Tours in Stockholm
Discover Stockholm
Built across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic, Stockholm is a capital that never quite lets you forget the water. You cross it constantly — on bridges, on ferries, on the short walk between the medieval alleys of Gamla Stan and the galleries of Södermalm. A third of the city is water, another third is parkland, and the rest manages to pack in world-class museums, a royal palace and some of the best food in the Nordics.
It's an easy city to explore on foot, and an even easier one to slow down in. Swedes have a word for the afternoon coffee break — fika — and in Stockholm it's less a habit than a national institution. Pair it with a boat trip into the archipelago, an afternoon at the Vasa Museum, or an evening wandering the harbourside, and you have the shape of a very good few days. Whether you're visiting as part of a longer Scandinavian journey or coming for a weekend of your own, Stockholm rewards the time you give it.
Top 5 Places to Visit
Gamla Stan
The old town, and the reason many people come. Ochre and rust-coloured buildings crowd narrow cobbled lanes, opening onto Stortorget square and the Nobel Prize Museum. Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, at 90 centimetres wide, is the narrowest street in the city.
The Vasa Museum
Home to a 17th-century warship that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 and was raised almost entirely intact in 1961. Ninety-eight percent of what you see is original timber, and standing beside it is genuinely startling. Scandinavia's most visited museum.
The Royal Palace
One of the largest working palaces in Europe, with over 600 rooms and five museums inside. The changing of the guard takes place in the outer courtyard daily in summer and is worth timing your visit around.
Djurgården and Skansen
A green island just east of the centre, home to Skansen — the world's first open-air museum — where historic buildings from across Sweden have been reassembled alongside native Nordic wildlife. The ABBA Museum and Gröna Lund amusement park are minutes away.
Stockholm City Hall
The red-brick landmark on Kungsholmen where the Nobel Prize banquet is held each December. The Golden Hall is lined with eighteen million mosaic tiles, and the tower offers one of the best views over the city.
Top Places to Eat in Stockholm
Östermalms Saluhall
A grand 19th-century food hall restored to its original brick-and-timber glory. Seafood counters, charcuterie, cheese and small restaurants under one roof — the best place in the city to eat well without booking.
Meatballs for the People
A Södermalm institution serving köttbullar made from everything from beef to elk and reindeer, with lingonberry and cream sauce as they should be. Casual, popular, and worth the queue.
Pelikan
A traditional beer hall with high ceilings and century-old fittings, serving Swedish classics like herring, meatballs and pork knuckle. One of the few places where the atmosphere is as old-fashioned as the menu.
Rosendals Trädgård
A biodynamic garden café on Djurgården where much of what's on the plate is grown a few metres away. Sit under the apple trees in summer for sourdough, salads and some of the best cinnamon buns in Stockholm.
Fotografiska Restaurant
On the top floor of the photography museum, with floor-to-ceiling windows over the harbour. Plant-led Nordic cooking and a view that justifies the price on its own.
Top Activities in Stockholm
Take a boat into the archipelago
Some 30,000 islands scatter east of the city, and regular ferries make it an easy day trip. Vaxholm is the classic first stop; Grinda and Fjäderholmarna are quieter and closer.
Stop for fika
The Swedish coffee break is a daily ritual, usually with a cardamom-spiced cinnamon bun. Vete-Katten and Café Pascal are two of the best places in the city to observe it properly.
Walk Monteliusvägen at sunset
A 500-metre cliffside path on Södermalm looking across the water to Gamla Stan and City Hall. Free, uncrowded, and the finest view in Stockholm.
Visit Fotografiska
A contemporary photography museum in a converted customs house, with changing exhibitions and late opening hours. One of the few museums in the city worth visiting in the evening.
Take a day trip to Drottningholm Palace
The royal family's residence and a UNESCO World Heritage site, reachable by boat in under an hour. The baroque gardens and the 18th-century court theatre are the highlights.
Travel Tips
- Stockholm is close to cashless — cards and phones work everywhere, and many places no longer accept cash at all. Bring a card rather than krona.
- Tipping isn't expected — service is included. Rounding up in restaurants is appreciated but never required.
- Tap water is excellent and free everywhere. Bring a bottle rather than buying.
- Sweden uses the krona, not the euro, even though it's in the EU.
- Public transport is excellent. An SL travel card covers metro, bus, tram and commuter ferries, and the metro's decorated stations are an attraction in themselves.
- Summer days are extremely long, with light until nearly midnight in June. Winter days are short, so plan indoor attractions accordingly.