedish royal family.

Entrance is half-price (75 SEK) on Thursday evenings from 5–8pm: at other times admission is 150 SEK.

29) Admire the art in the metro. Stockholm’s metro is like one giant gallery, with 94 of its 100 stations boasting artworks, sculptures and exhibitions by some 250 artists.

All you need is a metro ticket and you can ride round and enjoy the artworks for free.

30) Visit a commercial gallery. There are lots of small ones worth visiting around Stockholm, including the Lars Bohman Gallery at Karlavägen 9, which shows off works by Swedish greats like Lars Lerin.

31) Visit Scandinavia’s only Japanese teahouse.

Browse round the Ethnografiska on Djurgården and admire some of the 8000 cultural and ethnic artefacts that were collected during round-the-world sailing trips and expeditions from the 17^th to 20^th centuries.

It’s free to enter on Tuesdays from 2–5pm. At other times, tickets cost 150 SEK, or you can buy an annual pass that gives you unlimited entry to the museum plus three others for a year for a bargain 250 SEK.

Just chilling

32) Marvel at the vast curved bookshelves in Stockholm’s distinctive City Library, which was built in 1928 and holds more than 400,000 books. There’s no charge to get in.

33) If you’re hungry for more book-based sightseeing, head to Kungliga Biblioteket in Humlegården – the main reading room is packed with beautifully bound books.

34) Enjoy a stroll along the waterfront on Skeppsholmen, admiring what might just be the world’s most beautiful floating hostel.

35) Pray for sunny weather and go for a picnic in one of Stockholm’s best parks. Need a recommendation? Try Humlegården, Hagaparken or anywhere green on Djurgården.

This tour of the Old Town, Djurgården and the Vasa Museum is a good option if you’d rather have a guide. Buy tickets here.

36) Practice your Swedish (or Spanish, or Arabic, or German…) at one of Stockholm’s language cafés. This site has details of upcoming events at libraries across the city.

37) Kick back while listening to free music at Lilla Hotellbaren, part of the Scandic Malmen hotel, where DJs and live music play six evenings a week.

Some live concerts are ticketed, other music evenings are free: all you need is the price of a drink.

38) If you’re in Stockholm on a cloud-free summer’s day, grab a pedal boat from Restaurant Djurgårdsbron (300 SEK an hour) and soak up the sun as you splosh about, snapping pictures of the ridiculously pretty skyline.

39) Grab a perfect photo of Stockholm City Hall while listening to the buskers on the Riksbron bridge, at the southern end of Drottninggatan.

Parks and nature

40) Get a taste for Swedish design by admiring the 500-or-so functionalist villas in Södra Ängby, a leafy residential area that’s now protected by Swedish law.  This map shows where it is.

41) Discover the weird and wonderful buildings dotted around Hagaparken, including a Chinese pagoda and a copper ‘tent’ that looks like it’s fallen straight from a book of fairytales.

There’s also a butterfly park and an aquarium.

42) See (and smell) some of the world’s most dazzling plants at Bergianska Trädgården, a botanical garden with two impressive glasshouses.

You can visit the outdoor grounds and gardens for free, while entry to the Edvard Anderson Conservatory is 100 SEK and admission to the Victoria House costs just 20 SEK.

43) Get lost on Djurgården. Most tourists only come for the museums, but there’s enough pretty parkland on the island for a thousand free walks.

44) See the cherry trees burst into life in Kungsträdgården. They usually start blossoming in early April, and the show lasts just a couple of weeks at most.

45) Explore the orchards and other fruit and veg gardens at Rosendals Trädgård, where all the produce is biodynamic, organic and sustainable.

You can either bring a picnic and eat it in the gardens or try the tasty home-grown dishes at the on-site café.

46) Find the final resting place of Swedish actress Greta Garbo among the countless tombstones at Skogskyrkogården, one of three World Heritage Sites in Stockholm, and the only one that’s free to visit.

47) Go skating in Tantolunden Park. OK, so you’ll have to wait til a cold snap, when the shores of the lake freeze over, but this large inner-city park is a great place for some outdoor activity.

If you haven’t got your own skates, you can watch the locals take to ice or join them in sledging down the park’s hills.

Excursions and day trips

48) Go on the hunt for berries. If the season is right (late summer) you’ll find tasty berries growing wild all over the place in Sweden. Tyresta Nationalpark, around 25km south of Stockholm, is a great place to start.

You can pick as many as you want for personal consumption – just make sure you know what you’re eating.

