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My Shore Excursion
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Stockholm with Drottningholm Palace and Royal Canal Tour

  • Private tour
  • Duration: 5 h
  • Moderate walking
  • Multiple languages

Overview

Drottningholm is the working home of the Swedish royal family and the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, a baroque palace on an island in Lake Mälaren that has been called a Versailles of the north since the 17th century. This five-hour tour pairs it with a canal cruise through the middle of Stockholm, so you see the city from the water before heading out to the countryside.

The tour covers:

  • A fifty-minute Royal Canal cruise past the Palace, the Opera and the Parliament
  • Drottningholm Palace with a guide, admission included
  • The baroque parterre, the English park and the 18th-century palace theatre from outside
  • The Chinese Pavilion, built as a royal birthday surprise in 1753

Please note that the tour order and the time spent at each venue may vary.

What you will see

  • A canal cruise past the Stockholm waterfront and its royal landmarks
  • Drottningholm Palace, a UNESCO site and the home of the royal family
  • The baroque garden and the English park laid out around the palace
  • The Chinese Pavilion, a rococo summer retreat built for a queen
  • Five hours with a private guide and an air-conditioned car

Itinerary

  1. Meeting by the ship

    Meeting by the ship. The start time of the tour is given approximately and will be adjusted depending on your ship arrival time. The exact meeting time will be specified on your confirmation letter.

  2. Transfer to the pier

    A short drive to the boat pier in the centre of Stockholm

  3. Royal Canal Tour

    A fifty-minute cruise along the canal that separates Djurgården from the mainland. From the water you pass the Royal Palace, the Opera House, the Parliament on its own island and the grand apartment blocks of Strandvägen, then the wooded shore of Djurgården. The island was a royal hunting ground from the 16th century and is now the city's favourite park, which is why the boat is the pleasantest way to see it.

  4. Drive to Drottningholm

    A drive west along Lake Mälaren to Drottningholm, about half an hour from the centre

  5. Chinese Pavilion

    A stop at the Chinese Pavilion at the edge of the palace park. The first one was a surprise gift from King Adolf Frederick to Queen Louisa Ulrika on her birthday in 1753, prefabricated in secret and put up overnight; the rococo building you see replaced it in 1769. Chinoiserie was the height of European fashion at the time, and the interiors mix Chinese lacquer with Swedish craftsmanship.

  6. Drottningholm gardens

    A stroll through the grounds, which run from a formal baroque parterre with bronze figures taken as war booty in Prague to an English landscape park laid out for Gustav III in the 1780s. The palace theatre of 1766 stands nearby, one of the very few 18th-century theatres anywhere still using its original stage machinery.

  7. Drottningholm Palace

    A guided tour of the palace, built from 1662 to Nicodemus Tessin the Elder's design for Queen Hedvig Eleonora and modelled on the French royal houses of the day. It became Sweden's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. The state rooms include Hedvig Eleonora's state bedchamber, the library of Louisa Ulrika and the grand staircase. The royal family has lived in the south wing since 1981, and that part is closed to visitors.

  8. Free time

    Time to photograph the palace and the lake, or to stop at the cafe and the souvenir shop

  9. Drive back to Stockholm

    The return drive takes 30 to 45 minutes, depending on traffic

  10. Return to the ship

    Back at the ship in the port of call in Stockholm

Price includes

  • English speaking guide for 5 hours; other languages are available upon request
  • Transportation in a A/C vehicle for 5 hours
  • Entrance fee to Drottningholm Palace
  • Canal boat tour

Not included

  • Lunch

Meeting point

The meeting point is located behind the security gate. Please make sure to read disembarkation instructions sent through email with other documentation.

Prices

PeoplePrice per person
1€1,159
2€601
3€459
4€355
5€293
6€283
7€264
8€236
PeoplePrice per person
9€215
10€198
11€184
12€172
13€162
14€153
15–16€146

Good to know

Visas and tour tickets

US and EU citizens need no visa or tour ticket to come ashore in Stockholm.

Payment
  • A deposit of 50% is due when you book.
  • The balance is due on the day of the tour, in cash (euros) or by credit card.
  • Full payment is due when you book a single excursion.
  • You receive a confirmation as soon as your online payment goes through.
Cancellation
  • Tell us in writing if you or anyone in your party cancels a confirmed booking.
  • Deposits are refunded in full up to 72 hours before the tour.
  • Deposits are not refunded within 72 hours of the tour.
  • No refund is given for a no-show, or once the tour has been paid in full.
Availability and notes
  • Ask us about availability at least 48 hours before your ship reaches the port.
  • Please note that tour schedule will be adjusted based on the arrival time of your ship
  • If your ships dock in Nynäshamn port, please contact us for more details.
Tips and discounts
  • Children aged 7 to 17 and students pay 10% less.
  • Tips are not included in the price.
  • We suggest about 15% in total, split as 10% for your guide and 5% for your driver.
  • Please carry some cash for this, though tipping is always your choice.

Book this tour

from €146 / person

Estimated total €1,202

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