Stockholms Spelmuseum

Visiting a museum in a historic European city doesn’t have to mean wandering around dusty old exhibits. The relatively new Spelmuseum in Stockholm is the only museum in Scandinavia that lets you explore the artifacts and relics of our more recent past, joining the growing ranks of museums devoted to video game history.

Opened in 2016, the Spelmuseum covers the evolution of video games from their pixelated beginnings the more mind-blowing virtual reality of today. Spread out across a number of thin, themed exhibition halls, the museum holds a collection of video game-related objects ranging from Mario toys to a Virtual Boy. There are old PC games and small bits of decades-old gaming hardware you’ve likely never heard of.

If you feel like you’ve seen a video game museum before (or are just a huge nerd who is expertly versed on the consoles of yore), these bits of gaming history are presented among art inspired by video games like crocheted screenshots and unique framed pieces of pixel art. 

Of course, a museum devoted to video games wouldn’t be much without playable games. The Spelmuseum also offers an array of stations where you can play classic video games and older arcade games. They’ve also got more modern VR experiences you can immerse yourself in.

Update as of September 2021: The museum is currently closed indefinitely.