Book now Visiting Drottningholm Palace: A Practical Guide
Everything you need to plan a day at Sweden's best-preserved royal palace: opening hours by season, how long to allow, what to see, and how to get there.
A day at Drottningholm rewards a little planning. Here is how to time your visit, how long to allow for the state rooms and park, what you will actually see, and the two scenic ways to arrive from central Stockholm.
Opening hours by season
Drottningholm Palace keeps two very different rhythms across the year, and knowing which one is running when you travel is the most useful thing to sort out before you book. From May to September the palace opens every day, 10:00–17:00. This is the season when everything is in play: the Reception Halls, the Baroque garden and the English landscape park, the summer boats from Stockholm and, from June to August daily and at weekends in May and September, the Chinese Pavilion (11:00–17:00). From October to April the schedule contracts sharply. The palace opens on Saturdays and Sundays only, 10:00–16:00, usually adding Good Friday and Easter Monday — so a mid-week winter visit isn't possible. It then closes completely for most of December and reopens every day from New Year's Eve to 6 January. The park and gardens stay open to walk all year and cost nothing, but the Chinese Pavilion is closed from October to April. Because this is a royal residence, the palace can also close for official events. Our booking calendar only offers days the palace is open, so settle your date there first and plan the boat, the bus and the rest of your Stockholm days around it.
The best time to visit
If you can choose your day, aim to arrive soon after the 10:00 opening. The palace is busiest in the middle of the day in July and August, when boat and coach arrivals coincide; early in the day the Reception Halls are quieter to walk and the light through the tall windows is at its best. Your ticket is valid all day, so you can simply plan to be at the door early without booking a particular time. For the fullest visit, come between June and August, when the palace opens daily, the Chinese Pavilion is open every day and the sightseeing boats are running. May and September weekdays are calmer, but the Pavilion then opens at weekends only, so pick a Saturday or Sunday if it matters to you. From October to April, remember the palace opens on weekends only and closes for most of December — a winter weekend visit is lovely and quiet, but it needs to be planned around those days. Whatever the season, avoid arriving in the last hour before closing: you will want an hour or more inside, plus time for the park.
How long to allow
How much time you need depends on how much of Drottningholm you want to see, so it helps to think of the visit in layers. The state rooms of the Palace itself take most people around one to one and a half hours at an unhurried pace. That is enough to take in the grand staircase, Karl XI's Gallery, Queen Hedvig Eleonora's State Bedchamber, the library and the state apartments without rushing, while still reading the detail in the Baroque and Rococo decoration. If you love interiors and want to linger, allow closer to the upper end. Add the grounds and the picture changes into a proper half-day. The Baroque garden with its clipped avenues and the looser English landscape park beyond are free to walk and genuinely worth the time; you can easily spend an hour strolling them. In the warmer months, the Chinese Pavilion sits out in the park, a short walk from the main building, and touring it comfortably adds another hour or so once you factor in the walk each way. So a realistic plan looks like this: two hours if you want just the Palace and a quick turn around the nearest gardens, and a half-day of roughly three to four hours if you want the Palace, the park and the Chinese Pavilion together, with a pause for coffee. Because your ticket is valid all day, you can shape the visit as you go — palace first and then the grounds, or the other way round. If you are also hoping to see the 18th-century Court Theatre, note that it is run separately and visited on its own guided tour, so build in extra time and treat it as an add-on rather than part of the Palace ticket.
What you will see
Drottningholm is a 17th-century royal palace on the island of Lovön, about 10 km west of central Stockholm, and it was Sweden's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1991. It is the King and Queen's permanent home, with the southern wing reserved for them, while the rest of the palace and its grounds are open to visitors. A visit really centres on three things, plus the free park, and it helps to know what each one is before you go. The Palace itself is the heart of it: a sequence of Baroque and Rococo state rooms built and decorated by the Tessin architects from the late 1600s. The grand staircase sets the tone, and from there you move through Karl XI's Gallery, Queen Hedvig Eleonora's opulent State Bedchamber, the library and the state apartments, each layered with period painting, stucco and furnishing that have survived remarkably intact. Out in the grounds stands the Chinese Pavilion, or Kina slott, an exquisite Rococo pleasure palace built in the 1760s as a European fantasy of China. It is one of the most charming things on the estate, and it is seasonal, opening only in the warmer months, so a summer visit is the way to catch it. The third landmark is the Court Theatre, an 18th-century theatre that still uses its original stage machinery. It is a wonderful thing to see, but it is run by a separate organisation with its own guided-tour tickets, so we mention it here as something to seek out rather than as part of the Palace visit. Around all of this lies the estate's greatest free pleasure: the formal Baroque garden and the English landscape park, open to walk whenever you visit, and reason enough on their own to allow extra time.
