Stockholm

Introduction

Towers of Nordiska Muséet

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Sweden's capital Stockholm is situated on the east coast of southern/central Sweden. Its coastal location is not easy to overlook when visiting the city situated on 14 islands. All the water in the city has earned it the nickname "Venice of the North", but unlike Venice the water is clean and clear as you would expect in Nordic countries. You can even see fishermen fishing right off the sidewalks and bridges, with salmon and sea trout being the main targets. At the right time of year you can even see salmon climbing the small waterfalls.

At Stockholm’s heart lie the cobbled streets of Gamla Stan ("Old Town") where most buildings date from the 16th to 19th century and house numerous little shops, cafés, restaurants, museums and hotels, in addition to the 18th century Royal Palace. Although many of the stores lining the main narrow streets contain the usual tacky items associated with popular tourist attractions, the area is unique, cozy and beautiful. The moment you turn off the main streets you are greeted by a plethora of old buildings and tiny backstreet courtyards, adding to the charm that has made this area so popular. Originally founded in the 13th century, Stockholm's roots might go back even further than Gamla Stan lets on but the city itself is as modern as they come and it's considered one of the most trendy and fashionable cities of Scandinavia. Stockholm also houses over 100 art galleries and 70 museums, no small feat for a city with a population of just 1.6 million, including the metropolitan area.

Neighbourhoods

Stockholm is by far the largest city in Sweden and has many neighbourhoods and suburbs. The one that is most important for travellers though is the inner city, or innerstaden in Swedish.

The inner city consists of:

• Norrmalm - the major commercial district, with plenty of shopping opportunities. The southern part of Norrmalm is usually regarded as the absolute centre of Stockholm and contains the central train station and metro.
• Östermalm - a popular residential area, also includes Skansen and Djurgarden.
• Gamla Stan (Old Town) - the historical centre includes the royal Palace and the Swedish parliament.
• Södermalm - nicknamed SoFo, this is a popular place for both travellers and locals, with lots of pubs, restaurants and shops.
• Kungsholmen - east of Norrmalm, with residential areas, pubs and restaurants all in the mix. The City Hall is at its eastern end, visible from Gamla Stan/Ridderholmen.

Finally, outside the inner city you'll find large areas with residential areas:

• Northern and western suburbs - includes Bromma airport, and the suburbs of Västerort, Ekerö, Solna, Sundbyberg and Danderyd.
• Southern and eastern suburbs - Söderort, Vaxholm, Liljeholmen, Lidingö (including Millesgården), Nacka, Värmdö, Huddinge, Haninge, Tyresö and the city of Södertälje.

Sights and Activities

Drottningholm Palace

Drottningholm is a small locality in the Ekerö municipality to the east of the city of Stockholm itself. The only reason to come here, makes for a nice half daytrip: The Drottningholm Palace and its gardens. This royal domain is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and was originally built in the late 16th century. It served as a residence of the Swedish royal court for most of the 18th century. Apart from being the private residence of the Swedish royal family, the palace is a popular tourist attraction. Apart from the palace and its gardens, there are also the theater and Chinese Pavilion which deserve a visit. Drottningholm is easily reached by taking the metro to T-Brommaplan and an onward bus (lines 301-323 and 176/177 go there on a regular basis).

Skogskyrkogården

Skogskyrkogården (The Woodland Cemetery) is one of those extraordinary examples of beautiful cemeteries. Scandinavian cemeteries are almost designed to walk in and are an attraction in its own right and this one tops the list for sure. Listed as a UNESC World Heritage Site since 1994, it combines a natural setting with the development of architecture, making a great mix to walk around for a couple of hours. It was designed in 1915 by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz and work began in 1917. It is located in the Enskededalen, south of Södermalm and easily reached by metro in 5 minutes or so. The cemetery is just east of the metrostation and excess is free of charge. Please not that there are hundreds of funerals each year, so respect the fact that people might not be here to see the cemetery but instead bury a loved one! The most famous person that has its final resting place here, probably is Greta Garbo.

