Stockholm Pass & SL tickets: which one do you actually need?

Two completely different things travel under the word "pass" in Stockholm, and it's easy to mix them up when planning - an attractions pass for free entry, and a public transport ticket for bus, train and ferry. They're not alternatives to each other; they complement each other. This guide sorts out what's in the Go City Pass, what it costs, when it's worth it, and why almost every visitor also needs an SL ticket.

Go City Stockholm Pass - what's included

The Go City Stockholm Pass (formerly the "Stockholm Pass") bundles free entry to around 70 attractions, tours and activities. Go City itself quotes anywhere between roughly 68 and "70+" - the exact number shifts with the current line-up. According to the operator, it includes the Vasa Museum, the open-air museum Skansen, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the Royal Palace, the Nobel Prize Museum, Fotografiska, a Viking museum and Storkyrkan cathedral. On top of that come the sightseeing transport options - the hop-on hop-off bus, the hop-on hop-off boat, and the Stockholm Highlights boat tour.

One thing worth knowing before you buy - it's a digital pass. You buy it online and use it as a QR code in the app; there's no physical card. And not every well-known attraction is included - ABBA The Museum, for instance, is not part of the Go City Pass and needs a separate ticket.

Prices and validity in 2026

The pass comes as a day-based option for one to five consecutive days. The only figure Go City's official site publishes reliably is the 1-day price - 949 SEK for adults and 299 SEK for children aged 6 to 15. For the multi-day passes, Go City uses dynamic pricing; the following figures are commonly cited as a rough guide (adult / child):

• 2 days - around 1,349 / 549 SEK
• 3 days - around 1,699 / 699 SEK
• 4 days - around 1,949 / 749 SEK
• 5 days - around 1,999 / 799 SEK

These multi-day figures come from a third-party source and may differ from Go City's live price - check before you buy. Child passes apply to ages 6 to 15.

There's a quirk in how the validity period works that catches many visitors out - the pass runs on consecutive calendar days, not 24-hour slots. A 3-day pass therefore covers three consecutive days from first use, even if you take a break on one of them. It only activates on first use at an attraction, and that activation can happen within 12 months of purchase. If you never activate it at all, you get a full refund within 90 days of purchase.

When the pass pays off

The rule of thumb is simple - the pass is worth it once you manage several paid top attractions per day. A full day on Djurgården in summer makes this obvious quickly. Bought separately, the Vasa Museum costs 240 SEK in high season, Skansen costs a mid-range to almost three-figure amount depending on the season, and Gröna Lund's "Ticket to Ride" (entry plus unlimited rides) costs 495 SEK. Those three alone add up to around 1,000 SEK - add a boat tour, the palace or the Nobel Prize Museum, and the 3-day pass (around 1,699 SEK) pays for itself after just a handful of stops.

The reverse case matters just as much - when it's not worth it. If you're mainly heading for Stockholm's big state-run collections, the pass saves you almost nothing, because their permanent exhibitions are free anyway (more on that below). The advantage also weakens outside the summer season - Gröna Lund doesn't open until 25 April in 2026 and closes over winter, making it worthless in the pass during that time. And if you're planning days with longer gaps between activities, it's easy to pick too short a validity, since the calendar days run continuously regardless.

The free museums that change the maths

This deserves its own section, because it can tip the calculation - several of Stockholm's best museums charge no entry at all for their permanent collection in 2026:

• Moderna Museet - entry to the permanent collection is free for everyone in 2026. Only special exhibitions cost extra (roughly 150 to 200 SEK). Fridays 18:00 to 20:00 also has seasonal free entry, though not in high summer.
• Nationalmuseum - the permanent collection is likewise free in 2026, with special exhibitions costing adults around 160 SEK. Thursdays 17:00 to 20:00 also has free entry.
• Stadsmuseet - the city museum offers free entry to its collection, as does the sports museum.

One important exception among the major museums - the Historiska museet (Swedish History Museum) is not generally free in 2026. Adults pay 180 SEK, and so do seniors and students; children and under-18s go free. Every day from 16:00 to 17:00 the price halves (90 SEK), and students also pay half price on Sundays. So if you assumed "museums in Stockholm are free anyway", it's worth checking case by case.

The SL ticket - the second, arguably more important pass

Here's the biggest beginner mistake - the Go City Pass does not include an SL public transport ticket. It only covers the sightseeing hop-on hop-off buses and boats, not the underground, buses, trams or Pendeltåg commuter trains. For ordinary journeys around the city you need your own SL ticket - and almost every visitor to Stockholm does.

The good news - SL uses a single fare zone covering the whole of Stockholm County. One valid ticket covers the underground, buses, trams and Pendeltåg across the entire greater Stockholm area, with no zone boundaries to worry about. The main options:

• Single ticket - 43 SEK standard, 26 SEK reduced (seniors 65+, and young people and students up to 20). Valid for 75 minutes including transfers.
• Period tickets - there are 24-hour, 72-hour, 7-day and 30-day tickets. As a guide for 2025/2026, figures of around 180 SEK for 24 hours, around 360 SEK for 72 hours and around 430 to 470 SEK for the 7-day card are commonly cited; reduced fares run roughly a third lower. Official, up-to-date 2026 prices weren't published in a checkable format at the time of writing - treat these as a guide, not a fixed price.

There's a catch at the airport - Arlanda is an exception within the SL network. If you travel there by SL Pendeltåg, you pay an additional Arlanda passage fee of 130 SEK on top of the SL ticket, which is only waived with certain SL period tickets. A standard single ticket alone is not enough for Arlanda. The faster Arlanda Express is a separate private train, isn't part of SL, and has its own, noticeably higher fare. For the cheapest way into the city, see the guide From the airport to the city centre.

Which pass for which kind of visit?

Don't ask "Go City or SL?" - decide on each separately, since most visitors need both, or just the SL ticket:

• A sightseeing marathon with lots of entries - if you're planning several paid top sights per day (Djurgården is ideal for this), the Go City Pass pays off. You'll still need an SL ticket on top of it for getting between stops.
• A relaxed pace, mostly on foot, with free museums - if you're mainly walking, taking in viewpoints and visiting Moderna Museet, Nationalmuseum and Stadsmuseet, you'll usually only need an SL day ticket plus individual tickets for the Vasa Museum or Gröna Lund.
• A short trip with a clear goal - for two or three specific highlights, it's worth quickly checking whether the individual prices come in under the day pass. Often they do.

For getting around the city - from the Tunnelbana to the passenger ferries - see the guide Getting around Stockholm. To see which paid attractions actually fill out the pass, check the overview of Stockholm's attractions.