Is The Abba Museum In Stockholm Worth Visiting? 

As a country, Sweden has been around for more than a thousand years. It’s been an empire, remains one of the most developed countries in Europe and is the birthplace of great thinkers and artists. 

But let’s face it. Ask people on any street what first comes to their mind when they hear “Sweden”, and they’ll answer “ABBA.”

ABBA has, for the past 50 years, invariably been one of the most beloved bands in the world. You’ll be hard-pressed to find people who don’t know at least a handful of ABBA songs.

What’s all this craze with ABBA?

The Swedish quartet, now split up for many decades, has been known to capitalise on a good commercial opportunity. The ABBA Museum is a cradle of love and a rich bounty. If you make it to Stockholm, chances are that you’ll end up here.

But just how big of an ABBA fan do you have to be to properly enjoy it? The Swedish pop group has sold 400 million albums worldwide. And that’s just the official releases. 

I remember seeing bootleg ABBA cassettes in many houses when I was growing up. I can’t be alone.

 More than 30 million people stream the band’s songs monthly on Spotify alone.

And when ABBA Voyage, the virtual concert held in London, was opened, more than 1 million went to see it. Nearly a quarter of these travelled from outside of the UK just to witness it. And tickets are nearly always sold out.

In other words, don’t worry about not being a big enough fan. Apart from puppies and chocolate ice cream, there are few things more universally liked than ABBA’s music.

But is the museum designed more for casual fans or diehards? A bit of both. However, it is the dedicated supporters that will get the most out of this. A large part of the museum includes memorabilia.

Still, the band members who have curated the event have made sure that there are enough activities, colourful pictures and signs to make you care about ABBA’s story.

How to prepare for visiting the ABBA Museum?

Reaching the ABBA museum is straightforward enough, even for first-time visitors to Stockholm. It’s located in what is, essentially, the city centre for leisure. The famous Grona Lund amusement park is practically next door. The esteemed Vasa Museum is a 10-minute walk away. Here’s the exact Google Maps location. 

Tickets cost around 30 Euros per adult. Family packages can be purchased as well. Get your ticket online here and on the official website of the museum. 

It’s best to buy your ticket online and arrive early. You may wait a bit in line. This is a very popular museum. In its first year, nearly 350.000 people visited it. It now has half a million visitors annually.

The Big love for ABBA is also big business. But when have rockstars shied away from giving the people what they want?

How is the museum set up?

One thing that’s great about Scandi museums is how they’re set up. This is no exception. In fact, we noticed similarities to the Ragnarock music museum in Roskilde, Denmark. Both are a lot of fun.

The Museum is set up to provide you with the Story of ABBA. 

You’ll learn about the musicians as teenagers before they get together. You’ll learn about how they wrote and recorded their most famous songs. And you’ll be shown what happened in the final days of the band and beyond that.

The ABBA Museum has, naturally, plenty of music. It has a lot of ways to interact with that music whether through headphones, similar to a silent disco, or through karaoke.

But most of the museum is a giant photo opportunity. A giant ABBA sign welcomes you as you enter. There are costumes and even lifesize sculptures of Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Benny and Bjorn.

Can you easily take photos in such a crowded place? Yes, for the most part! 

The organisers only allow a limited amount of visitors to enter at each time. This means that the museum rarely feels overcrowded. 

Besides that, we’ve noticed that ABBA fans tend to be friendly.

Later, as you move through the exhibit, you’ll be able to take photos with life-size wax-like figures of the four ABBA members.

ABBA was together for only 10 years. Museum memorabilia covers all of this, plus interesting details about the solo careers of the band members.

Particular highlights are concert-related items. 

Famously, ABBA only undertook a few tours when they were together. You’ll be able to see some original stage set elements in this exhibition. 

That should give you a taste of what it must’ve been like to see ABBA live on the famous 1977 Australian Tour.

But what struck us about the members of ABBA is how humble and good-natured they seem. Take, for example, their humble beginnings. 

As teenagers, they played music in so-called “FOLKPARKEN.” You can even see some 1960s-era cars. They’ll help you travel in time.

You will also see the workspace of Bjorn and Benny, ABBA’s songwriters. 

A small cabin where the two would play guitar and piano and come up with songs was recreated for this museum. 

As a fan, it was exciting to see this. And it was interesting to see how little ABBA’s members resembled the cliche about rockstar millionaires.

What are the most popular places in the museum?

For many, of course, the highlight of the museum will be the replicas of the costumes ABBA wore at the Eurovision Contest in 1974. 

ABBA won the contest with the song “Waterloo.” They are the most famous group to have done that.

We’ve seen a lot of smiles as the visitors entered the vocal recording booths. It’s an opportunity for karaoke. 

The Museum lets you feel like Agnetha or Frida as you sing over the backing tracks of some of the band’s most famous tracks. You’ll be able to sing part of the song, but the retro-looking vocal booth will make it worth it.

You can further test out your singing when you join the band on stage! Through the miracle of modern technology, you can become the fifth member of ABBA. 

Holograms or not, you will be able to show your friends actual footage of you singing “Mamma Mia” with ABBA.

We thought it was one of the nicest things we’ve seen in an exhibition or museum. The other visitors seemed to agree!

Additionally, die-hard fans will be able to see the original audio-mixing console where the band’s songs were recorded in Stockholm. There’s also a recreation of the studio environment.

It should be noted that ABBA, even at its height, wrote and recorded all of its songs in Stockholm at Polar Studios.

Geeking out to ABBA

Like other Nordic museums, the way that this is curated makes it fun, even for casual fans. But you’re in for a special treat if you’re a lifelong, geeky fan of the band.

Where else can you witness and sit in the actual helicopter that’s on the cover of the 1976 “Arrival” album? Yes, it’s here.

Where else can you see ABBA’s numerous gold and platinum records from all over the world? Not even in Bjorn or Benny’s living rooms. They’ve donated them for this collection!

And if you’re familiar with the clothes worn by the band members in videos or live performances, you’re going to feel like you’ve gone to heaven. 

Many of the museum’s rooms are filled with memorabilia and detailed information about it. Eddy loved it!

Since every story needs an ending, the final part of the museum is dedicated to the solo careers of the musicians and to the impact of ABBA’s music across the world. 

The Swedish band remains one of the most popular groups in the world even 50 years after it split up. The 2022 reunion album, “Voyage,” was one of the most successful records of the year.

ABBA Museum Merch Store

It’s a large museum. As you walk out, of course, you will do it through the merchandise store.

While the merch is relatively expensive, it is of good quality and should cover most of your needs as an ABBA fan. You can buy everything from t-shirts, Mamma Mia-stamped denim or ABBA-labeled fridge magnets.

We’ve visited several music-related museums across the world. This is one of the best-curated ones. Besides, you get the feeling that the band members poured nearly every single piece of memorabilia that they had into this one.

While it is very popular and slightly overly commercialised in places, visiting the ABBA museum is one of the nicest things to do in Stockholm. I admit that we were a little pessimistic beforehand, but it was great fun!

You can find a detailed video from the ABBA Museum on my YouTube channel: