Stockholm Hotels

But people don’t travel to Stockholm just to immerse themselves in a city of trilby-topped hipsters. With its bridges and islands, towers and steeples, Renaissance splendour and glass skyscrapers, Stockholm is also an architectural nirvana. In fact, as capital cities go, you’d be hard pushed to find anywhere so arrestingly attractive (although if you could get arrested for being attractive, Stockholm would have very few locals walking around).

From the bustling City Centre, you can cruise via water over Lake Malaren, pass the historical façade of Old Town, and catch views of the Royal Palace. Disembark and take a century-old tram through the lavish shopping towns of Norrmalm and Ostermalm, or just soak up Sodermalm’s gritty hipness – and hope that it’s contagious.

To most people, Sweden is best-known for anything to do with initials – IKEA and ABBA spring to mind. But there is of course far more to it than flat-packed furniture and infuriatingly catchy middle-of-the-road pop music. Stockholm is the best place to discover that for yourself.

Stockholm’s Top 10

Stockholm Local

When you’re in a city built on 14 islands, exploring different places is half the attraction. Board a ferry and explore Stockholm’s top neighbourhoods, from the old to the oh-so-modern.

Gamla Stan

The trouble with most historic towns is that they’re usually both really cheesy and kind of boring. Gamla Stan, which dates back to the 13^th century, is neither. Featuring historical buildings like the Stockholm Cathedral, the Nobel Museum and the Royal Palace, half the fun is simply wandering around the cobblestone streets. Have lunch at Den Gyldene Freden, Stockholm’s oldest restaurant – prices have increased slightly since 1722, but it’s a great excuse to treat yourself in the name of sightseeing.

Djurgarden

OK, so with attractions such as the Vasa Museum and Skansen, you’d be daft to miss the forested central island of Djurgarden. But you’d also be daft if you visited only for the tourist attractions. Djurgarden’s gardens and parks are as idyllic and calm as Grona Lunds is hectic, so make some time for walking around the Djurgardsbrunn Canal and Blockhusudden.

Djurgarden might be the strolling central of Stockholm (a title more prestigious than it sounds), but it’s still acceptable to get around on the Djurgarden trams – some of which are almost 100 years old.

Sodermalm

With the trendsetting epicentre of Sodermalm locally known as ‘SoFo’, it’s easy to compare Stockholm’s gritty-turned-trendy town with New York or London. But it would also be incorrect, because Swedish hipsters are in a league all of their own. View them from the Montelius Vagen walking tour, or over a mid-morning snack at the Fafangan Café, before perhaps updating your own threads at stylish store Kocksgatan 17. Follow it up with a coffee amidst the eclectic knickknacks at Gildas Rum, or something stronger at the ironically named Grandpa.

Norrmalm

Yes, Stockholm is expensive, but it still plays to splash the cash a bit in one of the world’s leading fashion and design capitals. Norrmalm is the commercial centre of the archipelago, and a great excuse to splurge on edible delicacies (for the saltiest meats and softest wheels of cheese, you can’t go past Hotorgshallen) or pretty much anything else. In fact, for ‘anything else’, head to the busy pedestrian shopping street of Drottninggatan. Don’t collect too many shopping bags, though – Norrmalm is also an entertainment destination and you want to have a free hand to hold a cocktail at the nightlife hub of Odenplan Square.

Ostermalm

Close to the city centre is Ostermalm, an affluent commercial and residential area. Sweden’s elite (and cash-dropping jet-setters) find spending nirvana in Stureplan Square, while Karlaplan contains many of Stockholm’s museums. For those not fussed about fitting into size zero designer threads, the 1880s Ostermalm Food Hall is a destination in itself. Numerous cafes where you can sample Swedish delicacies open at the fashionably late hour of lunchtime onwards (mornings in this bustling district are probably reserved for nursing hangovers).

Stockholm Eat & Drink

One thing the Swedes don’t do is boring. The cuisine in Stockholm is often as intriguing as the architecture, so open your mind (and wallet – good food doesn’t come cheap) at these dining destinations.

Stockholm Events

A Furniture Fair in any other city might be dull, but in one of the world’s leading design capitals it’s anything but. Takes place in February, when the nights are looong.

Can’t figure out where to wear that gaudy Viking helmet you bought at the souvenir store? If it’s spring (April, to be exact), try Walpurgis Night – a Swedish tradition wrapped in Scandinavian Viking history.

Incredible food isn’t exactly a rarity in Stockholm, but the reasonable prices at June’s Taste Stockholm are worth holding out for.

The Swedes get pretty excited about summer – so much so that at the Midsummer’s Eve celebration in June they put flowers in their hair and dance around a maypole holding hands.

Stockholm is at the forefront of experimental electronica, but it’s happy to leave the jazz up to international acts at the Stockholm Jazz Festival in July.

The Stockholm Summer Games in July is one of Stockholm’s funnest events –and you don’t have to settle for being a spectator.

Liberal Stockholm is the place to be in August. The Pride Festival is the biggest and brightest in Scandinavia.

The cultural capital gets even artsier in November for the Stockholm Film Festival.

December’s Nobel Prize Day isn’t open to the public, but it’s hard not to get wrapped up in the excitement of Stockholm’s most important annual event.

When To Go

Rates go up in the high tourist season of summer, but longer hours and more attractions balance things out.

Many travellers love the nearly 24-hour days of sunlight in summer, but some find it a bit unsettling.

Stockholm is not particularly rainy, but winters can drop to below freezing, meaning sneakers and a few jumpers just won’t cut it.

What To Miss

The main streets of Gamla Stan are pretty, but you get better value for money off the beaten track.

For a city at the forefront of architecture, the Stockholm Arkitekturmuseet is a huge disappointment.

A traditional Swedish spa should be at the top of your list if you want to be surrounded by hairy old men. Otherwise, save your cash.

Getting Around

The city centre is small, so use your feet and save cab rides for travelling at night.

For getting a bit further out, busses are quick thanks to special bus lanes.

Stockholm is an archipelago – make the most of the water and take a ferry.

General Information

Attractions

Events

Climate