Dancing at ABBA - The Museum - Take me to Sweden

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There is only one museum in the whole world where you spontaneously start dancing when you go in, where you almost all the time want to sing along and where you’re still humming when you come out. Yes, that’s ABBA – The Museum! The opening of this ABBA museum was the deciding factor for me to finally book a citytrip to Stockholm.

ABBA – The Museum is, together with the Vasa Museum, one of my favourite museums ever. Ever since that first visit, I kept returning to Stockholm and to ABBA – The Museum. I believe I visited it 5 times already!

Thank ABBA for the music!

There’s something about the music of ABBA. Somehow their music always gets me in a good mood. Björn and Benny were very advanced for their time. They were the first ones to record the different music lines multiple times and then mix it. Even in today’s music you still hear influences of ABBA. And let’s be honest, most of their repertoire sounds contemporary! (Or I’m not entirely objective here?) They also were one of the first to produce music videos, as the ladies of the band preferred not travel so much.

ABBA – The Museum tells the story of the four well-known Swedes: how they met, how they started to collaborate, the story of their careers and so on. Suddenly you are visiting the Polar Studio and even their summer house!

Guided by ABBA

During my last visit to the museum, I choose the Swedish audio guide. It was the first time I visited the museum with an audioguide and it added a whole new dimension. The great thing with having the audioguide in Swedish is that you literally are guided by the voices of the four members of ABBA! Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Frida tell how it was to be part of ABBA and personal anecdotes. A unique way of getting a look behind the scenes!

Have you ever dreamed of being a part of ABBA? In the museum you get the chance to dance along with the ABBA members on the virtual stage. You can even do an audition and sing a piece of your favourite ABBA song. By scanning your ticket at these spots you afterwards can download the video and/or audio recordings.

The red telephone

Somewhere in the museum you will find the red phone. It is the phone from ‘Ring Ring’. If you have the luck that the phone rings while you’re there, be sure to answer! The only people who know the phone number are in fact Benny, Björn, Agnetha and Frida. Before you know it you will be talking to one of the ABBA members. It is not clear how many times the phone has rang so far.

Another nice detail in the museum is the piano that is connected to Benny’s studio. Whenever he plays the piano, you can hear it in ABBA – The Museum!

Good evening Europe!

When I was there for the second time (July 2016) Sweden had just organized the Eurovision Song Contest. This was a great opportunity to put the Swedish winners of the contest in the spotlight at ABBA – The Museum. You could see the outfits of the six previous Swedish winners. Who remembers the pink suit that ‘Take me to your Heaven’ Charlotte Nilsson (now Perelli) was wearing? And of course the tight leather pants of Måns Zelmerlöw were on display! As was his trophy.

For a Eurovision enthusiast, like me, this was definitely added value. Unfortunately, it was a temporary exhibition. The Waterloo-outfits are part of the permanent exhibition.

Life after ABBA

When I was there in September 2022, there was a new exhibition where their projects after ABBA got in the spotlight, like the musicals about ABBA but also the other musicals that the gentlemen wrote and some solo projects by the ladies. And of course ABBA The Voyage, their hologram show, could not be missed.

Practical information

For the most recent opening hours and admission fees, I advise you to check their website. To avoid busy peak times, they work with tickets that are valid for a given time slot.

Book your tickets here

I recommend you to buy tickets in advance online. That way you avoid 20 SEK service charge per ticket and you get to skip the lines. Please notice the whole museum is cashless and you can only pay by card (at the souvenir shop, the entrance, the restaurant,…).

You can check the availability and book here. You don’t only skip the lines, you’re also guaranteed the best price and flexibility as you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance.