A Visit to the National Museum

Usually, when I visit the National Museum, I am there to visit a specific exhibition, like one of their temporary exhibitions. However, last week I was taking a walk around Skeppsholmen with a friend, enjoying the nice fall weather, and we decided to drop in and visit the museum and see their permanent collection. 

While they generally charge admission to see the temporary exhibitions, their permanent collection always has free admission. This was perfect for us as we just wanted to stroll through the beautiful rooms and soak up the art and atmosphere, not really concentrate on a specific artist or exhibition. The collection contains thousands of paintings, sculptures and pieces of furniture from the Middle Ages through the 1800's. Dutch, French and Swedish artists are especially well represented. If you start on the top floor and work your way down, you will see the art in chronological order. 

The interior of the museum is beautiful in itself and was actually just recently renovated. There is a lot of space in the museum, so social distancing is made easy. They also have special signs warning if you are about to enter a smaller room. But we were there on a weekday and there was absolutely no problem with crowds. I am sure weekends are much busier, but still safe with all the restrictions in place.

The museum is located in the downtown area, across the water from the royal palace. The easiest way to get there from the Hotel Rival is to either take the subway (blue line, exit at Kungsträdgården) or a bus from Mariatorget, northbound. It is also an easy 25 minute walk through the old town (a taxi would just take 5 minutes). Click here for a list of other museums with free admission. The museum is also a great place to eat lunch or have some refreshments as they have a nice cafe and bar on the entrance level.