Vasa Museum

Sweden, Stockholm, Vasa Museum

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The Vasa museum is a very special maritime museum as it is build around its mean piece: The Vasa, the only almost complete original warship from the 17th century on display in the world. The warship Vasa sank in 1628 on it's maiden voyage after only a few kilometres in the harbour of Stockholm. The ship was salvaged in 1961 and could be seen in an improvised museum, until the new museum was opened in 1990. In the museum there are guided tours, and it is recommendable to watch the film about the ship that is shown. Besides the ship itself, the collection also shows how it was built, how lives would have been on board and why it sunk. The museum also showcases four other floating museum ships: the ice breaker Sankt Erik (launched 1915), the lightvessel Finngrundet (1903), the torpedo boat Spica (1966) and the rescue boat Bernhard Ingelsson (1944).

Others Sights and Activities

• City hall is appropriately considered the symbol of Stockholm with its majestic towers and location overlooking the waters. The city hall's Golden ballrooms hosts the annual Nobel prize banquet.
• Old town (Gamla Stan) is one of the first places that a visitor to the city visits for the first time or re-visits as it has a special old grace and beauty about it. Some special sights that one shouldn't miss in the old town are the: iron boy (jarnpojken) behind the Finnish church, St. George and the Dragon statue at the Cathedral of Stockholm (Storkrykan) and the old square of Gamla Stan (Stortorget) where there are nice cafes all around and christmas markets in december.
• Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet).
• Kungliga Myntakabinettet - The Royal Coin Cabinet.
• Swedish Parliament (Riksdagshuset).
• The Royal Armoury (Livrustkammaren).
• Postmuseum.
• Medeltidsmuseum.
• Nobel Museum.
• Museum of National Antiquities (Historiska Museet) is located on Narvavägen, within walking distance of Vasa Museet.
• Djurgården - basically much of the island to the west of Gamla Stan, also includes a small zoo and nice walking routes in the city's natural enviroments.
• Nordiska Museet is a museum on Swedish culture founded by Arthur Hazelius and is located next to the Vasa museum.
• Skansen is a nice open air museum supposedly the oldest in the world and is located on Djurgården.
• Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde museum is the lovely former home of Prins Eugens and now state-owned museum. The Prince was an artist and many of his works are exhibited at the museum, along with his art collections. Art exhibitions are also held there. The museum has a lovely cafe with great walnut bread. To reach the museum, one has to go past Skansen on Bus 47.
• Junibacken is a children's museum comprising of the characters from Sweden's most famous children's book writer Astrid Lindgren.
• Grona Lund is an amusement park more popular with teenagers.
• Stockholm National Museumof Art is located on Södra Blasieholmshamnen, off the elite Ostermalm street, Strandvägen.
• Kungsträdgården, close to Sergelstorg, is a popular meeting place and event location in both summer and winter, with the annual restaurant festival held here in the summer and the ice rink in the winter among numerous other events. The tourist center is located here.
• Gustav Adolfstorg, near the Kungsträdgården metro station, is a public square which has the Royal Opera House where ballet and opera performances are given. Also, facing the Opera house is the Dance Museum which exhibits dance costumes and forms of dances as well as gives free performances and sample courses. Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence are located on this square.
• Sergelstorg may well be one of the most famous landmarks of Stockholm as it marks the centre of the town, with a huge pedestrian public space that is used for meetings, celebrations and christmas markets. It is also literally the hub of the metro as the underground trains start and end here at T-Centralen. The Kulturhuset overlooks the square and the many roads branch off to various parts of the city.

