Event: Sweden - Stockholm

Butterfly House

When:	Daily; not Mon
Where:	Butterfly House (Fjarilshuset)
Costs:	SKr70; students SKr60; 4-16 yrs SKr30
Opening Hours:	Apr-Sep: Tue-Fri 10am-4pm; Sat & Sun 11am-5.30pm Oct-Mar: Tue-Fri 10am-3pm; Sat & Sun 11am-4pm

Haga Park provides a welcome respite from the plentiful distractions of Stockholm. Tucked amongst its expansive greenery sits the Butterfly House - always ablaze with colour.

The Butterfly House is a tropical environment, where the temperatures and humidity are always kept high. During the year, several thousand butterflies live out their short (three-week) lives here - at any one time you can see about 400 different species.

Most of the butterflies are exotic for Europe - one of the more impressive is the Atlas Moth, which often has a wingspan of up to 30cm.

Although the venue name does not give it away, the Butterfly House also embraces a small haven for larger winged creatures. The Birdhouse covers an area of 800 square metres with lush vegetation and winding streams. Around 100 birds of about 40 different species fly freely in the special environment that has been created for them, ranging in size from the small Zosterop to the large Ibis.

Haga Park was created during the 18th century under King Gustav III´s instructions - originally as a kitchen garden to the royal court. When you have finished with pupae and feathers, it is worth exploring the elegant park - it contains many exotic and historical buildings as well as numerous monuments.