Uppland · Stockholm County
Ekerö
A municipality made up entirely of islands, around 140 of them in Lake Mälaren immediately west of Stockholm. Two World Heritage sites, 29 171 inhabitants, oak pastures, bathing spots and farm shops, and twelve kilometres from Brommaplan to the centre.
The map is simplified, but the islands, the boundary and the places are real.
Ekerö in brief
- Province
- Uppland
- County
- Stockholm County
- Municipal area
- 384 km², of which 217 km² land and 167 km² water
- Population
- 29 171
- Islands
- around 140, the largest being Lovön, Färingsö and Adelsö
- World Heritage
- Drottningholm (1991) and Birka and Hovgården (1993)
- Nature reserves
- 11
- Coat of arms
- An oak leaf with acorns in silver, registered in 1985
Driving distances
- Drottningholm9 km
- Brommaplan12 km
- Stenhamra13 km
- Stockholm C19 km
- Södertälje (via the Ekerö ferry)24 km
- Hovgården, Adelsö29 km
- Arlanda52 km
- Strängnäs72 km
- Uppsala82 km
Population from Statistics Sweden, 31 August 2026. Area from Statistics Sweden's land statistics 2019. Distances calculated on OpenStreetMap data from Ekerö centre.
The year on the Mälaren islands
Four seasons on the same water
Lake Mälaren sets the calendar. Summer belongs to the bathing spots, the boats and Birka. Autumn belongs to the apples, with cider presses and pick-your-own on Färingsö and Munsö. In winter the lake freezes, and people skate outside the palace. Spring arrives with the break-up of the ice and the first boat to Björkö.
June to August
Summer
Bathing spots around every island, boats to Birka and Drottningholm, strawberries to pick yourself.
September to November
Autumn
Apples and cider, Konstringen open studios, the oak pastures of Eldgarnsö and mushrooms in the woods of Lovö.
December to February
Winter
Long-distance skating on Lake Mälaren, the Ekebyhov ski slope, Christmas at the palace and Christmas markets.
March to May
Spring
The ice breaks up, spring flowers in the oak pastures, Birka opens and the Drottningholm park turns green.
World Heritage since 1991
Drottningholm
Work on the palace on Lovön began in 1662 to designs by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder, for the dowager queen Hedvig Eleonora, and since 1981 it has been the royal family's home. The park is open all year and costs nothing.
The grounds include the Chinese Pavilion, the pleasure palace from 1769, and the Drottningholm Court Theatre from 1766, one of the few theatres in the world where eighteenth-century stage machinery is still in use. It is a quarter of an hour by bus from Brommaplan, or by boat from Stockholm in summer.
More about DrottningholmWorld Heritage since 1993
Birka
Sweden's first town stood on Björkö, founded around 750 and abandoned in the late 900s. What remains are around 3 000 graves, the town rampart and the hill fort, and across the sound the royal estate of Hovgården on Adelsö.
The museum, the reconstructed village and the guided tours are run by Strömma and open from May to October. The boat leaves from Klara Mälarstrand in Stockholm, or takes the short crossing from the jetty at Hovgården if you have driven over on the Adelsö ferry.
More about BirkaThe islands
Stockholm's green back garden
Ekerö is a suburb on paper and countryside in practice. Ekerö centre and Stenhamra are built-up areas with schools, supermarkets and commuters, but only a few kilometres away the oak pastures, fields and farm shops take over. Färingsö has Svartsjö Palace and the old quarry at Stenhamra, Munsö has the round church and Hilma af Klint's studio, Adelsö has the royal estate, and Helgö the finds that put the island on the map long before Birka.
This site gathers what there is: where to stay, where to eat, the farm shops, what to do and how to get here. Every detail is checked against a source. What we could not verify is not here. Read about the islands.
Common questions
- Where is Ekerö?
- In Lake Mälaren, immediately west of Stockholm. The municipality consists entirely of islands, around 140 of them, and is reached by car along Ekerövägen from Brommaplan, by SL bus from the same place, or by ferry from Slagsta in the south. From Brommaplan to Ekerö centre is twelve kilometres.
- What are the two World Heritage sites?
- Drottningholm Palace on Lovön, a World Heritage site since 1991 and the royal family's home since 1981, and the Viking town of Birka on Björkö together with the royal estate of Hovgården on Adelsö, a World Heritage site since 1993. Both are in Ekerö municipality and both can be reached by boat from Stockholm.
- How many people live in Ekerö?
- 29 171 in the whole municipality according to Statistics Sweden. About 12 332 of them live in the locality of Ekerö, which covers Tappström, Träkvista and the areas around the centre, and 3 636 in Stenhamra on Färingsö.
- Do you need a car?
- Not for Drottningholm, Ekerö centre or Birka: there is a bus from Brommaplan and a boat from Stockholm respectively. For Adelsö, Munsö and the farm shops on Färingsö a car or a bike is the practical choice. The buses reach the villages, but not often. The Munsö–Adelsö ferry is free; the ferry from Slagsta charges for cars.
- What are the Mälaröarna?
- The collective name for the group of islands that make up the municipality. The three largest islands are Lovön, Färingsö and Adelsö. Post-glacial land rise has joined several islands together: Munsön is attached to Ekerön, and Lindö to Lovön. The municipality was formed in 1971 from the rural municipalities of Ekerö and Färingsö.
About this site
Ekerö.com
An independent site about the municipality, made by a small editorial team with no ties to the council or tourist office. We list businesses, gather events and try to answer what people actually want to know. Run something on the Mälaren islands and want to be listed? Get in touch.