Two Works Of Art, Side By Side, In Stockholm

Silver Whisper docked yesterday at Stockholm's Stadsgårdshamnen, just steps away from the fine new museum, Fotografiska.

It was not raining yesterday in Stockholm, and that was  good thing when it came to exploring the city for cruise passengers (me one of them) departing at 6 p.m. on Silver Whisper.

Arriving before noon, I had time to get out to see some of the city’s attractions. One of the newest ones was right next to the ship, Fotografiska.

If you’re a photographer, you’ll appreciate it when I say that Annie Lebovitz’s work is exhibited here. She was here to open the museum, in fact, just a few months ago.

Admiring the work of Annie Lebovitz at Stockholm's Fotografiska museum.

Fotografiska thinks of itself as an “important center for contemporary photography.” The ambition is to exhibit world-renown photographers, many of whom have never shown in Sweden.

The museum is situated in the heart of the city, an easy walk from Gamla Stan, or also accessible by the Hop On, Hop Off sightseeing boats. Fotografiska is housed in an attractive Art Nouveau style building dating from the turn of last century when it served a a customs control, to monitor goods coming into Sweden.

I spent about an hour browsing richly evocative photographs in the museum, which was busy with both tourists and locals alike on the Wednesday afternoon when I was there. If your ship is docked at Stadsgårdshamnen, visiting the museum is a no-brainer. If docked farther away, use the Hop On, Hop Off boat to get to the museum.

Fotografiska costs SEK95 entry (or use your Stockholm Card to enter for free) and is open daily from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. except for Christmas, New Year’s Eve  and the all-important Midsummer’s Eve.

Before going, you might browse the website, www.fotografiska.eu, of join the more than 68,000 others who “like” the museum at its Facebook fan page, nearly all in Swedish.