Moderna Museet and ArkDes in Stockholm: two museums in one building

Modern art on one side, architecture and design on the other, and one of the two is free

Yellow wooden building on a paved square, with a white sign board with an arrow and a tree with yellow leaves.
The entrance square on Skeppsholmen. Photo: Zayera Khan
  • Why visitTwo museums with one address: Sweden’s museum of modern and contemporary art, and the museum of Swedish architecture and design.
  • Best forArt lovers, architecture and design fans, and anyone who wants a free museum visit with a big art museum next door.
  • Don’t missThe Fantastic Paradise on the lawn, my favorite sculpture in Stockholm. Also the Stockholm Slides on the roof, until 18 October 2026.
  • AddressExercisplan 4, Skeppsholmen, 111 49 Stockholm.
  • Getting thereBus 65 stops at Moderna Museet. The Djurgården ferry from Slussen or Djurgården calls at Skeppsholmen, and an SL ticket works on it. On foot: about 10 minutes from the Kungsträdgården metro station, over the bridge to Skeppsholmen.
  • Opening hoursBoth museums: Tuesday 10:00 to 20:00. Wednesday and Thursday 10:00 to 18:00. Friday 10:00 to 20:00. Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 18:00. Closed on Monday.
  • Moderna Museet admissionAdults 170 SEK. Reduced 140 SEK. Free for visitors 18 and under, and for members of Klubb Moderna. Free Friday from 18:00 to 20:00. Check the website for current prices.
  • ArkDes admissionFree.
  • Guided toursBoth museums offer guided tours. Book them on the websites.
  • FacilitiesModerna Museet has a restaurant with a view, a coffee bar, a shop, an art library, a film room (Minibion) and a cloakroom. ArkDes has Café Blom, a shop and a library.
  • AccessibilityBoth museums have accessibility information on their websites. I did not check the details. Read the planning section below.
  • Official websitesmodernamuseet.se and arkdes.se

One island, one building, two museums. Moderna Museet shows modern and contemporary art. ArkDes shows Swedish architecture and design. One of them charges 170 SEK. The other one is free.

I visited in September and October 2026. My photos show the grounds, the sculptures, the entrance, the halls and ArkDes. I did not photograph the exhibitions at Moderna Museet. So I do not describe them as if I had seen them. For those parts I use the museum’s own website, and I say so. I have not tried the Stockholm Slides yet.

Skeppsholmen and the building

Both museums stand on Skeppsholmen, an island in central Stockholm. The address is the same for both: Exercisplan 4. I walked from the Kungsträdgården metro station over the bridge to Skeppsholmen. On the entrance square, white signs with arrows show the way. I followed them past a yellow wooden building.

Wide-angle view of a lawn with colorful sculptures, a dark sculpture and a white sign with an arrow.
The lawn with the sculptures, and a sign with an arrow. Photo: Zayera Khan

The glass doors at the entrance carry a sign with the opening hours of Moderna Museet. A small symbol on the door says that dogs are not allowed. The sign also names two web addresses: modernamuseet.se and arkdes.se. That is the first hint that two museums use these doors.

Glass entrance doors under a concrete canopy, with an opening hours sign for Moderna Museet on the glass and a no dogs symbol, on a stone paved square.
The entrance doors with the opening hours. Photo: Zayera Khan

The building in short

Wikipedia says that the Spanish architect Rafael Moneo designed the new building. These facts come from Wikipedia, so treat them as one source. The building was built between 1994 and 1997 and opened in February 1998. It won the Kasper Salin Prize in 1998. It stands next to the old Exercishuset, the former drill hall of the Navy. Moderna Museet had its first home in the Exercishuset.

Long bright corridor with a wood-panelled wall on the left, a roof window and a few visitors.
A corridor in the building, with a wood wall and a roof window. Photo: Zayera Khan

Moderna Museet

History and collection

Moderna Museet is my favorite art museum in Stockholm. Wikipedia says that the museum was founded in 1958, and that Pontus Hultén led it from the start until 1973. In 2005 Hultén left more than 700 works to the collection, says the same source.

The museum website lists what the collection holds: about 6,000 paintings, sculptures and installations, about 25,000 watercolors, drawings and prints, about 400 video works and films, and about 100,000 photographs. About 4,000 of the works are Swedish. About 400 are Nordic.

The collection is strong in Cubism, Dada, Surrealism and the Russian avant-garde. It also holds work by Picasso, Dalí, Duchamp, Warhol, Rauschenberg and Donald Judd. You can search the whole collection in the online collection database.

The sculptures outside

The Fantastic Paradise is my favorite sculpture in Stockholm. It stands on the lawn between old trees. In autumn the leaves match the paint.

