gripsholm castle

Went on a day trip from stockholm on a beautiful sunny day. Very well preserved with lots to explore for both adults and nice armory and narrow corridors and stairs to keep the kids enchanted. nice gardens and nice local restaurants / bars to enjoy a cool beer after. Took the boat back across lake malarian to stockholm city hall and what a beautiful way to end off the day

I loved my visit to Gripsholm Castle. It's situated in a the scenic Mariefred and was well worth the trip to see it. It's a beautiful building, well maintained and a highlight of my trip to Sweden. I was lucky enough to attend the English guided tour which was enlightening and was delivered by a very dry guide who was very funny. The highlight and the main reason for our visit was to see the famous Swedish Lion and I was not disappointed. Absolutely hysterical.

Gripsholm Castle was built in 1537 at the direction of king Gustav Vasa. It is in Mariefred, on the banks of Lake Mälaren, about 1hour west of Stockholm by car. The castle holds the Swedish collection of portraits, hung throughout the castle. There is an English tour at least once a day. The grounds are beautiful to walk around (day and night). Be sure you visit the theatre on the top (?) floor. Wonderful history and lots of stories!

So much to see. Plan on several hours to enjoy all this place has to offer and a picnic under the trees. This castle is large, well preserved and located in a picturesque setting. Unfortunately, we were not able to take the English tour. However, our companion was able to translate a lot of what the guide was saying once the rest of the group started to move on. I did notice that the guide involved the children in the tour group and did a great job holding their attention.

The castle istelf is beautiful, big and interesting, and kept in a very good "shape", unfortunately it is not allowed to take pictures inside, which is a pity.But it lies on the side of the lake, with the beautiful town of Mariefred on the other side, very beautiful scenario

I made yet another visit to this gem of a building recently. Fabulously situated on a peninsular jutting into Lake Mälaren, this castle looks straight from a fairy tale. On a sunny day it is simply magical to view it across the lake from the nearby picturesque town of Mariefred.The castle houses the Swedish national collection of portraits, great for art lovers but beware - there is an awful lot to see so allow several hours to get right round if you decide to go inside to see these.Outside the castle there many sights and photo opportunities and this is all free. There is a large runestone on the walk up from the largish car park and a drawbridge over the moat leads to a keep then into the castle courtyard where two magnificent bronze cannons from the sixteenth century are displayed.We drove there on this particular visit, although for visitors based in Stockholm the round trip by steamship across Lake Mälaren is highly recommended. If you don't want to be tied to the steamer schedule you can take it on the outbound leg only and return by train to Stockholm itself. Gripsholm should be on the list of anyone visiting Stockholm or traveling through the central part of Sweden, especially on a sunny spring or summers day

Beautifully situated and relatively well preserved castle. You can get here by steamboat. Got to love the inner courtyard with the covered well and bay window. Fascinating collection of historical paintings, including a few modern contributions. And best of all: the king's grotesque stuffed lion.

You can see an old castle Gripsholm and Beautiful garden around it. The castle is in the coast of lake and the sightseeing is amazing!

Wonderful Castle where you can see a lot of ancient things and understand how King's family lived. The most excited place in the Castle is King's personal Theatre with still working scenery! You can wolf around the Castle and enjoy beautiful view on the bay! Nearby free parking is also available.

Well worth the trip--how can you beat a real rural castle with a real moat? Its in great shape, very educational, and complements nicely visits to other chateaus and royal residences in Sweden and Norway. There was something for everybody--my eight-year old really enjoyed it.

I recently had the pleasure to visit Gripsholm castle. I reached the castle by train and bus which took about an hour out of Stockholm. The trip was well worth it. Gripsholm is kept in such wonderful condition with over 60 rooms to see. The castle also houses the Swedish portrait gallery and is a must for art lovers. The grounds and lake are magnificant and well worth a walk around after you had been in the castle.The castle even has a theatre which is still in working order as it was hundreds of years ago. I will definatly return to the castle when i visit Sweden again.

The castle is magnificent, has absolutely fantastic view from the lake side! It is a day trip since you will need time not only for the castle collections, but also for the surrounding nature and the small Mariefred town. Gripsholm has a status of Royal Palace and houses the oldest portrait gallery in the world. The gallery is impressing (800 pieces) and has portraits of famous people from XVI century onwards. One of the castle towers houses the theater, which is breathtaking. The theater has wonderful decorations and you can also see the machinery which was in use to change the decorations at that time.Take a train from T-Centralen to Läggesta (a 40 min ride, ~100 Kr if you book ahead online and ~133 Kr if purchased at T-Centralen the same day), then change to a bus 303 (Läggesta –Mariefred-Strängnäs line), get off at Gripsholm station (~3-5 min ride from Läggesta station, 24 Kr per person you can pay on a bus if you have a card with chip). The bus runs once an hour (e.g. for the summer 2012 10:38 am , 11:38 and so on (contact Trafikupplysningen 0771-22 40 00 for bus info).

Easy and quick to reach from Stockholm by car. A nicer way is to come by the steam boat or the old train, takes more time but more special. The view of the castle is the best from the lake. Nice setting and give great view of Mariefred, small town but nice to walk around, very close, just walk along the path. The castle is in a very good condition. Be aware it is open until 4pm, if you want to see it inside as well.

The Gripsholm castle is located in Mariefred, on the lake Mälaren, about an hour from Stockholm. What makes this castle something special is the condition and how the different parts of the castle reflect the time when the castle expanded over centuries. The oldest parts (put on an older foundation from the 13th century) are from early 16th century and the most recent sections as latest from the from the 19th century. Not only the interior, reflecting the architecture from different centuries is fascinating, but also the large collection of painting of royalties etc., since the 16th century is interesting. There are also paintings from people from our time, such as artists, politicians etc. The castle has a theatre from late 18th century (similar to the Drottningholm theatre, the residence of the king and queen) and what should be pointed out here is the – according to some people - the presence of the "white lady", who, they say, is sometimes visible on the stage. We have been there many times over the years and never been lucky to spot her. There are also classic concerts in the castle and thetre plays in the gardens in the summer months. A visit to Gripsholm can preferably be combined with a boat trip on the S/S Mariefred from and to Stockholm. Even if kids will not love the art, there are plenty of other things that will fascinate all ages.

The castle is well worth a visit. The setting is beautiful, and you are able to visit many rooms. The village of Mariefred is also worth a walk through, but there is not a lot there. Instead of waiting for the bus back to the train, we decided to walk. The 40 minute walk is along a path with only a slight incline.