Artipelag and Abborrträsk Nature Reserve | Stockholm, Sweden

I’ve started the new year with a visit to Artipelag, where art meets nature in Stockholm, Sweden. Set in the Gustavsberg municipality on the island of Värmdö, nestled on the beautiful shoreline of Farstalandet, I was in my element with art, architecture and nature sitting harmoniously in the Scandinavian landscape.

Artipelag was designed by architect Johan Nyrén, commissioned by Björn Jakobson (the founder of BabyBjörn) and his wife, the designer, Lillemor Jakobson.

The drive up to Artipelag takes you through tall trees, up winding roads until you’re met with the stunning architecture, which continues to impress when you step inside and see the panoramic windows, highlighting the beautiful setting.

Enjoy panoramic views of Baggensfjärden from the cafe.

The gallery space operates with rotating indoor exhibitions, which are ticketed and its permanent outdoor exhibition, Sculpture in Nature, which is free - you can pick up a map and more information on the trail and artworks at the desk as you go in. 

Set in the stunning landscape of the archipelago, the sculpture trail takes you through the surrounding forest and along the boardwalk by the water.

Boy Walking by Tal R | Standing Motion (jumping) by Maria Miesenberger.

The snow was quite deep, so of course you couldn’t see a few of the sculptures and some were covered in snow, which made it a bit harder to spot them but they did look great against the winter wonderland backdrop - I loved the contrast of the black architecture and artworks against the snow.

A first glimpse of Solar Egg by Bigert & Bergström through the forest of it sitting on the shoreline.

The Solar Egg was probably my favourite sculpture at Artipelg. I loved how it was slowly revealed with the gold glimmering through the trees and its setting by the water. It’s a permanent addition after first being a social sculpture that was also a sauna on Mount Luossavaara outside Kiruna in northern Sweden. I think some artworks may be temporary at times as I couldn’t seem to find one of the other sculptures that’s pictured above on the map.

It did get pretty cold down by the water as there was a bit of wind and the temperature had a real feel of -11. Totally worth it to be immersed in nature and art with these views. As well as the art, I had to keep stopping along the way to admire the architecture against the landscape.

Boy by Lars Nilsson.

The snow really added to the quiet and calm feeling as you walked around in nature, it was so peaceful. Pictures don’t really do it justice as some of it was just pure white.

Ainsa IV by Jaume Plensa | Crossroads by Matias Di Carlo.

“Crossroads makes a case for quiet meditation in nature, which also characterises Artipelag’s sculpture collection.”

The inside reminded me of the Hayward Gallery with the cast concrete.

The sculpture walk loops round back to the gallery where you start, so we headed back inside where you can warm up by the fire in the cafe with a hot drink and see the big Gneiss rock (båda) that emerges out of the floor, which was eroded and shaped by the ice age, and enjoy the beautiful view of Baggensfjärden. It was still feeling festive with decorations and candles lit so it had that classic Scandinavian cosy feeling. Don’t forget to check out the design shop and there’s also a restaurant on the top floor if you have time.

If you’re wondering how to get to Artipelag from Stockholm, it’s pretty easy and you have a few options of transport. You can get a bus (which takes about thirty minutes) from The City Terminal bus station on Saturdays and Sundays, which you can book via the Artipelag website. However, there is only one pick up in the morning and drop off back to the central bus station late afternoon each day. You can also get a boat to Artipelag, which I can imagine is a great way to take in more of the scenery, but they only operate during the warmer months. Since we were only there for a short time we decided to hire a car as it’s only a twenty minute drive from central Stockholm (Artipelag has a few different car parks), and it meant we could see more of the beautiful Swedish landscape.

A frozen lake Abborrträsk.

Before driving back to the city we stopped off in Boo, the municipality of Nacka, which isn’t far from Artipelag, to go to Abborrträsk Nature Reserve, taking a walk around the frozen lake and through the surrounding forests in deep snow, which gave beautiful views of a snow covered, frozen lake Abborrträsk where you can go ice fishing.

The lake is also surrounded by steep rock walls, so it’s a bit hilly and was a bit slippery in places but the walking trail is well sign posted and also takes you right down by the lake.

Walking through the deep snow here was also very peaceful, we spotted deer just up the slope from this cabin and only saw one man walking his dog the entire way round.

