Djurgården’s tradition as a magnet for pleasure-seekers goes back hundreds of years. The island has always been a paradise for Stockholmers, an attractive oasis across the water from the stench and crowding of the ancient city (known today as Gamla Stan). Djurgården has also been royal property from the 1400s well into the 18th century. Queen Kristina, for example, kept her lions there, and royal hunts took place there as well. Ordinary people were drawn to the island’s taverns, inns and waffle-stands. In the 1700s, Carl Michael Bellman, Sweden’s most renowned bard, took much of the material for his earthy songs about illicit drinking-houses and the clientele thereof from Djurgården itself. As time went by, entertainment in Djurgården expanded to include theatres, music-halls, and public dance halls. By 1850, the first amusement part had opened its gates, and in the same year the open-air museum, Skansen, was inaugurated.

The tradition of dining and being entertained in Djurgården has survived well into our times; Djurgården is passed on to succeeding generations like a legacy, a treasure chest of everything that enriches and delights the senses. Then too, if you’re keen on taking a shopping tour, try browsing through the museum shops, which offer a large selection of gift items, books, handicrafts and souvenirs.