Haga Things to Do

Just a stone's throw away from Haga Slott is the "Gustav III's Pavilion". This Pavilion is said to be one of the highlights of Swedish art history and is one of the finest examples of the European Neo-Classicism of the late 1700s in Northern Europe. And I wanted soooo much to take a look inside. But unfortunately it was closed. The interiors of the Gustav III Pavilion can only be viewed during the summer months when the pavilion is open for guided tours. So I guess I just have to come back some day :-)

Gustav III's Pavilion was furnished after a trip that the king made to Italy and many of the original furnishings are still here. Especially the The "Spegelsalen" or Hall of Mirrors is particularly worth seeing. The Pavilion was designed by architect Olof Tempelman and decorated by Louis Masreliez in Pompeiian style.

Opening hours
June-Aug: Tues-Sun, only with guided tours 12:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00.

Entrance fee
Adults: SEK 60
Children 7-18: SEK 25
Under 7 years: free entrance
Students: SEK 25

I ended my walk through Haga Park at the south entrance, but not before a last look around at the autumn colours and the sight of those wonderful old trees. In my mind I am dreaming of a new trip to this park. This park would just make an ideal picnic spot. Imagine picking a nice spot in the thick green grass on one of the endless lawns, enjoying the beautiful views, the sun is shining, a picnic basket filled with good food like chickensalad and a nice glass of white wine in your hand.... mmmm.....

Well, maybe this is not such a good idea on a rainy autumn day like I had, hahaha, but on a beautiful summer day this would just be perfect. I know I'll be back here, on a dreamy summerday as I described above, taking my picnic basket with me and thinking back to the tip I wrote here. But even on a non-perfect day like today, with the grey sky and a drizzle of rain, it felt perfect to me :-) The falling leaves, the autumn colours, the quiet surroundings, the smiles on the faces of the people I passed, yes, this park has character and charm and seems to be loved by many.

As you could see on the little map in the beginning of the page, is Hagaparken located beside a lake called Brunnsviken. And during the summertime you can go on a boattrip here called "Brunnsviken Runt". I just stood here for a while on one of the landings enjoy the views and the quietness.

The boat only goes during the summer, 27 June - 14 August, and stops at several places around the lake. You can just hop on and hop off during the day at any of these stops. A ticket (for a while day) will cost you 100 SEK and children (6-11) 50 SEK. A few of the stops are the Butterfly house, Haga Slott, Stallmästaregården and Bergianska/Riksmuseet. The boatticket even gives you a discount ot a few of these place like the Butterfly House. The start of the boat tour is at Stallmästaregården.

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Maybe one of the more disappointing places for me was the Chinese Pavilion. I was looking so much forward to see this structure and imagined these bright colours against a nice blue sky.... instead it was raindrops falling from the sky. The Chinese Pavilion is located on the south-eastern part of the park, close to the Royal Graveyard and on top of a steep hill. There isn't much there and the views aren't as great either compared to the other places. The colours are still striking of the pavilion and I can imagine taking some nice photos on a sunny day. But on a dull day like this it is no real use to climb all the way up here.

The Chinese Pavilion, or "Kinesiksa pagoden" in Swedish, was designed by Desprez in 1787. There was a strong interest in everything Chinese in the late 18th century in Sweden, so it was quite logical for those times to include a Chinese Pavilion in the design of the park.

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I think this was one of the favourite places in the park during my visit: The Ekotemplet (the Temple of the Echo). Hahaha, it also might have helped that is just started to rain lots more and this was the excellent place to take some cover. The views from the Ekotemplet are lovely, but so is the structure itself.

Ekotemplet was built in the 1790s as Gustav III's summer dining hall. The Temple has an oval shape and has 12 pillars, which hold up the copper roof. The roof is constructed in a very special way making it possible to overhear everything that is said inside it. So not the best place to start whispering secrets during one of the royal gatherings and parties of that time! I didn't notice any of the special acoustics of the temple as I was here all by myself, hahaha, so it was very quiet inside, but I did enjoy the views through the 12 pillars. The pillars, shape like arches, just framed the park landscape in a wonderful way, creating some beautiful views, as you can see in the photo. The Temple itself just fits in perfectly in the landscape, positioned on top of a little hill, surrounded by trees.

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I followed the waterside for a little while and started to see a few more people in the park, jogging, walking, and all enjoying the park in their own way. And in the distance I could see Haga Slott or also called the "Queen's Pavilion".

The "Queen's Pavilion" was built in 1802-1804 by Gustav IV Adolf, and has been used as a royal residence during several periods. The house was designed by Christoffer Gjörwell and is in Italian Villa style. For me the house didn't look that impressive, but it is nicely surrounded by some beautiful autumn coloured trees, giving it some charm. Today Haga Slott is used by the Swedish government as an accommodation for prestigious guests.

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A short stroll from the Butterfly house and the Kopper Tents I came across the Monument of Prins Gustaf. The monument is placed on top of a little hill close to the waters of "Brunnsviken" hidden under some trees. The monument of Prins Gustaf was placed here in 1854.

Prins Gustaf was son of King OscarI and Josepfina and part of the Bernadotte dynasty. He died when he was 25 years old (1827-1852) and lived for his music. That's why he is also known as the "Sångarprinsen" (Singing prins). The monument to the prins is quite charming and certainly worth the little climb up the hill to take a closer look.

Okay, so far my introduction to Haga Park. Now it is time to explore and show you why I like this place so much. So why don't you follow me around on my stroll through the park? Let's start at the North Entrance.

Very close to the parking lot I saw this sign that stirred up my curiosity. Here I realized how big this area really is. If I had wanted to, I could have walked for hours and hours, as this is not just 'one' park, but a there are lots of green areas attached to each other which create one huge green area. As you can see on the sign, Haga Park is part of the "Nationalstadsparken Ulriksdal-Haga", but that is not all. Together with Ulriksdal, Brunnsviken and Djurgården it forms the "Ekoparken" / "The Eco Park", which is the world's first National City Park. The "Eco Park" was established in 1995.