Historic Stockholm

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• Hotorget is a popular market square, leading away from Sergelstorg, that is a fruit and vegetable market during the day and also a flea market on Sundays. The square is overlooked by the Royal Concert Hall, Filmstaden Sergel and the Hötorgshallen food market.
• Lidingö - At the other end of the red line, one can reach the island of Lidingö using the special train, Lidingöbanan, or walking over the bridge from Ropsten. This area is a place worth visiting for its large woody areas and it is nice to take a bus that takes one around the island.
• Of special interest within this island are the Raoul Wallenberg monument in front of the commune hall. Raoul Wallenberg was born in Lidingo though his childhood home was destroyed by fire in the 1930's.
• Millesgarden is one of the most famous tourist destinations of Stockholm. The home and works of Carl Milles is worth visiting. An especially lovely sculpture is a tiny bronze work of a park bench with seats on both sides: with a couple cuddling on one side and a homeless person huddled in a sleep on the other side. Look out for this lovely work over the stone wall under the shade of a tree, close to the entrance of his art workshop.
• August Strindberg museum is the apartment where he spent the last years of his life and it includes his library. Of interest to his fans as well as general theatre enthusiasts is the Intimate theatre (Intima Teater) on Norra Bantorget, a small but highly regarded theatre started by Strindberg in the last years of his life and now shows performances of his work as well as others, including rare English performances.
• Engelbrektskyrkan is located on Östermalmsgatan, close to Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan. The loveliest part of the church is the tiny courtyard behind the church which is partially walled off and has huge trees providing shade and which gives one privacy though overlooking a busy street. Great place for meditating and reading.
• Botkyrka kyrka is an interesting 12th century stone church amidst the fields close to the Hallunda/Norsborg station (end of the red line) worth the visit.

Weather

Stockholm has moderately warm summers, between 19 °C and 22 °C from June to September, but 35 °C the record. Nights are around 13 °C or 14 °C. Winters last from December to March with temperatures around zero during the day, -5 °C degrees at night and an absolute low of -28 °C. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, but with some more rain in summer and quite some snow in winter.

Getting There

By Plane

Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) is the national airline of Sweden (and Denmark and Norway) and in Sweden it is based at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN). International destinations with SAS from Stockholm include several dozens of destinations in Europe like Amsterdam, Bergen, Berlin, Brussels, Burgas, Copenhagen, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Helsinki, Istanbul, London, Manchester, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Newark, Oslo, Paris, St Petersburg, Split, Trondheim and Zürich. Most of these are also served with many other airlines from European countries. They also fly from here to Chicagoand seasonally to Athens, Edinburgh, Malaga, Malta, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Prague, Rome and Tromso. The airport has 5 terminals. Other places served outside Europe with several airlines are Bangkok, Baghdad, Tehran, Kuala Lumpur, Addis Ababa, Erbil, Doha, Amman, Aleppo, Damascus, Tel Aviv, New York and Beijing. Many charter airlines and lowcost airlines use the airport as well, like Norwegian Air Shuttle.

To/from the airport

• Rail: from the airport, The Arlanda Express high speed train is the quickest way (approximately 20 minutes) to the centre of Stockholm which is about 42 kilometres away. It costs 260 SEK for a one way ticket for adults. Tickets are available from machines at the airport, some of which allow you to pay with a credit card. For a fee of 50 SEK can you buy the ticket on the train. One can also use the Upptåget trains that go between Uppsala and Upplands Väsby and change in Upplands Väsby to suburban train to Stockholm. This option is especially good when you want to go to the suburban train network. Express trains operated by SJ to Stockholm Central Station and Uppsala also stop at Märsta station. Upptåget, operated by UL, is a commuter train service covering Upplands Väsby - Stockholm-Arlanda Airport - Uppsala - Gävle. Check the Swedish Railway Website for options.
• Bus: For less than half the price there is the Flygbussarna with a travel time of approximately 40 minutes and costing 119 SEK single (99 SEK when bought online) and 199 SEK return. It stops at several locations in northern Stockholm County as well as Stockholm City Centre and Stockholm Central Station. It takes a bit longer to travel by during rush hours (about 08:00-10:00am and 4:00-6:00pm). Swebus operates buses as well and is even cheaper at 79 SEK for a single ticket bought online. They operate 1-2 times and hour, 4 times during Monday-Friday peak hours. http://sl.se|Storstockholms Lokaltrafik]] also operates buses (line 583) but you have to swith to the suburban trains in Märsta. Buses operated by Upplands Lokaltrafik travel between Stockholm-Arlanda Airport and Uppsala (bus no. 801 and 802) as well as Enköping to the west (bus no. 803).
• Shuttle: Airport Shuttles are around 190 SEK for a single ticket when pre-booked at least 12 hours in advance.
• Expensive taxis and numerous companies offering rental cars are other options to get to/from the airport. Taxis start at around 450 SEK from the airport to the city centre, slightly cheaper from Stockholm to Arlanda. Check Airport Cab or Taxi Solna for options and booking.