49) Swedes love picking and eating mushrooms and you can join them towards the tail end of the summer, when yummy chanterelles start popping up in the forests near Stockholm.

Try a day trip to the forests in the eastern part of Djurgården. And again, make sure the mushrooms you’re collecting are safe to eat (or you definitely won’t be a fungi to be with).

50) Get a taste for archipelago life by visiting Vaxholm, a pretty island with a fortress just offshore. As there’s a bridge to the island, you can get there and back using Stockholm’s affordable public transport network.

Alternatively, you can explore the island from the water on this fun half-day kayak tour. And if you want to visit the island’s fortress, it’s included in the Stockholm pass.

Buy one here.

51) Take the tram. Stockholm has plenty of bus and subway lines, but trams only operate in one part of the city.

The old-fashioned carriages that loop past Djurgården’s most popular museums make a fun alternative to walking, and they’re the same price as the snazzy modern trams which cover the same route.

Single tickets are around 42 SEK.

52) See Stockholm from the water by riding Djurgårdsfärjan, the ferry service that runs year-round between Slussen and Djurgården, taking about ten minutes. Public transport passes are valid on the boats.

53) Go exploring on an electric bike. Cycling is very popular in Stockholm, but if you’re not feeling energetic there are plenty of places that rent out e-bikes by the hour, day or week.

Electric bikes with Rentbike start at around 480 SEK a day.

But if you’d rather explore with a local guide, this fun guided e-bike tour take you round the trendy district of Sodermalm. You can buy tickets here.

54) Escape to an island. Using the ferries run by Waxholmsbolaget you can get to beautifully sleepy islands in the Stockholm Archipelago with fares starting from as low as 61 SEK.

Car-free Finnhamn takes around five hours to reach from central Stockholm and has just one laid-back hostel, along with a few cottages. There are tips on the best islands to visit in this guide.

If you’d rather explore the archipelago at a slower pace, try this full-day guided tour of the archipelago by kayak.

And if you’ve got a Stockholm pass, you get a boat trip round some of the archipelago’s islands included for free. Buy one here.

55) Gawp at the grand old oak trees in The Royal National City Park.

56) Take a north-south walk through the heart of Stockholm. Start at Sergels Torg, the huge pedestrianised square in Norrmalm and head all the way south to the bottom of Södermalm, passing through Gamla Stan along the way.

This hop-on, hop-off bus tour is a good alternative if you’d rather not walk too far. You’ll get a good feel for Stockholm’s old and new sides and see a lot of sights along the way.

And it’s free if you’ve got a Stockholm pass.

57) A good alternative is to pick a central island and walk the whole way around it. Långholmen is a very pretty one to begin with, offering good views and clean air.

58) Seek out Söderbysjön. Just a short bus ride from Stockholm, this beautiful lake is surrounded by woods and has a small sandy beach for swimming. Better still, leap off the rocks into the refreshing water.

59) Camp wild. Thanks to Sweden’s right to roam, which is enshrined in law, your options for free camping near Stockholm are practically limitless. Follow the advice in our camping guide and you won’t go far wrong.

60) Try some circus skills. Head out to the suburb of Botkyrka, where the Cirkus Normal school runs free training and workshops of acrobatics, dance and circus skills for under 18s (you just pay the annual membership fee of 50 SEK).

Over 18s pay the membership the fee, plus 100 SEK per class or session.

Tours

61) Be wowed by Stockholm’s art-filled subway system. The public transport operator SL has developed a free app that includes maps, pictures and information about the artworks.

The tour begins at the T-Centralen station and takes you round five of Stockholm’s most beautiful metro stations in about 90 minutes.

You can download the app here.

62) Take a free walking tour of Stockholm. Free Tour Stockholm and Stockholm Free Tour both run trips.

63) Explore the Swedish parliament building on a free guided tour. Our guide to exploring the parliament building has more info on when tours take place in English.

64) Guided tours based on Stieg Larsson’s Millennium books have been running for a while now.

If you want to keep things cheap, just buy the official Millennium Map (40 SEK) from the Stockholm City Museum, at Ryssgården, Södermalm and guide yourself to the key sights.

Viewpoints and lookouts

65) Get a free, postcard-quality view of the Royal Palace from the island of Skeppsholmen. Climb up towards Eric Ericsonhallen and Östasiatiska museet for the best panoramas.

66) Head to Evert Taubes Terrass, on the western edge of Riddarholmen, for waterfront views of the City Hall, where the Nobel Prize banquet is held each year.

