Top 11 places to visit in Stockholm
I have always yearned to visit the famous capital of Sweden for many many years. The closest I ever came to visit Stockholm, was when I lived for 4 months in neighbouring Finland as an Erasmus student. Even though I had the chance to explore a big part of Finland and other surrounding countries, I still didn’t manage to visit Sweden. I guess it wasn’t the right time yet. As I usually say, there is a right time for everything and as it turns out, some months ago opportunity knocked.
Spreading on fourteen different islands, Stockholmers have nicknamed their city ‘Beauty on water’ and foreigners “Venice of the north”. It’s not hard to imagine why it acquired such names as Stockholm is an elegant, dynamic city, developed over a small cluster of islands. The city consists roughly of seven main districts, Gamla Stan, Södermalm, Djurgården, Norrmalm, Kungsholmen, Östermalm and Vasastan. Every district has its own character and unique charm and offers various things to see and do. If you understand how the city stretches around the fourteen islands through these seven districts it will be much easier to find your way around. Let yourself get lost in its streets, the Swedish capital is both welcoming and vibrant and loaded with exciting attractions and fun activities. Here are my top 11 places to visit when you are there.
Gamla Stan
Gamla Stan (meaning the Old Town), is where the city of Stockholm came to be, before starting to spread all over the surrounding islands. It is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe and its narrow cobblestone streets are packed with bars, restaurants, cafes, your usual touristy souvenir shops, and a number of museums and attractions such as the Royal Palace, the Nobel Prize Museum and the 13th-century Storkyrkan Cathedral, one of the city’s oldest buildings. Most of Gamla Stan is located on Stadsholmen island which is conveniently located between the Norrmalm and the Södermalm neighbourhoods. Gamla Stan is pedestrian-friendly and a marvel for the eyes, thanks to its colourful old buildings and the amazing views it provides of the sea and the rest of the city through its alleys. A mandatory stop is Stortorget, the oldest and most photogenic square in the city that is adorned with beautiful gabled houses dating back to the 17th and 18th century.
The Royal Palace
The Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet) is the official residence of the King of Sweden and with more than 600 rooms divided between its eleven floors, it is one of the largest palaces in Europe. The fire that burned down the “Tre Kronor” castle in 1697 gave way for the construction of The Royal Palace in the 18th century which remains mostly unaltered to this day. A guided tour will show you around the reception rooms, the royal apartments, Rikssalen (Hall of State) and Ordenssalarna (Halls of the Orders of Chivalry). Apart from the Palace’s rooms, there are a number of museums in the rest of the royal complex that you can visit: Gustav III’s Museum of Antiquities, the Tre Kronor Museum, the Armory and the Treasury. The Treasury contains the Monarchy’s most important symbols – the Regalia, Gustav III’s Museum of Antiquities has a number of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures while the Armory contains beautiful royal costumes, shiny armours, as well as lavish coronation carriages and glittering coaches. Make sure not to miss the daily Royal Guards Ceremony that takes place in the palace’s outer courtyard.
Östermalmstorg Saluhall & Hötorgshallen
Visiting an indoor market (Saluhall in Swedish) is a fantastic way to absorb the colours, smells, sounds and flavours of a city all at once. The most famous food market in Stockholm is Östermalm Saluhall which is housed in a beautiful red brick building from the 1880s that was recently under extensive renovation and today looks almost brand new. Its 18 vendors, some of which have been running their businesses for generations, fill the big hall with charming counters and sell everything from fruits & vegetables, fresh fish & seafood, to meats, cheeses, chocolates and traditional delicacies. You can also have a seat at one of its restaurants or wine bars, grab a snack and let yourself enjoy the atmosphere and observe the people around you.
Another food market worth visiting in the city is Hötorgshallen, which is less touristy than Östermalm Saluhall and more popular with the locals. Located at the lively Hötorget square in Norrmalm district, which is a square filled with fruit and flower vendors, this indoor market takes up two floors and its market booths sell a wide variety of products from all over the world. In addition, there are several small cafes and restaurants which make it a great place for a meal or coffee watching the locals do their daily shopping. Have in mind that Hötorgshallen is only open during the daytime and is closed on Sundays.
Royal Djurgården
Stockholm is not short of islands but the one that really stands out is the Royal Djurgården. The whole island has been a crown possession since the 15th century hence its name but its uniqueness lies in the fact that it concentrates many of Stockholm’s most important museums and attractions such as the Vasa Museum, Gröna Lund, Skansen, the Abba museum and the Nordic Museum inside a massive green oasis. This is where the locals come to feed their thirst for nature, where they exercise and where they enjoy family activities. Wander through its gardens, explore its museums, mansions and attractions, take up the green footpaths and snap some pictures by the waterfront promenades. This island has it all. Don’t leave the island without visiting Rosendals Trädgård, a gorgeous garden café housed in a greenhouse, that uses organic and biodynamic ingredients, most of them from their own garden.
