Rosendals slott i snö och sol

The Royal Parks

Discover the Royal parks! Here, nature meets culture and history meets the present day. The parks are open every day of the year, 24 hours a day.

The Royal parks in Stockholm and Mälardalen are open every day of the year, 24 hours a day. These parks have been places for recreation and meeting others for centuries.

"I would strongly recommend visiting the parks that surround several of our royal palaces. Here, nature meets culture and history meets the present day – visitors of all ages can have fun and enjoy their own voyages of discovery."

This quotation is from The Crown Princess in the Royal Palaces' 2019 summer newsletter.

Parks with character

The Royal parks have been shaped by a variety of stylistic ideals and history. For example, Haga Park was commissioned by King Gustav III in the free English park style, while the World Heritage Site of Drottningholm showcases a variety of strict Baroque gardens, English parks and 18th-century bosquets.

Sculptures and historic buildings can also be seen in the parks, especially Royal Djurgården, Drottningholm and Ulriksdal. The Royal Walks app will guide you through history at most of the Royal parks.

Their different characters mean that the parks have something for everyone: sea views from Tullgarn, the archipelago seascape of the Fjäderholm Islands, dramatic scenery at Strömsholm, and the oak forests of the Hjorthagen Nature Reserve at Gripsholm. Find out more about each park area by reading the fact box on its page.

Popular recreation areas

Our most visited park is Royal Djurgården, which has been one of the most popular recreation areas for the people of Stockholm for centuries. Several of Stockholm's leading landmarks can also be found here.

Together, southern and northern Djurgården have an area of around 1,000 hectares. This is almost three times the size of New York's Central Park, and seven times bigger than London's Hyde Park. The promenade around southern Djurgården alone is ten kilometres long, making it ideal for long walks or jogging. In other words, there is plenty of space! The Folke Bernadotte Bridge provides a new chance to walk via Museiparken to Rosendal Palace, or the other way around.

Royal Djurgården is home to several of Sweden's national memorials, and a sculpture park is being created here via Princess Estelle's Cultural Foundation.

Top image: The English park at Drottningholm Palace Park. Photo: Rapahael Stecksén

The free Royal Walks app will guide you through the parks. The app includes walks with different themes: park ideals, sculptures, historic buildings and historic events. Photo: Julius Bohlin

Each of the Royal parks has its own individual character. This is the leaf theatre in baroque garden at Drottningholm Palace Park. The park is part of the World Heritage Site of Drottningholm. Photo: Raphael Stecksén

Discover the sculptures in the parks. Drottningholm has sculptures by Adrien de Vries, and a sculpture park is being created on Djurgården where historic sculptures will meet new acquisitions. Photo: Johan Lindskog

Two dogs play at a dog exercise area on Djurgården.

The parks are open year round and have something for everyone: exercise, walks, picnics, dog exercise areas, bridleways and cycle paths, cafés, meeting places, history, culture and nature. Photo: Jonas Borg

Come along on a training session on Djurgården with the Royal Stables. Coachman Markus Henriksson guides us in Swedish. Click on the image to start the tour.

THE ROYAL WALKS APP

The Royal Walks app can be downloaded free of charge from the App Store and Google Play. The text is in Swedish and English, and is illustrated with new and historic photos.

The app includes park walks on various themes in Haga Park, Ulriksdal Palace Park and Tullgarn Palace Park, on Royal Djurgården, and in the area surrounding Drottningholm Palace.

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