67) From May to September, you can get great views by climbing up to the top of City Hall’s 106-metre-high tower (70 SEK). There are 365 steps, but it’s worth the effort for the amazing panorama over the whole city.

68) Get a sense of how low-rise Stockholm really is by taking a walk across Västerbron, the big bridge that links Kungsholmen with Långholmen.

69) The Fjällgatan viewpoint on Södermalm is also a great place for views back over Gamla Stan, Skeppsholmen, Djurgården and the waterfront.

70) Drink in the amazing views from Skinnarviksberget, the highest point on Södermalm. This rocky lookout is a popular hang-out during summer, with plenty of space to have a picnic.

71) For great views over the roof-tops, head up to the ninth-floor

Urban Deli Sveavägen on one of Stockholm’s largest roof terraces.

For the price of a coffee or cocktail, you can chill out and admire the views from this large park-like open-air space with wooded walkways and greenery.

72) Take a selfie. Yes, we know you don’t have to be told this one, but as one of Europe’s most picturesque capital cities, Stockholm has plenty of opportunities for you to get your phone out and snap away.

Health and fitness

73) Go running. There are some great suggestions for running routes in Stockholm on Great Runs. 

74) If you fancy some company on your run, hook up with the folks at Ssideline City, who arrange regular sessions with post-run meals and drinks.

75) Do the Stockholm park run. Like park runs the world over, this one’s completely free. Join fellow Stockholmers at 9.30am on Saturday for a 5km run round the Hagaparken in Solna.

76) Swim wild. Locals all have their own favourite spots for summer dips – for something central, we’d suggest trying one of the beaches on the northern edge of Långholmen.

For more ideas for free and cheap swimming spots in the city, see Where to go swimming in Stockholm.

77) Take a Swedish sauna. Hellasgården, located on the edge of the lake called Källtorpssjön, has two single-sex saunas with direct access to the lake (entry costs just 110 SEK for daytime weekday sessions, up to 180 SEK for a peak time visit).

There are mixed-sex sauna sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays. Nervous about stripping off? Read our guide to Swedish sauna etiquette first.

78) Have a workout. There are free, outdoor gyms located across the city, offering a mix of chin-up bars, balance beams and resistance-training machines.

This website (in Swedish) has a list of all the free outdoor gyms in Stockholm, organised by area.

79) Non-profit Swedish gym group Friskis&Svettis has free training sessions and classes on its website, that you can do at home or outside in parks in Stockholm.

80) If it’s a little too chilly for free wild swimming, never fear! Sweden’s national swimming centre, Eriksdalbadet has three outdoor pools and five indoor pools, including an Olympic-sized one, a diving pool and a slide pool.

Entry to this watery wonderland costs around 80 SEK (or 40 SEK for kids).

Window shopping

81) Visit NK, Stockholm’s grandest department store, to browse through the swanky products – this place stocks everything from books and clothes to ornaments. There’s also a splendid food court.

82) Rummage through the bargains on offer at a classic Swedish loppis (flea market).There are a few different ones dotted around the city.

Check out the Hötorget flea market, which takes place every Sunday, when the regular food and vegetable stalls are replaced by tables of old vinyl records, books, kitchenware and other bric a brac.

83) Browse the pre-loved and vintage stores in Södermalm, which sell everything from old records to kids’ toys.

Prices vary from pretty cheap to ultra-expensive, depending on what’s deemed ‘in’ at any given moment. There are some recommendations in this guide.

84) If second-hand is not your thing, there are upscale design shops all over the place in Södermalm. Start searching in SoFo, the area south of Folkungagatan.

85) Hit up the Swedish fashion stores that are tricky to find abroad. Acne, Weekday and Cos all have outlets in the Swedish capital.

86) The world’s biggest H&M isn’t in Sweden at all (it’s in New York). But if it’s cheap Swedish fashion you want, there’s still a sufficiently massive H&M at the Westfield Mall of Scandinavia, just north of Stockholm.

87) Get behind the wheel of the latest cars at the flashy Volvo Car Studio at Kungsträdgården. There’s also an exhibition about the brand’s road-safety ambitions.

88) Play with the whacky gadgets and cool kitchen accessories at the Nordic design shop Designtorget, which has three stores in Stockholm including one at the main train station.

89) Learn what snus is (and stuff some under your lip) at the Swedish Match snuff shop on Kungsgatan.

