I visited this WHS in July 2018. To get there and back, I took the Drottningholm Ferry from near the Rathaus jetty as it was included in the Stockholm Pass (not recommended!) together with the Heritage Ticket which included visits to the Drottningholm Palace, the Chinese Pavilion and the Theatre. The gardens are free to visit.

Having visited several palaces around Europe, WH listed and not, I wasn't too impressed by the palace interior and if you don't have much time you won't miss much by skipping it and heading directly towards the gardens. The exterior is quite similar to the Augustusburg Castle in Bruhl, Germany and is rather plain to be considered a miniature version of Versailles. It is still used as the residence of the Swedish Royal Family and some parts are obviously out of bounds. The overall visit of the Palace interior and exterior was a way comparable to the Blenheim Palace in the UK. The best light for photography of the palace facade is in the afternoon.

Approaching the palace by boat was rather pleasant and the sunlight in the morning is great for photos of the rear part of the palace. After visiting the palace interior, I passed through the iron gate with the golden royal emblem to visit the huge gardens. I had already got a glimpse of their size from my window seat upon arrival in Stockholm. The highlights of the gardens were the empty aviary, the Chinese pavilion and the guards' tent, which was built as part of the backdrop for the Court theatrical events but was used as a royal barracks. Nowadays, the guards' tent has been converted into a cosy covered picnic spot and it contains the UNESCO WHS inscription certificate too. I preferred the Chinese Pavilion in Potsdam, Germany even though here I particularly liked the lovely wallpaper with different types of birds.

Last but certainly not least, I headed again towards the palace and noticed that I had overlooked a rather plain building just next to it which housed the Drottningholm Theatre (photo), built in 1766 at the request of Queen Ulrika. The theatre auditorium is decorated using paint and the faux marble effect, stucco, and papier mâché. The true highlight of this theatre and of this WHS for me was the wooden stage machinery which is operated by hand and is still in full working condition. It includes wind, thunder and cloud machines, as well as traps and moving waves (it was amazing to see and hear the machinery in action during the guided tour and it must have been an incredible experience back in the days when no computer and audio effects existed. About 30 stage sets have been preserved, all decorated with themes from 18th century.

Today the theatre offers new productions of 17th and 18th century operas every summer with short guided tours before the performances. Should I revisit Stockholm in Summer again, I promised myself to book a seat. A short film that shows the unique stage machinery in action can be seen in the theatre shop after the tour or right here: https://youtu.be/EdRUdoKfPvo