The walk round lake Abborrträsk didn’t take that long (even with me stopping to take lots of photos for my work) as it’s only small but it’s worth visiting to be fully immersed in the untouched winter Swedish landscape and nature, and I can imagine it’s just as beautiful in the summer.

T-Centralen metro station.

It’s worth noting when planning what you’re going to do, that sunset is about 2.55pm in Stockholm in January. The city is spread out but easily walkable. I like to walk everywhere as I think it’s the best way to take in places and discover something you might otherwise miss, but we did hop on the metro to see some of the metro art - Stockholm has 100 metro stations with unique art and is known as the world’s longest art gallery. And of course, it’s the perfect thing to do when it’s dark outside.

Sharing some of the best ones to visit, in my opinion:  

T-Centralen metro station, the largest and busiest. I say busiest, we went on the metro to visit these stations about 7.15pm on a Saturday and it wasn’t busy at all but the central station is huge and parts of it do get really busy depending on time of day. This was where we actually ended to get off but I’m starting with it as this blue and white station was my favourite and one not to be missed.

Where we actually started our little tour of the metro art was Kungsträdgården station pictured left where we headed along to Rådhuset on the right with the boots on the ceiling and it’s distinctive cave like design.

Another favourite of mine was Solna Centrum, which also had a cave like feel with it’s bright red walls, combining nature in the subway, and Citybanan - Odenplan station, possibly one of the most contemporary metro stations in Stockholm and literally the longest subway platform I think I’ve seen. Depending where you come out and which direction etc. you’re travelling in, you might need to walk around and along the metro stations a bit or go down or up another level to find some of the art.

One of the most popular metro stations to visit for the art is Stadion, which is adorned with a rainbow and Mörby Centrum subway station. I didn’t make it along to these this time but the great thing is you can visit as many or as little of the stations as you like depending on the time you have. Visiting the five that we did took about an hour and fifteen minutes and cost around £4 as we didn’t exit the stations; we had a wander and hopped back on and off until we were finished. One thing we noticed is they aren’t quite as regular as the tube in London but you’re not waiting around for ages either.

I took in more art whilst I was there and visited Moderna Museet, a museum for contemporary art on the island of Skeppsholmen, which just happens to be free on Fridays between 6-8pm, so when we arrived we dropped our bags off and headed over in the snowfall to see the Maurizio Cattelan exhibition. The museum also has a sculpture park and is in the same building as ArkDes, The Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design, so we also had a look round there as well. It’s recently reopened after a refurbishment and as to be expected with Scandinavian design, it’s a beautiful sleek space. As you entered, on display was a Gingerbread house competition which smelled amazing. Oh and this was also free entry on a Friday, and I think I saw a sign saying that it also is on Tuesdays. 

On our last morning we took a boat tour of the Stockholm archipelago and took a walk through a snow covered Kungsträdgården park on our way, which during the winter has a big ice skating rink in the middle.

View of Gamla Stan the Old Town.

Thankfully the sun was out for our boat tour as the temperature was pretty cold. We did the Winter boat tour with the company Stromma and was glad for the blankets provided for sitting outside, definitely needed for the 1hr 30 minutes. I’d read mixed reviews about this tour before booking, but honestly, we didn’t have any problems and the guide was both humorous and informative and it was a great way to see more of the archipelago and learn more about the history of Stockholm and Sweden.

After the boat tour we warmed up with a hot drink before going back over to explore more of Gamla Stan, (the Old Town) again, this time in daylight.

Everywhere was still feeling festive, which I know it’s January but it was nice with the snow, and without what I imagine the busyness at Christmas. The old buildings are beautiful but the cobbled streets were a bit slippery with all the snow and ice.

I was actually only in Stockholm for one full day, arriving late afternoon Friday, had the full day Saturday and left late afternoon Sunday, so if you’re looking at a weekend trip to Stockholm and some ideas of what to do in essentially 48 hours, I hope this has given you some ideas of the top things to do, especially in winter.

If I had to pick a favourite and you only had time for one thing to do, my top pick and recommendation would definitely be Artipelag. I guess it has similarities to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark in it’s setting by the water and combination of Sculpture, art and design, so if you liked there or are looking for somewhere similar, I’m sure you will like Artipelag.

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