The larger islands are Värmdö, Ingarö, Fågelbrolandet, Djurö/Vindö, Svartsö, Möja, Granholmen, Runmarö and Nämdö.

Gustavsberg is the main town, and there are also several villages and suburbs spread out such as Djurö, Stavsnäs, Mörtnäs, Hemmesta, Brunn, Strömma and Sandhamn.

As the coast climate was not suitable for traditional cereal crops, the agricultural efforts were often directed towards the cultivation of potatoes.

After the introduction of steam boat lines around 1850, wealthy people in Stockholm started to build vacation houses around the stations.

When today's main roads were built in the 1930s, only the steam boats serving islands remained, and the expansion continued.

During the summer the population of the municipality triples due to the large number of tourists and vacation houses.

The municipality has no rail connection, but is served by a number of bus routes operated by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, SL.