It is a wonderful place with lots of dessert to choose from at an old mansion surrounded by…read morebeautiful relaxing nature close to water. It is too bad that it's far away from Stockholm but it's worth the visit.    I have three complaints though. 1. A lot of dessers have nuts in them (I'm allergic), 2. There are not many desserts with berries such as blueberry or strawberry pies which you would expect in a such places, and 3. The quiches (they call them "pies" also) got much smaller but the price stayed the same since 7 years ago (or perhaps they raise the price. I don't remember exactly how much they were). You can see in my photos that they look like someone whipped up leftovers to make a meal. We were still hungry after that. Very sad.    My advice is that to eat lunch/dinner elsewhere before/after the visit at this café.

What can I say? A paradise for the people with a sweet tooth. It is very pricy though and they say…read moreit's a "cake buffet" which its not. It's just a lot of different cakes, cookies and other items - and you pay for each one of them. I'm not that impressed of the cakes and cookies. I like the view and the area more and that is why I've returned more than once, and the reason it gets more than two stars. I could skip the "fika" all together and save the money for something else. But I guess it's something you should experience at least once .. eating sweets until you bursts ..

A beautiful and enchanted castle not far from Stockholm. I would never have known about it if it…read morewasn't for my friend that said I had to visit it while in Sweden. It was a cool and foggy day, what a great back drop to such a place. Lush gardens, though not much to look at the time. I can imagine the beautiful gardens in the spring and summer seasons. The castle is deceptively big.

Going into the castle itself is pretty amazing. We had the best tour guide ever! Learning about a…read morelot of the characters throughout swedish history was actually really fun. She made it sound more like a soap opera than anything! Taking her time to point at any number of the 4,600 portraits from the late 15th century to the present day. Gripsholm houses the world's oldest national portrait collection! Pretty cool stuff! Drama, drama, drama! ;) You can take the tour (recommended) or just walk around the castle--or both! There were so many rooms we just ran through after the tour finished and didn't really get to fully experience because there wasn't enough time! I suggest getting there early, wearing comfortable shoes and really making a day of it. This place makes for an amazing day or weekend trip! There's the Gripsholms hotel, which is a very historic inn just across the water from the castle. It had a delicious restaurant and an enjoyable atmosphere! You can sit outside in the summer on the patio and enjoy the view of the giant castle from across the way. The small town Mariefred there has a lot of little shops and very old buildings that give you a feeling of the past. I also saw a miniature small steam train you can visit (possibly even ride) near the castle. I think you would probably have to google more about that. The summer was a nice time because you can go outside and sit by the water, bring a picnic or take a break in the beautiful surroundings. I also hear there is some fun things in the city over the winter and fall like festivals and such. There is also a beautiful ruin of a church nearby you can get to easily by car and an expansive golf course. I look forward to going again sometime. A great weekend getaway for couples!

This is a prime location to eat overlooking the castle from across the water. So, warning: the…read moreprices reflect that! I don't think the food was extraordinarily memorable, but pretty good! We didn't stay at the hotel and just ate at the restaurant. The patio is fantastic to sit on during a sunny day! There was an annoying fly problem that kind of hampered the visit just a teeny tiny bit. From walking through the hotel lobby, you can see that this is a really historic little Inn. I would be curious to see the quality of the rooms. Unfortunately, I can't tell you that. I can tell you that I think this place may be one of the oldest Inns in Sweden (if not THE oldest). I think a castle tour followed up by dinner on the patio here was perfect for a sunny summer day! I highly recommend this place for couples and families looking for a daytime or weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle of Stockholm.