Things to Do in Sweden

Roughly 20km from Stockholm, Birka is an important Viking archeological complex. A small fortified town founded in the 8th century (and abandoned in the 10th), it has been painstakingly excavated and is now on UNESCO’s list as a World Heritage Site.

Stretching for 80km east of Stockholm, the archipelago is studded with some 24,000 islands. Tours are available which offer the chance to see some of the incredible flora and fauna that live on the diverse terrain.

This recently opened museum of ethnography and anthropology adopts a very open-minded approach to notions of world culture. The museum’s exhibitions take a look at a range of fascinating issues as varied as globalization, mythology and spiritualism.

Sweden’s planetarium is situated within its museum of national history. One of the most technologically advanced in the world, it projects the night sky onto a massive screen spread across the domed roof.

A megalithic monument, Ale’s Stones - 59 sandstone boulders cutting out the shape of a ship in the land - are believed to date back to the early 6th century. The function of the monument is hotly debated, with current thinking tending towards astronomical or astrological significance.