Artipelag — Attraction in Värmdö kommun

Hard to give this place a balanced review with just one overall star rating, so please read further!

To get here you really need your own transport. Car or taxi would be most convenient, but it would be easy enough to get here by bike if you’re fit enough. Parking was plentiful and within expected prices (ca 75kr for 3h). There are several car parks, some closer to the building for ease of access for disabled or elderly. Access to the building from the car parks is easy and map boards are available giving clear directions. Rating: 4/5

The natural surroundings are beautiful and typical for the region with open woodland of mixed pine & silver birch, with some exposed bedrock. The woodland and boardwalk pathways are well tended and easy walking terrain, even for the elderly. On a sunny day this is a wonderful place to take a general stroll or sit & enjoy the coast views. Rating: 5/5

The building itself is spacious and well laid out. The cafe & restaurant areas are clean and well maintained. There are plenty of lockers for bags & coats, as well as good toilet facilities. Architecturally this is a very pleasant space with an interesting juxtaposition of closed and open spaces & light. Access is good & although this visit wasn’t during “high season”, I would say that it wouldn’t feel crowded & stressful even with lots of visitors. Rating: 5/5

The cafe/restaurant offered what appeared to be a good selection of meals, sandwiches and cakes/pastries including vegetarian options. The staff were friendly and welcoming. We chose what on the menu sounded like a good healthy lunch - a vegetarian bean chilli. This turned out to be a huge disappointment. It was more like a small portion of tomato & sweetcorn salsa with hardly any beans in it at all. Definitely not worth the money at an almost extortionate 175kr. The side salad available was bland & uninspiring. Bread was scarce - evidently much in demand to make up for the small portion sizes of the meal options - and when it was available was just dull white bread. Only still water was available as a free option and the coffee (included) was just average. Prices were too high for what was on offer. I would hesitate to pay to eat here again, I’d rather bring a picnic and take advantage of the outdoor seating options. Rating: 1/5

Art & design seemed to be somewhat lacking. For a supposed art centre there was very little to see. Of course exhibitions vary and are usually time limited, so maybe this visit was just bad timing. Admittedly, seeing art exhibitions wasn’t the main purpose of my visit, I was here as a first time visitor to explore the building and surrounding areas. The outside (free) art installations were good, but not exceptional. The gallery shop was disappointing. Rating: 3/5

Overall, would I visit again? Yes, for the general environment & maybe for a specific exhibition. Certainly not for the...

Artipelag is a stunning building, a delicious cafe and a great exhibition space in Stockholm's archipelago. If you are interested in art or architecture, or just like nature, you should definitely visit Artipelag.

I was lucky that the girlfriend of my Airbnb host was an art student, otherwise I would probably never have known about this gallery. Artipelag is located perhaps an hour away from central Stockholm in the archipelago. And yes, it is a bit of a pain to get there, but there is a bus stop right in front of the building. However, I took a bus from Slussen and instead of waiting and changing to a different bus, I simply got off somewhere and walked the last leg. It took me ages, but the last bit was enjoyable, as they built a little path through the forest.

To be honest, I found the building and the permanent exhibition more impressive than the temporary exhibition. The building is huge and beautiful. It reminded me a lot of Arken Museum of Modern Art near Copenhagen, however when I sent Artipelag an email and asked about it, they seemed surprised, so I guess if anything, only the architect was inspired by Arken.

The light building is dominated by clear lines and simple colours, mostly white, grey and black. I found the large-scale photographs, beautiful nature shots, that were commissioned specifically for the building, most fascinating.

When I was there, the temporary exhibition was called "Land meets water – European and American photography from 1860 to the present". I liked it, there were some great photos. Still, the permanent photographs of the surrounding area were the highlight for me - maybe mostly because I lived in Stockholm for a few months a couple of years ago.

For me, the museum itself is a work of art and I very much enjoyed the time I spent at Artipelag. Whether you check out the exhibitions, just sit in a corner to read or treat yourself to the delicious food at their cafe - I found that being exposed to this architecture, the aesthetics and the calm atmosphere was kind of mesmerising.

While it took me two hours or so to get there, I took the bus from the building on the way back to Stockholm and with one interchange arrived at Slussen within only 40 minutes.

If you like architecture, nature, or photography, Artipelag, "an international venue for art, good food, events and activities", as they describe themselves, is a place you should not miss when...

Artipelag. Probably the greatest nature influenced architectural achievement in the Stocholm area on this side of the millennium. It began with a man and a vision that decided he wanted to do something for art, nature and beauty. The result was an 6000 m² concrete, top modern cultural hub in the heart of the Stockholm archipelago. A couple of years later it was done. Artipelag was born.

If you visit Stockholm for just a day or two and you want to see Swedish art at its finest but also experience the mild nature of the Swedish treasure we call Skärgården. This is the place to go!

The first thing you see when you walk down the winding road are the tilted walls of tared wood and Greystone colored concrete. The building itself looks like it’s fused into the bedrock, but in a natural way. Sometimes even the concrete curves around the natural shapes of nature instead of cover it.

Inside the entrance and standing in the great hall you get the feeling that you are at Guggenheim or the museum of modern art, but with forest in the back and the glimpse of the sea.

The galleries are perfect for any art form. Natural light or studio, it’s up to the artist. Small paintings of Rainbow Cats or a WW2 Tank? It will all fit and look natural in these huge halls.

When hunger strikes, please try the Smorgasbord upstairs with herring, meatballs and a lot of other fantastic Scandinavian dishes. If you just want something lighter you have the Café on the ground floor. (They have hot food there to). No matter what you choose, you wot regret it!

After the lunch, just close your eyes, step outside the backdoor and you are immediately transported to any of our desolate islands. Nature is all around you, and you can also se Baggensfjärden between the pine trees. Find a seat, sit down with a “Fika” and a “KanelBulle” and just let the Swedish nature engulf you. You can’t be on a safer, more soothing and friendlier place on the planet.

At the end of the day and it’s time to hit the road, follow the path down to the waterfront and follow the natural road back to the parking lot. This way you can slowly prepare for the outside world.

I hope you enjoyed the stay!

Until...