Travel guide Stockholm
Stockholm is a complex, yet fabulously attractive capital. Situated between Lake Mälar and the Baltic Sea, made up of fourteen islands, the guide to visiting Stockholm tells us about the perfect mix for your stay, between innovation, high technology (the city is home to the headquarters of Ericsson, for example) and history. Its historical centre, Gamla Stan, is spread over the Stockholm Archipelago with the islands of Stadsholmen, Riddarholmen and Helgeandsholmen, and is home to numerous museums and monuments (the Royal Palace, the Nobel Museum, the Museum of Modern Art...). The island of Djurgården, further east, exhibits the Vasa, Nordic, and ABBA museums, as well as the Gröna Lun amusement park. The talent of Swedish artists and designers adorns the streets of the capital with innovative shops offering objects that combine tradition and modernity. A guide to discover a very dynamic city during your trip to Sweden. The Swedish capital sees every year new good addresses appearing: excursions, restaurants, galleries, unusual festivals, parks, places to stroll... Very pleasant whether it is solo or on a guided tour. However, the Stockholmers have understood it well (as the Swedes do), the open air nature that surrounds it is their most beautiful treasure and for this reason they have chosen to adopt a more thoughtful, more responsible consumption, which makes it one of the most ecological capitals of Europe. Stockholm thus offers all its visitors the luxury of being able to juggle cultural discoveries and rejuvenation, especially outside the city like Swedish Lapland where you can observe the Northern Lights, a colourful jewel!
What to see, what to do Stockholm?
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When to go Stockholm ?
In Stockholm, the main tourist season lasts from mid-June to mid-August, when the weather is at its best and the days last the longest. This is the busiest season! The Christmas season also attracts crowds of tourists eager to experience the intimate, illuminated atmosphere of the Christmas markets and snow-covered streets. That said, sometimes there is almost no snow and it's more like a rainy holiday season for unlucky tourists. The low tourist season lasts from September to December and from January to June, which are often dark and sad months. But Stockholm is a city that, as soon as the sun appears, is superb to visit, especially when it is not invaded by tourists and the local population lives at its normal pace.
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How to go Stockholm
How to go alone
Stockholm, despite its large size, can easily be visited alone. As far as security is concerned, first of all, it is a very safe city, and the Swedes are courteous (many of them understand English). Remember to book your accommodation in advance (especially in high season), and let yourself wander around the city.
How to go on a tour
There are many tour operators offering packages to visit Stockholm. The most common are getaways (3 days and 2 nights or 4 days and 3 nights) and long weekends. In Stockholm, because of the location, there are many cultural trips, but the prices are higher. That said, apart from the more economical packages, it is better to visit Stockholm independently.
How to get around
Bus and metro services are very efficient for the city centre, as well as the suburban train service (Pendeltåg) to reach the more remote areas. The commuter train network is divided into three main lines with the indexes J35, J36 and J37. In addition, there are express lines J33 and J34. The organising authority that manages Stockholm County's public transport network is called Storstockholms Lokaltrafik AB or SL. Otherwise, the city centre is easily accessible on foot or by bike.
Featured articles Stockholm
Discover Stockholm
A maritime city as much as a lake city, a welcoming land, the Swedish capital spreads out over fourteen islands, all of which have a singular beauty, where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea. From bridge to bridge, from quay to quay, Stockholm reveals the richness of its turbulent history, its elegant, colorful and heterogeneous architecture, its omnipresent nature. Between avant-garde eco-neighborhoods, noble facades, narrow medieval streets, Baroque and Art Nouveau styles, Stockholm offers as many faces as attractions, with the invaluable advantage of having a small heart, an airy traffic and a peaceful rhythm of life. To visit Stockholm is to open yourself up to a different way of life. More temperate, it is a place of compromise, and a certain form of wisdom. The inhabitants will talk to you about their city with passion, with the pride of living in a modern metropolis in the back of their eyes.