Medelhavet Museum
The Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities (Medelhavet in short) has a fascinating collection of antiquities from Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, the Roman Empire, and the Middle East. The Cyprus collection is actually the largest outside Cyprus and it’s the result of the excavations of the Swedish Expedition in Cyprus, during the late 1920s and early 1930s. So if you are fascinated by ancient cultures, Greek statues, Egyptian mummies and Roman artefacts or you’re just a fellow Cypriot like myself, this museum is a must. Moreover, apart from a beautiful view of the Royal Palace, Bagdad Cafe has an amazing seating area where the tables are separated by tall display cases with small archaeological findings. On the plus side, the museum has free entry and is located close to the Royal Palace and the Royal Opera at Norrmalm district.
Stockholm City Hall
The City Hall (Stadshus), in Kungsholmen district, is undoubtedly the most iconic building in Stockholm and one of the most famous in Sweden. Its 106-meter tall tower featuring the golden Three Crowns (the Swedish national coat of arms), tops proudly above the city’s skyline. Built with eight million bricks in a construction period that lasted from 1911 to 1923, it is one of the country’s leading examples of national romanticism in architecture. Apart from being the seat of Stockholm’s government, this is the place where the annual Nobel Prize Banquet is held. You can visit the City Hall only with a daily guided tour. The tower is open from May to September when you can climb up the staircase and enjoy a magnificent view of the city.
Vasa Museum
This museum is definitely one of a kind and for that reason, it is the most visited museum in Scandinavia with over a million visitors a year. Vasa Museum features the only preserved, 17th-century ship in the world, the 69 meter-long warship Vasa. The impressive ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 not far from the museum’s location at Djurgården island and was brought to the surface in 1961. More than 95% of the ship has been preserved as it was, and for almost 50 years the ship has been slowly restored to a state as close as possible to its original glory. The museum is literally built around the ship and by simply walking around, you can see from up close all its details and artefacts which are explained in various languages. There is a free tour every day and children up to 18 years are allowed free entry.
Subway Stations
The Swedes are known around the world for being progressive and cool so their capital couldn’t be any different. In Stockholm the subway is not merely a means of transportation, the Stockholm subway system is said to be the world’s longest art exhibit. Starting in 1957, more than 150 artists have decorated 90 of the 100 subway stations with statues, mosaics, murals, engravings and installations. It will be impossible to visit all stations in one visit, but the most impressive and interesting stations are: T-Centralen, the main hub of Stockholm’s subway which is painted with blue motifs on a white background, Stadion which features a rainbow against bright blue, Solna Centrum, painted with a red evening sun setting behind a green forest, Kungsträdgården that looks like an archaeological excavation, Tekniska Högskolan which is a celebration of scientific advances and discoveries and Thorildsplan which looks like the set of a video game.
Historiska Museum
If you are also a big fan of Norse history and mythology there is one place that covers it all, the Swedish History Museum (Historiska Museet) at Östermalm district. As one of the country’s biggest museums, it’s set out to give its visitors a full chronological timeline of Swedish history covering everything from Prehistory to the present day, through more than ten million objects. The highlight of the Museum is The Gold Room which featured more than 3,000 objects across 3,500 years of Swedish history, yes many of these are in pure gold. Unfortunately, the Viking exhibition was temporarily closed at the time of my visit and is set to reopen in 2021. Nevertheless, a number of Viking artefacts are scattered throughout the museum. Again, this is another free admission museum.
The City Library
The City Library of Stockholm (Stadsbiblioteket) at Vasastan district, is one of the city’s most distinguished buildings and it is considered to be the prototypical example of the Nordic Classicism and the so-called Swedish Grace movement in architecture. Step through the Pharaonic entrance and climb the staircase, to find the central hall which is topped by a monumental rotunda. The magnificent hall is encircled with bookshelves that contain a total of 40,000 books on three terraced levels whereas the white rotunda roof was created to simulate the clouds. In 2014 Conde Nast Traveler Magazine listed the library amongst the world’s most beautiful. A must-place for both bibliophiles and Instagrammers alike.
Fotografiska
Last but not least, I deliberately left my favourite place in the city for my last recommendation. Housed in an Art Nouveau, former customs house, in the old wharf at Södermalm district, Fotografiska is one of the world’s top photography centres and the world’s largest photography exhibition space. Fotografiska opened in 2010 with the work of world-famous photographer Annie Leibovitz and since then it has featured the work of countless internationally famous photographers as well as upcoming talents. Every year, the centre stages four unique, major exhibitions along with about 20 smaller ones, so no two visits at Fotografiska are ever the same. The café and restaurant on the top floor offer panoramic views over the sea and the Royal Djurgården and its restaurant is considered one of Sweden’s best, thanks to its sustainable gastronomy. Furthermore, the gift shop at the entrance is truly a paradise for every photography-lover.
Stockholm was a nordic revelation to me and there are dozens more places to check and things to do apart from the 11 places I just described. Some other interesting places you may consider is the Abba Museum (covers Sweden’s biggest pop band), Skansen (a historical miniature of Sweden with more than 150 buildings transported from around the country), Gröna Lund (Stockholm’s best amusement park) and Moderna Museet (Museum of Swedish and international modern and contemporary art). In between your visits, don’t neglect to stop for a “Fika”, the Swedish “coffee and cake break”, an essential part of the daily life in Sweden. Take a Fika and you’ve taken the first and most important step in understanding the Swedish psyche.
