Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish royal family and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, sitting on an island in Lake Mälaren about 11 kilometres west of Stockholm. The palace, baroque gardens, and an 18th-century court theatre are the core attractions — the theatre is one of the best-preserved from the period anywhere in the world and still hosts opera performances in summer using the original 18th-century stage machinery.
The Chinese Pavilion in the garden is an elaborate rococo folly, built as a birthday surprise for Queen Louisa Ulrika in 1753. The formal baroque gardens, with their neat parterres and geometric hedges, extend behind the palace. Getting there by boat from the city centre (around an hour) is part of the appeal — the approach by water, past forested islands and wooden villas, is lovely.