Take a day trip from Stockholm to visit palaces, islands, Viking sites and more

There’s a profusion of exciting things to see in the city of Stockholm. And once you expand your radius from Gamla Stan, you can add country palaces, windswept islets, dynamic towns and Viking culture to the mix, via easy day trips.

The Stockholm region is easy to drive around and even easier to explore on public transport. Conveniently, SL Travelcards allow unlimited travel on all buses and local trains in the area, making exploring the region a seamless breeze.

From Drottningholm Slott to Vaxholm in the Stockholm Archipelago, here are the best day trips from Sweden's capital city.

1. Immerse yourself in Swedish history at Uppsala and Gamla Uppsala

Travel time: 40 minutes to 1 hour each way

A lively college town that's rich in history, Uppsala is one of Sweden’s oldest cities, dating back to the 3rd century. It’s also next-door to one of the most important pre-Viking sites in the country.

The city’s 40,000 students create a youthful buzz that’s you’ll quickly feel in the numerous stylish-but-unpretentious cafes and bars. Cobblestone pathways thronged with bicycles lead to the banks of the river Fyris, which flows through the center of town. A squat, pink castle tops a hill above, with a royal garden stretching out below. Budding scientists will enjoy the Linnémuseet and adjoining botanical garden, a replica of famed botanist Carl von Linné’s workspace. History buffs will have plenty to absorb, starting with the treasure-filled Museum Gustavianum or the skyline-defining Domkyrka (Cathedral). But the big draw is Gamla (Old) Uppsala, just up the road.

A gorgeous, 2.5-mile (4km) bike ride north, this fascinating archaeological site was once a flourishing 6th-century religious center where – allegedly – human sacrifices took place. Its 300 mounds from the 6th to 12th centuries make it one of Sweden’s largest and most important ancient burial sites. You can learn more in the adjoining Gamla Uppsala Museum, or wander on your own, reading the informative plaques throughout the site.

If you feel like a strolling or cycling further, Eriksleden is a 3.75-mile (6km) “pilgrims path” between the cathedral in Uppsala and the church in Gamla Uppsala. Its namesake, Erik the Holy, become King of Sweden around 1150 – until the Danes beheaded him 10 years later. The story is that his head rolled down the hill; where it stopped a spring rose up. The main trail also provides access to a ridged wilderness hiking area called Tunåsen, with a panoramic viewpoint (follow signs along Eriksleden just south of Gamla Uppsala to “Utsiktsleden”).

How to get there from Stockholm:

SL commuter trains run frequently (every 30 minutes or more) from Stockholm’s Central Station and City Station to Uppsala’s central station, taking 40 minutes to an hour. Bus 801 goes frequently from Stockholm Cityterminalen to Uppsala station via Arlanda Airport in about 45 minutes. Buses for Gamla Uppsala leave from Stora Torget in central Uppsala.

3. Get the royal experience at Drottningholm Slott

Travel time: about 1 hour each way

The grand 17th-century palace of Drottningholm is home to the royal family for part of the year – and open for informative, 1-hour guided tours for visitors all year long (in English three times daily from June to August, and on weekends for the rest of year).

The tour will take you through the highly ornamented State Bedchamber of Hedvig Eleonora, with its opulent baroque interior (it’s the envy of everyone on Pinterest). The library of Lovisa Ulrika is a bright and impressive room, with most of its original 18th-century fittings intact (even if most of her 2000 books have been moved to the Royal Library in Stockholm for safekeeping).

Completed in 1766, the royal Slottsteater is in a remarkable state of preservation. Performances held here in summer still use the original 18th-century machinery to create dramatic effects (the wind machine is particularly impressive). At the far end of the royal gardens, Kina Slott is a lavishly decorated Chinese pavilion that features some of the finest rococo chinoiserie interiors in Europe.

The palace grounds are open for individual roaming, with the geometric gardens, set at an angle for maximum impact, worth the trip all by themselves.

How to get there from Stockholm:

Take the tunnelbana (metro) to Brommaplan, then change to the bus to Drottningholm. There’s also a well-marked bicycle path from the center of Stockholm to the palace (13km / 8 miles). In summer, regular boat services leave for Drottningholm from Stadshuskajen.

4. Discover Viking history at Birka

Travel time: 2 hours each way

On the island of Björkö in Lake Mälaren, the historic Viking trading center of Birka makes for memorable day trip. This UNESCO World Heritage site was founded around 760 CE to expand and control trade in the region. While not much remains today (other than a cemetery with some 3000 graves – and a beautiful Swedish island), the fun in visiting here is imagining the place bustling with traders and craftspeople centuries ago. The site also contains excavated remains of a defensive fort and the harbor.

If your imagination needs jump-starting, visit the superb Birka Museum, where exhibits include artifacts from the excavations, copies of the most impressive objects uncovered and a scale model of the village as it would have looked in Viking times.

How to get there from Stockholm:

Strömma Kanalbolaget runs round-trip cruises to Birka from Stadshusbron in central Stockholm. Since the trip takes 2 hours each way (the boat ride is glorious), plan on a full-day outing. Cruise prices include museum admission and a guided tour in English of the settlement’s burial mounds and fortifications.