Sweden, being the largest country of all the nordic states, and I, being the lazy traveler that I am, knew that there was no way I’d manage to see all that Sweden has to offer during my trip. In that case, I ventured out to Stockholm, the capital. Upon landing I noticed a difference in the air, a sense of calm, the beautiful locals, the clean streets and overall feeling of ease and happiness. You get the point, it’s hard to put into words but Stockholm held an energy that I’ve been seeking for a long time.
Living in New York for most of my life has turned me into your typical New Yorker. The, let’s walk not stroll, always in a hurry, hopped up on a daily diet of 4 cups of coffee, working at a fast paced 9-5 corporate job that sucks the life out of you and yet I absolutely love it and consider it the best city in the world. Now, when it comes to travel I like to live in a fantasy and immediately pose the question of, “Could I live here? and “Should I just move here?” the second I see something pleasant while leaving the airport.
Whenever I travel I like to pretend that I, myself, am a local and my hotel is my apartment and the local coffee shop is my coffee shop that I’ve frequented for years. Delusional? I know, but the feeling is priceless.
So let’s get into it, Stockholm has a total population of 975,551, consists of 50 bridges and 14 islands, and as I mentioned earlier, it is the capital of Sweden. Which is part of the nordic states (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, as well as the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Ã…land).
Depending on what type of traveler you are, you might opt for the quick multi city, let’s see and pack in as much as possible into our trip. But I, my dear reader am quite the opposite. I like to take my time, see about 1 or 2 museums a day and spend the majority of my time at the local restaurants, bars and pastry shops.
Here is my list of places worth visiting, where to stay and what to do during your travels throughout Stockholm:
Stay at:
- Hellstens Glashus (Wollmar Yxkullsgatan 13, 118 50 Stockholm, Sweden) http://hellstensglashus.se/
Restaurants/ Bars to try:
- Butiken (Strandvägen 7C, 114 56 Stockholm, Sweden)
- Delicious cappuccino, located in the ritzy part of town, great place for a photo op.
- Stockholm Under Stjärnorna (Brunkebergstorg 2, 4, 111 51 Stockholm, Sweden)
- Cocktail bar, great rooftop views overlooking the city
- Tak next door to Stockholm under Stjärnorna,
- Upscale cocktail bar with equally beautiful rooftop and 360 views of Stockholm.
- Kvarnen (Tjärhovsgatan 4, 116 21 Stockholm, Sweden) https://www.kvarnen.com/
- Here you’ll enjoy the traditional Swedish dinner (meatballs, mashed potatoes with gravy and a side of lingon berries
- Meatballs for the people (Nytorgsgatan 30, 116 40 Stockholm, Sweden) http://www.meatball.se/
- Bit touristy but the variety of meatballs is worth a try
- Lucy’s Flower Shop (Birger Jarlsgatan 20, 114 34 Stockholm, Sweden) http://lucysstockholm.se/
- Speakeasy Cocktail Bar worth checking out, the bartenders and owner are constantly trying to innovate and come up with fun cocktails, ingredients locally sourced
Places to visit:
- Gamla Stan Recommend devoting at least 1 day to explore and get lost in the winding streets amongst the colorful 17th and 18th century buildings.
- Visit the Royal Palace
- Nobel Prize Museum
- Viking bar/restaurant
- Take a short walk across the overpass to the Riddarholmen Church (houses many notable kings and queens in their final resting place)
- Go on a quest to locate the Upplands Runinskrifter 53 – an ancient rune stone dated approximately 1070-1100
- Skansen Worlds oldest open air museum once you go you’ll spend all day there. You’ll take a ferry ride from Gamla Stan
- Head over to the Vasa Museum
- It’s a 17th century warship. Over 95% of the ship is original, thanks to the high content of the sludge in the water, the ship was preserved for over 300 years.
- Head over to the Vasa Museum
- The Avicii Experience (Sergels Torg 2, 111 57 Stockholm, Sweden)
- Museum showcasing the life and death of one of the most celebrated electronic dance music DJ’s of all time.
- Ikea City- Stockholm (Hamngatan 37, 111 53 Stockholm)
- Can’t go to Sweden without visiting an Ikea.
- SWEDISH Train Stations: here are the top 8 stops you must see! (Select train stops shown below)
- T-Centralen Station
- Stadion Station
- Solna Centrum Station
- Tekniska Högskolan Station
- Tensta station
- Kungsträdgården Station
- RÃ¥dhuset Station
- Akalla station
Aside from going to see the main attractions, my second favorite part of exploring is getting lost and walking aimlessly around town. Now I know that Stockholm has more to offer than the list above but as I mentioned earlier I am a lazy traveler and the fact that I managed to execute this list is ambitious in itself. I’m sure I missed a bunch of awesome points to visit but I hope in you finding this guide helped you at least kickoff your trip to Stockholm!!
Thank you for visiting and until next time!
-KC
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