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Riddarhuset
Admirers of architecture shouldn't miss this 17th-century Dutch Baroque masterpiece, designed by Simon de la Vallée, Heinrich Wilhelm, Joost Vingboons and Jean de la Vallée. Used by the Swedish parliament between 1641 and 1674, it still hosts the triennial Assembly of Nobles. Highlights include the chancellery, which houses some 300 pieces of heraldic porcelain, and the Great Hall, plastered with 2345 coats of arms belonging to Swedish nobility.
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Skansen
Skansen, the world's first open-air museum, was founded in 1891 by Artur Hazelius to let visitors see how Swedes lived in previous times.
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Spårvägsmuseet
Board a 1938 bus, hop on a retro metro carriage, or create your own computer-generated public transit network at this surprisingly cool transport museum. This former bus depot is also home to toy museum Leksaksmuseet (641 61 00; www.leksaksmuseet.se), an oversized fantasy nursery packed with everything you probably ever wanted as a child (and may still hanker after as an adult).
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Stockholms Stadsmuseum
Inside a former dungeon, a time-line exhibition traces Stockholm's development from fortified port to modern metropolis via plague, fire and good old-fashioned scandal. You can smell medieval potions, peek into an 18th-century tavern and lust at the legendary Lohe Treasure, 20kg of 18th-century silver discovered in 1937. Great temporary exhibitions range from Johan Hagelbäck's 'Raisin Art' to the culture of death in Stockholm.
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Strindbergsmuseet
Set inside the Blå Tornet apartment where August Strindberg spent his final four years, the Strindberg Museum lets you peep into his closet, scan his bookshelves and stumble across his desk, which still bears his pens, spectacles, theatrical programme sheets and a copy of his Ockulta Dagboken (The Occult Diary, 1896-1908). The museum organises Strindberg-themed readings and seminars (occasionally in English, contact the museum).
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Svensk Form
Stockholm's foremost design centre features temporary exhibitions of cutting-edge industrial design and applied arts, a Swedish design library and archive, as well as a cool little design shop and café, complete with copies of in-house design magazine Form . On Wednesday evenings, designers (and the design-inclined) drop in for a drink, a schmooze and regular design seminars.
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Tekniska Museet
The latest draw card at the vast and vibrant Museum of Science and Technology is CINO4, Sweden's first 4-D cinema. Once you've been shaken, stirred and possibly squirted, check out the rest of this dazzling multimedia complex, which includes chatty Japanese robots, Sweden's first motor car (from 1897), an artificial mine, retro telephone collection and the Teknorama Science Centre, with its interactive displays on a range of topics.
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Thielska Galleriet
Scandi art fans come for Anders Zorn's portraits and nudes, Carl Larsson's portraits, Bruno Liljefors' precisely rendered wildlife paintings, August Strindberg's wild landscapes, and Edvard Munch's paintings and sketches, including an enormous portrait of Strindberg and one of the collection's former owner, tycoon Ernest Thiel. Originally Thiel's home, this island mansion was designed by Ferdinand Boberg, designer of Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde.
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Tullmuseet
Despite the patchy availability of English-language information, the Customs Museum is worth a snoop for its rather revealing exhibition on the 'art' of smuggling, which includes a pair of spacious knickers used to smuggle alcohol in the 1920s. Crack-stuffed sneakers aside, there's also a reconstruction of a 1920s customs warehouse and lab with eerily real mannequins.
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Vasamuseet
No true Scandinavian experience is complete without an understanding of its historical seafaring livelihood. Vasamuseet allows you to simultaneously look into the lives of 17th-century sailors and to appreciate a great achievement in marine archaeology. You'll need several hours to appreciate this amazing place.
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Vin & Sprithistoriska Museet
Looking at history through a snaps glass, this engrossing ode to grog explores the often turbulent relationship between Swedes and their beloved brännvin and punsch. Step inside a 19th-century wine merchant's distillery and happily sniff your way through 57 akvavit spices at the smelling organ. The wine bar hosts regular wine-tasting evenings ( Sk350 , book two weeks ahead), though you'll need a group of eight to knock back in English.
