Gardens & Café at Rosendals Trädgård

Rosendals Trädgård... one of those wonderful Stockholm gems that many visitors miss just because it is a little off the beaten path. These gardens, greenhouses and orchards have both a café, farm shop as well as plant store. This is a wonderful place to visit to just enjoy the gardens, buy some homemade preserves or other products, or enjoy a lunch under the trees in the orchard.

The name refers to the nearby Rosendal Palace, a small summer palace from the early 1800's (this can also be visited during the summer months). The gardens are located just adjacent to the palace and were started back in the 1860's as a greenhouse and gardening school. Since the 1980's the gardens are run as a foundation and their main purpose is to spread information about biodynamic gardening and the farm-to-fork concept.

Their organically certified café serves great lunches and use, whenever possible, fruits and vegetables from their gardens. Their breads and pasteries all come from their on-site artisanal bakery. You cannot reserve a table at the café. You order your meal at the counter and then take it out to the tables in the garden and orchard to enjoy. This can be very popular with Stockholmers on warm, sunny days! They have seeds, clippings, plants and garden supplies for sale in the greenhouse shop.

And speaking of shopping... one of my favorite parts of Rosendals Trädgård is their farmshop. Here you can buy fresh breads and vegetables from the bakery and garden as well as homemade preserves, products, books, ceramics and trinkets. Lots of fun stuff! The gardens and café are open for much of the year, but really come alive during the summer. Another great lunch option nearby is the wonderful, idyllic Rosendals Wärdshus which is located just on the grassy hill above the gardens. Swedish cuisine with great picnic options as well. My visit there.

Rosendals Trädgård is located on the island of Djurgården, near many of the main attractions like the Vasa Museum, ABBA the Museum and Skansen. This makes it sound like it is easy to stumble upon, but it is located a bit inland from the attractions and requires a 15 minute walk or so from these attractions. But it is a beautiful walk through the park & forest. If you are taking public transportation, you can take the Djurgård tram to the stop Bellmansro which is about a 10 minute walk from the gardens. The easiest way to get to Djurgården from the Rival Hotel is the Djurgård ferry from nearby Gamla Stan, after which you can either walk to the gardens or take the aforementioned tram.