Discover Stockholm: The Vasa Museum

by Sanjay (Sergio) Jiandani 1,133 views

ESCToday in collaboration with the City of Stockholm will be bringing you a series of articles leading up to the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest in order to showcase and introduce the 2016 Eurovision host city Stockholm to our readers. Today we will have a look at one of Stockholm’s precious gems, namely the Vasa Museum.

vasa ship
Vasa Ship (photo credit: facebook.com/Vasamuseet)

The Vasa Museum is one of the many museums located on Djurgården Island. It is one of the top 10 attractions Stockholm has to offer to its visitors. The celebrated museum is amongst the most popular and visited sights in the city.

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The Vasa Ship (Photo credit: Yanan Li- visitstockholm.se)

I quite enjoyed visiting the Vasa Museum, where you can see the majestic Vasa ship from the 17th century. The Vasa warship is one Sweden’s most valued treasures. The ship capsized and sank during its maiden voyage in Stockholm, back in 1628 and was salvaged 333 years later, in 1961.

The Vasa is the world’s only 17th century preserved ship, whilst the Vasa Museum is the most visited museum in Scandinavia. After a lot of effort and work throughout the years the ship has been restored to its original glory. 95% of the ship is original with hundreds of carved sculptures embelishing and decorating its façade.

The Vasa Ship- Carved Sculptures
Carved sculptures on the Vasa Ship (Photo credit: Staffan Eliasson- visitstockholm.com)

The Museum has several levels, where the visitors can admire and see all the different aspects and angles of this magnificent warrior ship: the detailed workmanship, carved sculptures, the masts, wooden craftmanship etc.

There are a total of 10 different exhibitions around the ship showcasing and depicting the lives of the sailors and seamen in the 17th century. You will get a glimpse on how life was on board in those days! A film about Vasa is screened in the museum in 13 languages, whilst guided tours are held daily.

There’s lots to see and discover in the Vasa Museum, if you are short of time, then you can checkout the main highlights of the ship in 1 hour!

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The Vasa Ship (Photo credit: Yanan Li- visitstockholm.com)

I was totally mesmerised by the grandeur and beauty of this famous vessel, and I highly recommned you to put this attraction on your TO DO LIST when you come to Stockholm for Eurovision. The Vasa Museum is located next to the Nordiska Museum, whilst the Skansen Museum and ABBA Museum are just a hop away!

Admission Fees

  • 130 SEK Adults
  • 100 SEK Adults (Wednesdays 1 Sep-31 May -at 17.00-20.00)

Transport

You can get to the museum by bus, tram or ferry from the city Centre. If you like walking you can walk it up from Central Station (30 mins) or Karlaplan Station (10 minutes). If you are adventurous and like walking, then I’d recommend you to get a map and walk it up! Check the sidebar on the left for more information on how to get to the Vasa Museum.

Cover Photo credit: Ola Ericson- visitstocksholm.com

For more information on Stockholm you can visit visitstockholm.com

You can follow our forthcoming series of Discover Stockholm articles with photographs and videos on ESCToday.com and on our official Esctoday Instagram and ESCToday Facebook pages.

[iconheading type=”h4″ style=”glyphicon glyphicon-map-marker” color=”#ff6600″]Address[/iconheading]Galärvarvsvägen 14, Djurgården, Stockholm

[iconheading type=”h4″ style=”fa fa-bus” color=”#ff6600″]Transport[/iconheading]Tram: The easiest way to get tot the musem is by tram indeed. You can take tram number 7 from the city centre, Hamngatan/Kungsträdgårde towards Waldemarsudde
Bus: 67 to bus stop Nordiska museet/Vasamuseet
Bus: 69 and 76 to bus stop Djurgårdsbron
Metro: Take the Red line to Karlaplan Station, it is a 10 minute walk to the museum from there. If you don’t feel like walking, you can take bus 67 and get down at the Nordiska museet/Vasamuseet bus stop
Ferry: Ferries run from Slussen all year round and from Nybroplan during the summer.

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