In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Midsummer Eve is Friday 25 June 2027, and Midsummer Day is Saturday 26 June. Stockholmers leave for the archipelago or the countryside, the city is calmer, and many museums close. Skansen is open on the Eve from 10:00 to 22:00, and Visit Stockholm says its celebration lasts three days. Grinda, Sandhamn and Djurönäset hold maypole celebrations in the archipelago. Visit Stockholm lists the Vasa Museum, the Royal Palace, Nordiska museet, Junibacken and Gröna Lund as open, with hours that might be reduced. Or book a cruise: the guided archipelago cruisead is from SEK 296.
⚠️ 25 and 26 June. Midsummer Day, Saturday 26 June, is a public holiday. Many museums and attractions are closed over the weekend, and the ones that open may keep reduced hours.
What Midsummer is
Midsummer marks the summer solstice and, with Christmas, is one of Sweden’s most important holidays. Midsummer Eve always falls on a Friday between 19 and 26 June, and for many Swedes it is the start of the summer holiday. The traditions are a maypole covered in flowers and birch leaves that people dance round, folk music and ring dances, wreaths of wild flowers, and a meal of pickled herring, new potatoes with dill, gravlax, Västerbotten cheese pie and strawberries, with snaps and the drinking songs called snapsvisor. Folklore says that seven flowers under your pillow on Midsummer night make you dream of your future partner, and that they must be picked in silence.
A midsommarstång in Solna. Photo: 01tonythomas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Skansen
Djurgårdsslätten 49-51 · Midsummer Eve 25 June 10:00 to 22:00 · Skansen ticket · cards only · skansen.se
Skansen has celebrated Midsummer since the 1890s, with the maypole dressed and raised, folk dances and music, and traditions from around Sweden. Visit Stockholm says the celebration lasts three days, from morning to late at night, with dances and games, a look at how Midsummer has changed through the centuries, traditional Midsummer food and the animals. From 31 May to 29 August 2027 Skansen is open 10:00 to 18:00, with 10:00 to 22:00 on the Eve and 10:00 to 20:00 on National Day, 6 June. Its sing-along evenings run on 8 Tuesdays from 29 June, 10:00 to 20:00. Buy the ticket at tickets.skansen.se for the date: Skansen tickets has the seasons and the Aquarium.
The archipelago
Visit Stockholm names three islands that celebrate:
- Grinda. A traditional Midsummer with flower-picking, raising the maypole together and Midsummer food.
- Sandhamn. The maypole goes up in the middle of the village, and a procession of musicians and singers tours it. Sandhamn Seglarhotell serves a Midsummer lunch, followed by dancing.
- Djurönäset. Dancing round the maypole, games in the folk park, classic Swedish food and overnight spa stays by the water.
Summer houses on Edlunda in the Stockholm archipelago. Photo: ArildV, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The archipelago day trip has the boats: Waxholmsbolaget to Grinda and, via bus 433 to Stavsnäs, to Sandhamn, and Strömma’s Cinderella boats from April 2027.
What is open
Visit Stockholm lists these as open over the Midsummer weekend, and says that opening hours might be reduced:
- The Vasa Museum and the Viking Museum, the Royal Palace and Nordiska museet: see the Royal Palace and Stockholm museums.
- Skansen with its Aquarium and the Baltic Sea Science Center.
- Gröna Lund and Junibacken: see Stockholm with kids.
- Stockholm Cathedral, Spritmuseum and the Absolut Art Collection, Artipelag, the Avicii Experience and SkiStar Sports & Adventures.
- Skogskyrkogården, the World Heritage cemetery, which is open as always, though its visitor centre is closed.
- Skokloster Castle.
The light
Midsummer Eve 2027 has about 18 hours 37 minutes of daylight, from about 03:30 to 22:08. See the best time to visit Stockholm for the rest of the summer, with the mean high of 20.8°C in June.
Plan the rest
Where to stay in Stockholm compares the areas, and 3 days in Stockholm builds the days round the closed ones. Where to eat in Stockholm and fika cover the meals, and what to book before you go to Stockholm has the hours for every sight.
Common questions
When is Midsummer in Stockholm in 2027?
Midsummer Eve is Friday 25 June 2027, and Midsummer Day is Saturday 26 June, a public holiday. Midsummer Eve always falls on a Friday between 19 and 26 June.
What is open in Stockholm on Midsummer Eve?
Visit Stockholm lists the Vasa Museum, the Viking Museum, the Royal Palace, Nordiska museet, Skansen with its Aquarium and the Baltic Sea Science Center, Junibacken, Gröna Lund, Spritmuseum, Stockholm Cathedral and Artipelag as open over the weekend, and warns that opening hours might be reduced. Many other museums are closed.
Where can I celebrate Midsummer in Stockholm?
At Skansen, where the celebration lasts three days, with a maypole, folk music and dances. Skansen is open from 10:00 to 22:00 on the Eve. In the archipelago, Grinda, Sandhamn and Djurönäset hold maypole celebrations.
What do Swedes eat at Midsummer?
Pickled herring, new potatoes with dill, gravlax, Västerbotten cheese pie and fresh strawberries, with snaps and the short drinking songs, snapsvisor, sung before a sip.
How light is it in Stockholm at Midsummer?
On Midsummer Eve 2027 the sun rises at about 03:30 and sets at 22:08, a day of 18 hours 37 minutes. The times are calculated for Stockholm's coordinates.
Do the Skansen sing-along evenings start after Midsummer?
Yes. Skansen's sing-along evenings run on 8 Tuesdays from 29 June 2027, and Skansen is open 10:00 to 20:00 on those days.