There are two more airports near Stockholm: Stockholm-Skavsta Airport and Stockholm-Bromma Airport. The first is actually near Nykoping, about 100 kilometres south of the capital, while Bromma is nearest to the city centre but operates fewer flights (mainly domestic flights).

By Train

Gamla Stan Street (Old Town), Stockholm

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Stockholm has good train connections to Norway, Denmark and Germany, with onward connections further away, for example to London.
Norway
NSB (Norwegian State Railways) operates trains between Oslo and Stockholm. Trains also link Narvik in the north of Norway with Stockholm.
Germany
Trains from Hamburg travel directly to Stockholm, via Copenhagen.

By Bus

Eurolines, Säfflebusen and Swebus Express all have connections to and from Copenhagen in Denmark. There are also connections from Stockholm to Oslo with these operators. There are a few direct buses from Stockholm to Tornio in Finland each week, provided by Tapanis Buss.

By Boat

Finland

• Silja Line and Tallink between Turku and Stockholm.
• Viking Line and Silja Line between Helsinki and Stockholm.

Aland

• From Stockholm to Mariehamn with Viking Line, Silja Line, Birka Cruises and Tallink

Estonia

• Tallink between Stockholm and Tallinn.

Latvia

• Stockholm to Riga with Riga Sealine.

Poland

• Pol Ferries between Nymashamn (just south of Stockholm) and Gdansk.

Getting Around

By Car

Stockholm has a system where you pay to enter the centre, which costs even more when entering during morning and late evening rush hours. Add to that high parking rates and you'll see why visiting the city by car is not the most welcoming way.

By Public Transport

SL is the company running all public transportation in Stockholm. The city is separated into three zones; A, B and C. Tickets are valid in all modes of public transport for one hour in the respective zones. There are also Travelcards available for unlimited journeys during the time of validity. For comprehensible information about the Stockholm public transport in English please see this guide.

By Foot

Stockholm's centre is easily navigated on foot, especially if you stay in and around Gamla Stan, Södermalm and the southern part of Norrmalm. Even walking along the Strandvägen towards Skansen and Djurgarden doesn't pose any problems if you are reasonably fit. And remember there is always a metro, tram or ferry that can take you back again.

Eat

For a wide range of restaurants in Stockholm Allt om Stockholm offers many tips, and has addresses to most restaurants in Stockholm with ratings as well. Unfortunately only in Swedish. Cafes and restaurants in Gamla Stan are lovely places to have a meal.

Low Range

• Kokyo - Kokyo is a Japanese restaurant offering a wide variety of vegan and meat/fish dishes in the range of 75 to 150SEK.
• There are relatively cheap eating places around Hotorget. At the Hötorgshallen, there is a vegetarian cafe which serves nice lunch buffets for under 100SEK.
• Herman's - Serves a big vegetarian buffet (165-195SEK). Some hot meals, lots of raw food and fantastic pastries and cakes for dessert. Student discount: eat 2, pay for 1. Vegan Wednesdays. At summertime, dinner is best eaten in the garden, with a great view over Stockholm. Lunch is cheaper (100SEK) and usually less crowded. Address: Fjällgatan 23B, Price: 100-195SEK
• Kafé 44 - Legendary straight edge vegan punk club at Södermalm. The clientel is mostly anarchists, socialists and different alternative people. Food and coffee are extremely cheap (coffee 10SEK, lunch 55SEK, sandwiches 30-45SEK, pastries 15-20SEK), and there are bands playing in the basement a few nights a week. Address: Tjärhovsgatan 46
• Jerusalem Kebab - Serves the cheapest falafel (29SEK) or veggie mix plate (55SEK) in town. Open until very late!

Address: Götgatan 59