Your plane ticket to Sweden reserved, you start organizing your trip? Here's our top 10 things to do in Stockholm!
The largest city and capital of Sweden, Stockholm is an agglomeration built on 14 islands in the heart of an archipelago of about 24,000 islands and islets in the mouth of the Lake Mälar . Known as the “North Venice”, Stockholm is home to a population of 1,538,517, in the heart of an urban area of 2,063,945 inhabitants. We went to visit Stockholm and had been charmed by the charm and aesthetics of the city. Attention, if you come to visit the Swedish capital, we already warn you that the cost of living is high, as everywhere in Scandinavia.
You know what to do in Stockholm? The city houses most of the country’s cultural sites, including a hundred museums and buildings listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
1. Gamla Stan, old Stockholm
Photo credit: Flickr – charlonm
The old city of Stockholm, spread over the islands of Stadsholmen, Riddarholmen and Helgeandsholmen, was founded in the 13th century and is nicknamed "the city between bridges". It was once the slum of Stockholm until the 20th century. Today, it is a very popular and popular neighbourhood.
Gamla Stan is a maze of paved alleys whose buildings date from the 18th and 19th centuries, and where multiple vivid colors intertwine, as evidenced by the Stortorget square in the center of Gamla Stan. Several historical monuments are essential: the Nobel Museum, the Post Museum, the Stockholm Cathedral ( Storkyrkan) The Royal Palace. We advise you to enjoy a guided walking tour of the city to discover them and learn about the history of Stockholm.
On both sides of the main street – Tyska Brinken - there are many small bars, cafes and restaurants, many small shops, workshops and art galleries.
2. Norrmalm, the modern centre
Photo credit: Flickr – Jorge Franganillo
No way to visit Stockholm without going to the other side of Gamla Stan, in the northern neighborhood: Norrmalm .
The southern part of the neighborhood is today the modern city centre of Stockholm, and the place where we find the essentials and where social life is the most agitated of the city: T-Centralen, the junction between all metros and the central station. In Norrmalm there are the city's major shopping centres, parks and cinemas, the national museum, the iconic street of Norrmalm Drottninggatan .
3. Skeppsholmen Island
Photo credit: Flickr – Tommie Hansen
Small island between Gamla Stan and the island of Djurgården, Skeppsholmen home a must-see attraction by visiting Stockholm: sleeping on the boat STF Af Chapman , a three-mast dating from 1888, transformed into 1949 into a youth hostel. Taking advantage of the city's lights on the bridge, the boat-museum offers one night for the least unusual.
Book a room at STF Af Chapman
4. Vasa Museum
A maritime museum located on the island of Djurgården, the Vasa Museum presents an almost untouched ship that dwelt during its inauguration in 1628, and was rediscovered only in 1961 at the bottom of the water. Opened in 1990, Vasa Museum exposes the only ship of the 17th century to have been preserved in the world: more than 95% of its pieces are of origin, making it a unique treasure in the world. The Vasa Museum, a must if you ask yourself to do in Stockholm, is a real time machine.
5. Skansen Museum
Photo credit: Flickr – Jonathan
Come to visit Stockholm without going to see Skansen Museum would be a shame. This is the oldest outdoor museum in the world: it allows us to trace what was once life in Stockholm.
The museum, located on the island of Djurgården, was created in 1891 to commemorate the profound transformations that Sweden has undergone during the 19th century, during the passage of a rural society to industrialization. The museum consists of 150 buildings from all over Sweden, retracing life in Sweden at this time, going from poor farm houses and villages to rich buildings of rich and opulent nobility. The museum park also houses a zoo, over 300,000 m2, with endemic species of Scandinavia.
6. Royal Palace
Photo credit: Flickr – Mariano Mantel
If you come to visit Stockholm and especially Gamla Stan, you will certainly pass in front of Royal Palace .
It is one of the largest palaces in Europe, the official residence of the kings of Sweden. The building we see today was built between 1697 and the 1770s: several times interrupted, no renovations have taken place since then. The castle is so huge that it contains 1,430 rooms, including 660 with windows, royal apartments and reception rooms, crown jewels, ruins of the old Tre Kronor castle. So much to say that this is not here, the habitat of the middle and popular classes!
7. Djurgården
Photo credit: Flickr – when_night_falls
Want to get green in the middle of the city? Visiting Stockholm does not mean tripodizing and noisy life! Djurgården is a peaceful island in the east of downtown. It has about 800 inhabitants for 10,200 metres of shoreline and 279 hectares: as much as you don’t walk on it. The island is very frequented by tourists: every year, more than 10 million visitors flock there, especially to visit Skansen, Vasa and Nordiska museums.
8. La Tour de la Mairie
Photo credit: Flickr – Rutger Blom
You know what to do in Stockholm? We hope you don’t have vertigo: climbing to the City Hall Tour , at a height of 106 meters, allows a panoramic view of the city: it is one of the most famous buildings in Stockholm. Inside, the Blue Hall is the hall where the Nobel Prize is presented, and the Golden Hall, decorated with 18 million gold mosaic tiles, are to be seen.
9. The covered market of Östermalm
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons – Sharon Hahn Darlin
What to do in Stockholm, otherwise discover local culinary products and specialties? This vast market covered It was opened in 1888 and houses wooden sculptures, restaurants and stalls where visitors enjoy tasting seafood, wapiti and elk meat, Swedish bread, pastries and chocolates. From your free will or through a gourmet guided tour, discover a culinary culture rich in flavors!
10. The archipelago by boat
Photo credit: Flickr – fhwrdh
Do you want to visit Stockholm by sea? We hope that you don’t have the seaache because we’re going to sail through the 14 islands of the archipelago, the trip to do if you love nature and quiet little corners. You can sail through several thousand islands, such as Fjäderholmarna (the four islands named Stora Fjäderholmen, Ängsholmen, Libertas and Rövarns holme).
Some companies such as Waxholmsbolaget allow you to take a ferry to navigate the Baltic Sea and go to Waxholm Island, Kymmendö Islands, Bullerö and Sandhamn, Kymmendö and Bullerö.
How to get to Stockholm?
To get to Stockholm, the city has three airports: Arlanda, Skavsta and Bromma. The large companies serve Stockholm Arlanda Airport. Air France, Norwegian, Ryanair or EasyJet are so many companies leaving France with several flights a day. Whatever the company of your choice, you will find a cheap flight on our partner's website Ulysses .
We can also join Sotckholm by train if you have several days ahead of you: by making many stopovers, for example, in Strasbourg, Cologne, Copenhagen, Malmö and Stockholm.
Where to stay in Stockholm?
To find a place to sleep and visit Stockholm quietly, we recommend the city centre (Norrmalm) and the old town (Gamla Stan): you will find all our accommodation tips in our article “ In which quarter house in Stockholm? » . Many hotels await you, as well as apartments, hostels, guest houses and other feet on the ground. If they are assaulted, aim the Södermalm district south. To find a hotel at the best price, consider consulting this Compare hotels , specialist in the most advantageous offers.
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