Skansen

Skansen, opened in 1891 on Stockholm’s Djurgården island, lets you experience Swedish life from the past 500 years. Walk through 150 homes and workshops moved from across the country, including an 18th-century wooden church and a recreated 19th-century town with blacksmiths working iron and bakers pulling rye loaves from brick ovens. Spot brown bears pacing near pine trees, watch grey seals swim in rocky pools, or stroke the woolly backs of goats in animal enclosures. See workers in aprons shape glowing glass bulbs at the Höganäs hut or weave striped textiles on creaking looms. Time your visit for June’s maypole dances, December’s candlelit Lucia parades, or the Christmas market where vendors have sold ginger cookies and straw ornaments since 1903.

Historic Buildings Demonstrating Swedish Craftsmanship

Enter a cluster of wooden shops where cobblers stitch leather boots and tanners treat hides using 19th-century methods. Walk past farmhouses from northern Sweden with grass-covered roofs thick enough to insulate against snow, then step inside a southern farm