The 12 keywords Stockholm
1. #Design
Stockholm is a true design capital, and you can feel it just by strolling down its streets. The style of dress, the aesthetics of the stores and cafés or restaurants, the architecture, all the details and colors, mark a standard of taste for good things that only Scandinavians seem to have mastered to perfection.
2. #Water
Situated between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea, Stockholm is surrounded by water. Sailing in this picturesque city means moving between different islets, in constant contact with the water, whether on foot or by boat. The city boasts some 30 bathing spots, some less than a kilometer from the city center!
3. #Fika
Fika means "coffee", an expression signifying a coffee break during the day, accompanied by a few pastries and a few friends. A social practice that warms you up during the long, cold, dark winters. Stockholm is full of perfect destinations for fika breaks, where you can get to know this folkloric ritual.
4. #Julbord
Christmas in Sweden is a time for celebration. During the festive season, you can enjoy a julbord, or "Christmas buffet", which is served in most restaurants from mid-December onwards. This meal features the best of Swedish cuisine, including meatballs, salmon, herring and snaps!
5. #Lingon
Meatballs called köttbullar and lingonberry jam: this assortment of ingredients can be found on every Swedish restaurant menu. A true delicacy of Swedish gastronomy, lingonberry jam is widely used to accompany all kinds of dishes, from meatballs to pancakes and black pudding!
6. #Light
All year round, life in Stockholm depends on light. When it's scarce, the city glows with stars and candles from the windows of homes. It plays a central role in Scandinavian painting, which marvelously masters the nuances of light in Nordic landscapes. Sunsets and sunrises are sublime.
7. #Sauna
Swedes stay in contact with water all year round. When it's too cold, it's time to warm up and relax in a sauna, then dig a hole in the frozen water, soak, and off you go again! It's a way of doing things that not everyone does, but for some people it's an almost daily activity in winter.
8. #Solstices
Light rules the rhythm of Swedish life. Each year, the summer and winter solstices are dates that mark local calendars. The summer solstice is one of the most celebrated folk festivals in Sweden, honoring light and the sun as it begins its long decline. Beware, in winter the sun sets around 3pm!
9. #Snaps
Alcohol distilled from potatoes or cereals, snaps is the national alcohol as vodka is for the Russians or wine for the French. Snaps is drunk as an accompaniment to meals in the form of a shot, i.e. in small doses and drunk in one go. Also known as aquavit, which is a type of snaps.
10. #Snus
Small round boxes from which the locals take out mysterious packets... They are not packs of cigarettes or tobacco, but snus! This way of consuming nicotine is forbidden in all other EU countries, and consists in slipping a nicotine sachet between the lip and the gum. A solution to "smoke" inside!
11. #SystemBolaget
All alcoholic beverages over 3.5% are sold in state-run stores. Prohibited for under-20s and sold at prohibitive prices, alcohol in Sweden is up to 50% more expensive than in France! However, you must be 18 or over to buy alcohol in restaurants. Stores close at 3pm on Saturdays and are closed on Sundays.
12. #Vikings
Welcome to the kingdom of the tall, blond and blue-eyed, a land of Vikings since the year 800! The Stockholm region was settled and ruled by the Vikings, including the site of Birka, which can be visited today. The Viking Museum in Stockholm also offers visitors the chance to immerse themselves in the history of these Scandinavian conquerors and explorers.
You are from here, if...
You use snus all day long. A common practice since the 19th century, this powdered tobacco in sachets is more widely consumed than cigarettes and is often permitted indoors and outdoors.
You've got a work break for fika. In France, it's the "pause clope", and in Sweden it's the office fika break! Coffee and pastries in the afternoon for a chat with colleagues.
You mainly wear black. Black is the most recurrent clothing color for Stockholmers, which is occasionally married with touches of more vibrant colors: neon green, sky blue, or especially beige.
Every meal is accompanied by a slice of knäckebröd . This crusty bread is served in different thicknesses and flavors, with entire supermarket shelves devoted to it.
Toboggan in the park as soon as the snow falls. The parks resound with the cries of children pacing the snow-covered hills!