Easter in Stockholm 2024

Easter Lunch!
Photo by Marie Andersson/Skansen

After two years of little or no Easter celebrations, it is nice that we can celebrate it again. If you are visiting Stockholm during the holiday weekend, here is some useful information on how we celebrate the holiday. To start off with... the Swedish word for Easter is Påsk (good to know when visiting the city on Easter weekend). While Sweden is one of the least religious countries in the world, it has loads of bank holidays that are religious in origin. On Easter weekend (April 15th to 18th this year) we have two bank holidays, besides the obvious Easter Sunday, or Påskdagen: Good Friday (Långfredag) and Easter Monday (Annandag Påsk). Even Maundy/Holy Thursday (Skärtorsdag) is somewhat special as many office workers take a half day off ahead of their 4 day holiday. Once upon a time this meant that the city came to a standstill for 4 days... but these days it isn't that bad. Banks, liquor stores, cafés and smaller shops will be closed or have changed opening hours. Many restaurants, most larger department stores and shopping centers will be open as normal. Though perhaps with shortened opening hours. The Hotel Rival's Bistro and Watson's Bar are all open all weekend long! 

Children dressed up as Easter witches (påskkärringar)
Photo by Marie Andersson/Skansen

As for the museums, the big ones, like Vasa, Fotografiska, ABBA, Skansen, National, Royal Palace and Moderna, are open as normal (though keep in mind that Moderna and National are closed on Mondays). The History Museum (Historiska) will be closed on both Friday, Saturday and Monday. Monday is a day in Sweden when many museums are generally closed, however some of these museums are staying open on Monday, April 18th, as it is a holiday. They include the Medieval, Millesgården and Natural History.  Keep in mind that I haven't checked ALL the museums in Stockholm... just the top 10 or so of the 85 museums in the city. Talk to me directly, if you are staying at the Hotel Rival, or check the individual websites if you are interested in other, smaller museums. Sightseeing tours operate as normal!

Scene from Skansen. Photo by me!

If you want to experience Swedish Easter traditions then you should definitely visit Skansen (open-air museum, park and zoo). Don't be surprised if you see little children dressed up as cute witches (påskkärringar)! Here you can learn about, watch, listen to or partake in traditional Easter activities. These are all of special interest if you have children with you.  For a full calendar of activities at Skansen... click here. I did mention that Sweden isn't a very religious country, but that doesn't mean that it is devoid of religion! There are, of course, many churches (mainly Lutheran and Catholic) that have special Easter services and masses. Contact me directly, if you are staying at the Hotel Rival, for service/mass times at different churches. Several churches offer services in languages other than Swedish. Click here for more Easter tips from Visit Stockholm. Glad Påsk (Happy Easter)!

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