90) Try on a few crazy wigs (or wear a mask with Swedish king’s face on it) at Buttericks fancy dress shop, which has been open at Drottninggatan 57 for more than a century.

91) Browse the stalls at Hornstulls Marknad, a waterside market that sells a good mix of vintage items and some modern street food. It’s open on Saturdays and Sundays from April to October only.

Eating and drinking

92) Check out Stockholm’s food trucks. You can eat just about any cuisine from Vietnamese bao buns to Greek pittas, Sri Lankan sandwiches to West African domoda – and all at bargain prices.

Our guide to cheap eats in Stockholm has other recommendations.

93) Look out for free samples at Hötorgshallen, one of the most popular lunchtime hangouts for local office workers.

94) Drool over the sweets at one of Stockholm’s colourful candy shops. There are still independent places selling hundreds of different sugary treats, but otherwise you can always try a branch of Hemmakväll.

95) Hear your tastebuds scream ‘WTF’ when you sample Swedish salt liquorice. Lakritsroten, which has six branches in Stockholm, sells dozens of different types.

96) Search out Stockholm’s cheap bars. Yes, alcohol is notoriously expensive in Sweden and, of course, even more so in the capital city.

But, don’t despair, there are plenty of places where you can get a beer for under 50 SEK, if you’re in the know. Check out our guide and join the locals for a super cheap beer.

97) Wander into a branch of Systembolaget, the nation’s alcohol monopoly, for a true taste of Swedish culture.

The shop at Drottninggatan 32 is nice and central, but be sure to avoid Friday evenings, when the queues are ridiculous.

98) Browse the city’s food markets. Stockholm’s grandest,  Östermalms Saluhall sells gourmet food from around the globe, as well as Swedish products, including fish, shellfish, cheeses, vegetables – and even reindeer meat.

If you’d like company and an expert guide to tell you all about the produce, this Nordic food walk is worth a look.

99) That eye-wateringly stinky Swedish fish you’ve heard about – surströmming – is available to buy in cans. Your mission: find one in Stockholm’s supermarkets.

Don’t try to fly home with it though (some airlines have banned it due to the risk of the smell leaking out during transit). For more on this smelly speciality, see our guide to Sweden’s stinkiest food.

100) Have a hot dog. There are hot dog stands all over Stockholm and they make a tasty filling lunch that won’t break the bank.

Bruno’s Korvbar has three sausage bars in the city serving a variety of different sausages in a bun, from chorizo to lamb and veggie options. Prices start at 75 SEK including sauces, mustard and sauerkraut.

101) Try the gooey, homemade, organic gelato at StikkiNikki, which has several branches around the city. Unusual flavours include vegan cashew and sea salt, lingonberry yoghurt and peanut butter – and if you ask nicely, you can try before you buy.

102) Buy a picnic to eat in the park. Who needs a restaurant when Stockholm has so many lovely parks and waterside areas where you can picnic in the summer?

Lidl is probably the cheapest supermarket for supplies, but Willys, ICA and Coop are all worth trying too.

Kids

103) Head to the playground at Hammarbygläntan, out near the Hammarbyhöjden subway station. There are swings, a rope course, obstacle courses and sculptures for kids to play on.

104) Get a feel for how Södermalm looked in the 1800s at Bryggartäppan, another themed children’s play area with swings, wooden houses and a maze.

105) Feed the ducks at Långbro Park (see here for a map of where it’s located).

106) Play ping-pong. There’s a regular table tennis meet-up for kids aged 9–12 at the Timmermansgården youth centre in Södermalm.

Games take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 5–9pm and Thursdays from 4–9pm (it’s free to join in).

107) Get creative at Lava at the Kulturhuset, where there’s a library and meeting space for young adults aged 14–25.

You can borrow books and musical instruments (you’ll need a Stockholm library card ), or try your hand at textiles, painting graphic design, 3D printing and music production. Some activities are free: other charge a nominal fee of 30–70 SEK.

108) Read a comic. Check out Comics Heaven book shop in Gamla Stan. It’s a treasure house of comic books, in both English and Swedish, where kids will happily browse the sci-fi, Manga and adventure stories.

109) Take the kids to a dance class. Stockholms Barnidrottsförening runs free taster sessions for little ones throughout the year.

110) Head to the beach. The Smedsuddsbadet on Kungsholmen is a sandy family-friendly beach, with a large lawn behind – perfect for kids. There are toilets and an electric barbecue if you want to make a day of it.