Visiting Stockholm in autumn

Autumn in Stockholm means beautiful parks that shine in red, orange and gold, and fewer crowds in the city's attractions. Stockholm in autumn is magical and the ideal time to discover its world renowned museums, stroll through the colourful parks and delight in traditions like apple picking and having fika with a delicious cinnamon bun. These are our top things to do in Stockholm in autumn:

There are over 50 museums in Stockholm. They are the perfect spot to seek shelter from a rainy autumn day and there’s something for everyone. On the island of Djurgården, you will find several excellent museums where you can do everything from exploring a former royal residence to discovering the country's Viking history.

Also on the island sits the Vasa Museet. The Vasa Museum is Scandinavia’s most visited non-art museum and offers a unique look into the maritime history of Sweden. Discover the Vasa, the 17th-century ship that is the centrepiece of the exhibition, as well as archaeological findings from the early 17th-century.

On the north shore of lake Djurgårdsbrunnsviken sits Museumpark. Here you can discover Swedish naval history at the Maritime Museum, and the history, present and future of science and technology at Tekniska. The Moderna Museet, on Skeppsholmen, houses of Sweden’s largest collection of 20th-century modern and contemporary art, mainly focusing on modern art from the 20th-century as well as photography from the 19th-century and onwards.

Are you more interested in the works of historic artists? The Nationalmuseum, across the Skeppsholmbridge from Moderna Museet, is home to the country’s largest art collection, including 30.000 objects and 16.000 paintings. The collection includes works by distinguished expert such as Rembrandt, Renoir, Frans Hals and Rubens as well as an extensive modern Swedish art collection.

If the autumn weather turns sunny be sure to make your way to one of the city's many extraordinary parks. The biggest is Royal Djurgården, which takes up over half of the island. Here you can walk through the forest on paved and unpaved paths, taking in the golden colours of autumn to your heart's content.

Other inner city options for an autumnal park stroll include Humlegården and Långholmen. If you are staying to the north of the city centre, you might want to visit Hagaparken, where you can also visit the Butterfly House and Haga Aquarium, and the ruins at the Haga Castle grounds.

You can also visit one of Sweden's still standing castles. Such as Skokloster, one of the best preserved Baroque castles in Europe. In September, Skokloster is open on the weekends from 11.00 to 16.00, after that the castle is only open during the Autumn school holidays from 26 October to 3 November. A visit here makes for a great day trip from Stockholm and you will see quite a bit of the Swedish countryside along the way.

If you want to visit a palace closer to Stockholm, Drottningholm Palace is the place to go. The palace was built in the 1600s, on the grounds you can visit a Chinese Pavilion pleasure palace, theatre and gardens, and it is on UNESCO's World Heritage list. In September it is open 7 days per week but in October and November it is only open on the weekends.

The Swedes are known worldwide for their love for fika, a cosy coffee and pastry break. Hence it is no surprise that you’ll notice a sheer endless variety of pastries and bakeries when visiting Stockholm. The most popular buns for fika here are kanellbullar, cinnamon rolls, and kardemummabulle, rolls filled with cardamom. The cinnamon roll even has its own annual day: the Kanelbullens dag is celebrated on October 4th each year.

The hunt for the most delicious fika buns in town is certainly a delightful one! One of the most popular bakeries with three shops across town is Vallhallabageriet. Enjoy the fluffy yet packed flavour-packed buns in an authentic bakery atmosphere, especially the cardamom buns are a fan favourite here!

Autumn is the ideal time for a spooky tour through the oldest parts of Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s old town, or Södermalm that offers a new perspective on the city’s history. The 90 minutes long Stockholm Ghost Walk takes you on a walk through Stockholm’s equally intriguing and scary history. You will not only learn more about its underground legends and unsolved mysteries, murders, executions, fascinating myths, ghosts and diseases but also get the opportunity to smell, touch and even taste the history!

If hauntings are what you are looking for, Stockholm can certainly scratch that itch for you. Especially, of course, at Halloween. Amusement park Gröna Lund has a popular Halloween celebration filled where the entire park transforms and fills with horror houses, attractions and evil beings around every corner. This year's new horror attraction is Zombiesta, a horror house unlike any other.

If you want to learn more about Sweden’s past and present political situation, you can take a tour through the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament). You'll find out how the Riksdag works and the duties of its members as well as its history. You can either attend a guided tour or witness public hearings and debates – in line with the principle of the Swedish democracy to be open and transparent to the public. 

From September onwards, there are free public tours on Saturdays and Sundays. The English spoken tour is offered three times per day. Just arrive in good time before the tour starts, since security controls are carried out for visits to the parliament.  

There are several festivals and events to visit in Stockholm in the autumn months. As summer ends and autumn starts in the city Stockholm Fringe Festival (STOFF) takes over the city. This 5-day long art festival includes anything from performance art to art installations.

From 11 to 20 October Stockholm Jazz Festival is in town, which is one of the oldest and biggest music festivals in Sweden. You can see almost 280 performances at around 70 locations throughout the city, from churches to museums and cafes.

Concurrent with the Jazz Festival, you can also visit some world-class tennis games at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open, also known as the Stockholm Open at the Kungliga Tennishallen. In 2023, Gaël Monfils, who currently ranks 45th in the world, took the title. For 2024, both Stan Wawrinka and Casper Ruud (8th in the world ranking) have already committed to playing in Stockholm.