How admission works
Palace admission is valid for one visit on the date you choose, at any time during that day's opening hours. There is no entry slot: arrive when it suits you, show your e-ticket at the entrance and move through the Reception Halls at your own pace, with the free English audio guide from the Royal Palaces app if you like. Guided tours in English (about 45 minutes) run on a published schedule and are a separate product, not part of our ticket. We arrange your ticket as a concierge service and deliver it as a mobile or print-at-home e-ticket, so there is nothing to collect on arrival. If you want to see the Chinese Pavilion as well, the combined Palace and Chinese Pavilion ticket covers both and can be booked for days in the Pavilion's summer season. Children aged 6 and under go free with an adult and need no ticket; everyone aged 7 and over needs one. All sales are final, with refunds only if the palace itself cannot admit you. There is no need to over-plan beyond that: choose an open day, bring your e-ticket and arrive with time to enjoy it.
Getting there by summer ferry
The loveliest way to reach Drottningholm is by water, and in the warmer months you can do exactly that. Sightseeing ferries run from Stadshuskajen, the quay beside Stockholm City Hall in the centre of the city, out across Lake Mälaren to the palace jetty. It is a scenic cruise of about an hour each way, and for many visitors the journey becomes part of the day rather than just a means of getting there. The approach is the reward. You leave the city behind, glide past wooded shorelines and summer houses, and arrive with the Baroque facade of the palace rising straight ahead from the water, much as guests would have seen it centuries ago. It is a genuinely memorable way to see the estate for the first time, and it lands you right by the entrance to the grounds. A little planning makes it work well. The ferry is seasonal and runs to a set timetable with a handful of departures a day, so check sailing times both ways with the boat operator before you go. Your palace ticket is valid all day, so there is no entry time to race; just leave enough of the day for the palace and the park between sailings. It is wise to leave a clear buffer for the return sailing too, especially in peak season when boats are busy. Because the cruise takes time, the ferry suits a half-day plan: sail out in the morning, tour the Palace and the park, pause for coffee, and sail back in the afternoon. If you would rather not depend on the seasonal timetable, or you are visiting outside the warmer months, the land route below runs all year and is quicker.
Getting there year-round by metro and bus
Whatever the season, there is a reliable land route from central Stockholm that takes roughly 30 to 45 minutes. Take the metro (tunnelbana) to Brommaplan, then change to a bus to the Drottningholms slott stop, which sits right beside the palace grounds. To find the current bus and departure, search for "Drottningholms slott" in SL's journey planner. One important detail: bus tickets can't be bought anywhere at Drottningholm — there is no ticket machine or kiosk — so buy your SL ticket in the SL app before you set out, and make sure it covers the return trip too. This is the dependable option outside the boat season and on days you would rather not depend on a sailing timetable, and it runs far more often than the boat. Many visitors combine the two: sail out on a summer boat for the scenic arrival, then take the quicker bus and metro back to the city. Whichever way you travel, the estate is well within easy reach of the centre.
Frequently asked
What are Drottningholm Palace's opening hours?
From May to September the palace opens daily, 10:00–17:00. From October to April it opens on Saturdays and Sundays only, 10:00–16:00, usually adding Good Friday and Easter Monday. It closes for most of December and reopens daily from New Year's Eve to 6 January. It can also close for royal or official events.
How long should I allow for a visit?
The Palace state rooms take about one to one and a half hours. Add the gardens and, in season, the Chinese Pavilion, and you have a half-day of roughly three to four hours. The Court Theatre is a separate guided visit, so allow extra time for it if you plan to go.
Do I need to book a time in advance?
No. Your ticket is valid for one visit at any time during opening hours on your chosen date. What matters is the date: from October to April the palace opens on weekends only, so check your day on our calendar before planning the rest of your trip.
Is the Chinese Pavilion open all year?
No. The Chinese Pavilion, or Kina slott, is seasonal: it opens daily from June to August and at weekends in May and September, and is closed from October to April. If you want to see it, plan a summer visit and consider the combined Palace and Chinese Pavilion ticket, which is available while the Pavilion is open. The gardens and park are free to walk year-round.
How do I get to Drottningholm from central Stockholm?
Year-round, take the metro to Brommaplan and change to a bus to the Drottningholms slott stop, about 30 to 45 minutes in total; buy the bus ticket in the SL app, as none are sold at Drottningholm. In summer, sightseeing boats also sail from Stadshuskajen across Lake Mälaren, a scenic trip of about an hour.