Colorful large sculptures on a lawn outside Moderna Museet, among tall trees under a blue sky.
Colorful sculptures on the lawn outside the museum. Photo: Zayera Khan

The museum’s press page names the group The Fantastic Paradise (Le Paradis fantastique). Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) and Jean Tinguely (1925–1991) made it in 1966, for the World Fair in Montreal in 1967. The museum received it as a gift in 1971.

The group has sixteen sculptures. Tinguely made seven moving iron sculptures. De Saint Phalle made nine figures from painted glass-fiber reinforced polyester. Her round, colorful figures stand next to his black, jagged, rattling machines. In the summer months there is water in the basin.

In 1986 the group moved to its place near the main entrance. The press page says that an action group, “Flytta Paradiset” (Move Paradise), asked for the move. Another work in the museum’s outdoor collection is The Four Elements (1961) by Alexander Calder.

Colorful sculptures with red, white, yellow, green and blue patterns and a black metal machine in a round basin on a lawn between autumn trees, with a pale building on the right.
Colorful sculptures and a black metal machine in a round basin. Photo: Zayera Khan

Stockholm Slides

Moderna Museet has a peculiar attraction on the roof: Stockholm Slides by the artist Carsten Höller. They are two spiral slides. Each one is about 39 meters long, with a drop of 15 meters. The slides opened on 21 April 2025 and close on 18 October 2026. I have not tried them yet.

The museum website gives these rules:

  • Ticket. The slides are included in your museum ticket.
  • Age and height. The minimum age is 6 years. The minimum height is 1.3 meters.
  • The way up. Get a riding bag on level 1. Go up to the terrace on level 4, then to the roof.
  • Weather. The slides are closed in rain, damp and snow.
  • Hours. Tuesday and Friday 11:00 to 19:00. Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 17:00.

Exhibitions in autumn 2026

The museum website lists these shows. I read the list on 3 October 2026. Dates change, so check the website before you go.

  • Brassaï: The Secret Signs of Paris. 28 March to 4 October 2026. The poster hung on the entrance door.
  • Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian: Tehran/New York. 3 October 2026 to 28 February 2027.
  • Will You Be Profitable, My Friend? Swedish Art 1945–1979. 13 June 2026 to 27 August 2028.
  • The Subterranean Sky: Surrealism in the Moderna Museet Collection. 26 October 2024 to 28 May 2028.

The website also lists collection shows, a mini cinema (Minibion) for video works, and a study gallery.

Visit information for Moderna Museet

Adults pay 170 SEK. Reduced tickets cost 140 SEK. Groups of 15 or more pay 140 SEK each. Visitors 18 and under go in free, and so do members of Klubb Moderna. Some groups also go in free, for example teacher-led school classes. The visitor page has the full list. Online tickets are cheaper.

On Fridays from 18:00 to 20:00 entry is free. The Free Friday page says that it runs every Friday from 21 August to 18 December 2026. Free Friday is very popular, and the museum can be packed. Come early, or choose another evening if you want a quiet visit.

The museum has a restaurant, a coffee bar, a shop, audio guides and a cloakroom. It also has a film room, the Minibion.

Art library

The art library is on floor 2. It is open Tuesday to Thursday, 13:00 to 17:00. It is closed from 18 December to 11 January. Anyone with an interest in art can visit. You do not need to book. You cannot take books home. You read them in the reading room.

The library belongs to both Nationalmuseum and Moderna Museet. It has more than 900 periodical titles. It also holds about 2 million press clippings.

Eat and drink

The restaurant has a lovely view. Have a snack there. You do not need a museum ticket to enter the restaurant. It is open Tuesday and Friday 11:00 to 19:30, and Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 16:30. Booking is only needed for groups of 10 or more.

There is also a coffee bar at the main entrance. Café Blom is by ArkDes and the Picasso garden. There is a picnic place on level 1.

Klubb Moderna membership

Membership starts at 225 SEK. All members get free entry to the exhibitions at Moderna Museet in Stockholm and Malmö for one year. They also get a newsletter.

The club tiers add more. You get invitations to previews, free guided tours and talks, and discounts in the shops, the restaurant and Café Blom. You also get free entry to partner museums, such as ArkDes and the Gripsholm Castle Collection. The card arrives within ten working days.

ArkDes

What ArkDes is

ArkDes is the Swedish centre for architecture and design. The website says that it holds one of the largest architecture collections in the world, with more than 4 million drawings, photographs and models. Wikipedia says that the museum started in 1962 as the Museum of Architecture, a private foundation started by the National Association of Swedish Architects. The state took it over in 1978 and moved it to Skeppsholmen. On 1 May 2013 the government gave it its present name.

The name is short on purpose. In the gallery, the two halves of the name sit on two lines, in huge black letters on a lit wall: Ark, then Des.

