Stockholm During the Easter Holidays (2011)

Edit: This is a post from 2011, so the dates are incorrect and some information may be old. Click here to read the 2013 post. The Easter Holidays (Påsk) are almost upon us. As a visitor to Stokholm there are a few things you should be aware of... things happening in the city and places that may be closed. Both Friday April 22nd (Långfredag) and Monday April 25th (Annandag Påsk) are bank holidays in Sweden, which means that banks, smaller shops & boutiques as well as liquor stores (Systembolaget) will be closed. Easter Sunday (Påsk) is, of course, a holiday. But, besides the above mentioned, most museums, department stores, restaurants and shopping centers are open as usual... with maybe shorter opening hours certain days. Thursday April 21st (Skärtorsdag) is a special day. While not a holiday, many office workers use it as a half-day in anticipation of their long weekend.
The only major museums I found with unsual opening hours this weekend are the History Museum and Waldemarsudde (both closed Friday and Saturday) and the Royal Armoury (closed Friday). Be aware that many museums are closed on Mondays as a rule, this Monday is no different... the Modern Art, Nobel, Medieval and Royal Armoury museums as well as Junibacken will all be closed.
Of special note is April 24th, Easter Sunday. This is the 50th anniversary of the raising of the shipwreck Vasa, now housed at the famous Vasa Museum. There will be lots of celebrations going on this day at the museum with a special new exhibition on the raising of the ship.
All sightseeing tours (bus & boat) will be running as normal.

Skansen, photo by Marie Andersson

As usual, the best place to experience Swedish holiday traditions is Skansen. There are a lot of happenings there all weekend, of specific note is their Easter Market which is open between 11am and 4pm Thursday through Monday. Skansen is easy to get to from the Rival Hotel using the Djurgårds Ferry (Djurgårdsfärjan) from Slussen.