Gallery room with a large lit wall panel showing the words Ark and Des, a second white panel and an open door at the back.
The lit ArkDes wall in the gallery. Photo: Zayera Khan

A moving text sign above the wall says “fri entré till ArkDes varje dag”, free entry to ArkDes every day. It also points to Hall 2, to an exhibition called Byggfenomen. The photo cuts the rest of the title, so I cannot give it in full. The panel next to the lit wall shows a drawing of a building from above.

Free entry, and a welcome

A sign on a stand at the door says “Välkommen till ArkDes! Fri entré.” Below it: “Welcome to ArkDes! Free admission.” A black wall sign points up to ArkDes, Torget and Utställningar (Exhibitions). Behind the door I could see a tall wall hanging in red and tan.

Sign on a stand beside an open glass door that says Välkommen till ArkDes! Fri entré and Welcome to ArkDes! Free admission, with a black wall sign that points to ArkDes, Torget and Utställningar, and a red and tan wall hanging in the hall behind.
The welcome sign at ArkDes. Photo: Zayera Khan

Worldglimpsing

Hall 1 had the exhibition Worldglimpsing: Roleplay and the Design of Alternate Realities. The ArkDes website says that it ran from 3 October 2025 to 4 October 2026. The hall is high. A skylight lets in the daylight. On the wood floor a blue shape runs like a map. Panels of frosted glass carry the title in Swedish and English.

One panel lists the names of the people in the show: Ayoung Kim, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, Ed Fornieles and Nina Runa Essendrop, Liu Yang, Natalie Paneng, OMSK Social Club, Reinis Hofmanis, Simon Denny, Tom K Kemp, Trojan Horse, and YESSI PERSE / Neurodungeon. The logos of ArkDes and Nieuwe Instituut are at the bottom of the panel. The small print on the other panels was too small for me to read in my photo.

High exhibition hall with a skylight, a wooden floor with a blue map shape, and frosted glass panels with the exhibition title Worldglimpsing in Swedish and English and a list of names.
The Worldglimpsing exhibition in Hall 1. Photo: Zayera Khan

The ArkDes website also says that the museum is “renovating for new experiences in the collection exhibition”. Everything else is open as usual.

The hall, the shop and Café Blom

The entrance hall is wide and has a stone floor. A museum shop with books and posters stands on the left. At the far end the ArkDes sign glows on the wall. The ArkDes website names a café, Café Blom. It is open from 11:00 to 17:00, and on Fridays until 19:00. It is closed on Monday.

Wide stone floored hall with a museum shop with books and posters on the left and a lit wall panel with the words Ark Des at the back, with a man walking.
The hall with the shop and the ArkDes sign. Photo: Zayera Khan

Visit information for ArkDes

Entry is free. ArkDes is open Tuesday 10:00 to 20:00, Wednesday and Thursday 10:00 to 18:00, Friday 10:00 to 20:00, and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 18:00. It is closed on Monday. The museum offers guided group tours led by curators, a library with research help, and school programs.

Planning your visit

Take both museums in one trip, but give each its own time. Start with the free one if you only have an hour. The two museums have the same opening hours, so you can walk from one to the other without leaving the building.

Getting there

These facts come from the “Find us” page of Moderna Museet. Both museums use the same address.

  • By bus. Bus 65 stops at Moderna Museet on Skeppsholmen.
  • By ferry. The Djurgården ferry runs from Slussen and calls at Skeppsholmen. You can also take it from Djurgården. An SL ticket works on the ferry. Check the SL website for the timetable.
  • By metro. The blue line to Kungsträdgården is about ten minutes from the museum. The red line to Östermalmstorg is about fifteen minutes away.
  • On foot. The museum says that it takes ten minutes from Kungsträdgården and twenty minutes from T-Centralen or Gamla Stan. The route goes past the Grand Hotel and the Nationalmuseum on Blasieholmen, over the bridge to Skeppsholmen, and uphill to the entrance. I walked this way from the Kungsträdgården metro station.
  • By bike. You can park bicycles outside both entrances.
  • By car. There is parking outside the entrance that faces the water, and you pay a fee. There is parking for disabled visitors outside the main entrance and outside the water entrance.

Before you go

Check three things. First, check the exhibitions. Worldglimpsing and Brassaï end on 4 October 2026. Second, if you want to ride the Stockholm Slides, go before 18 October 2026, and not in rain or snow. Third, check the accessibility pages on both websites. I did not read the details, and I do not want to guess about lifts, ramps or doors. Note that the walk from the bridge goes uphill.

Free Friday evenings are very popular, and the museums can be packed. Plan more time, or come on another day.

If you want a longer list of museums in the city, see my guide to museums in Stockholm.

The photos on this page were taken by Zayera Khan during visits to the museums, and are her own property. Please do not reuse them without permission.

Two museums, one set of doors. Which one do you walk into first?