Travel from Airport:
1) Arlanda
Express: pricey but quick, 195 SEK (350 SEK for two people together) but you
need to book online at least a week in advance
2)
Flygbussarna: relatively quick bus, but not on travelcard. Much cheaper to buy
on app for 99 SEK, costs more at airport
3)
Flixbus: new entrant to the game, only £4 and you can book on the UK site:
Top Tip: take the bus,
download the app and buy the ticket online at the airport; when you get off at
Stockholm City, look for the revolving door at each end of the bus station as
the best way in
Hotels:
Birger Jarl, Tulegatan 8
Stayed here twice, both times
it was perfect in every way. Rooms are stylish, facilities very good, excellent
breakfast buffet, handy location for the Metro
Radisson Blu Waterfront
Hotel, just west of the railway station
Our most recent stay,
next to the conference centre, easy access to Metro and rail and city centre.
Water view rooms are the best looking out at City Hall. Great breakfast bar
with very wide selection.
Travel Card:
It is
better value to buy your travel pass and tourist pass separately, especially if
you are in Stockholm for longer.
The 72
hours pass is SEK 260.
The 7 days
pass is much better value at SEK 335 (+ SL Access card 20 SEK which can be
recharged on a later visit).
Get both
of these from a ticket booth at larger metro stations.
All
travelcards are valid for travel on the Djurgården ferries between Slussen and
Djurgården, as well as commuter ferries 80 and 89.
Tourist Card:
Stockholm Pass
3 Day Adult Pass SEK
1129, 5 Day Adult Pass SEK 1479
You write the start date
on yourself so can buy it in advance.
The easiest place to buy
is at the Stockholm Visitor Center, Sergels Torg 5 (opens 9am)
Nearest Metro Station:
T-Centralen, in the front of the Kultuthuset, at ground level (not underground)
As well as entry to lots
of museums (some listed below) you also get the following:
Stockholm Panorama Bus Tour
– save SEK 320
Hop On-Hop Off Bus &
Boat Tours – save SEK 400
ELEVEN different boat
tours (including one to Drottningholmen Palace, see below), ranging from a
couple of hours to a day trip to a Viking village
Food:
Saluhall Food Hall,
Ostermalmstorg
Currently being
renovated, with the market stalls decamped to a nearby temporary building. Definitely
upper-class food hall with lots of pricey but delicious delicatessens.
Kungshallen Food Hall, Kungsgatan
44
A food hall with a
selection of about 15 vendors with tables. We chose Grekiska for nice Mediterranean food.
K25 Food Hall,
Kungsgatan 25
A much trendier food
hall with central seating and a great variety of hearty and healthy options
from around the world, including Malmö’s falafel salads
Pong, Drottninggatan 71
(and 3 other locations)
great Asian buffet
selection
Hermans Tradgard, Fjallgatan
23, Slussen underground
Vegetarian buffet
restaurant up on the heights of Sodermalm, can get very busy in the evenings
Gondolen
Stadsgarden 6
sky bar and restaurant
with views across Gamla Stan, next to Slussen Metro
Shopping:
IKEA Kungens Kurva – the
largest store in Sweden!
There is a free
dedicated IKEA bus which leaves on the hour from outside Central Hotel at
Vasagatan 18, opposite the Central Station. Operates on the hour 10am to 7pm Monday to Friday. Returns from IKEA on the half-hour. You
can also take the red subway line from T-centralen to Skärholmen and walk to
IKEA. The subway takes 24 minutes and the walk is about 10 minutes, clearly
signposted.
Gudrun Sjoden, Upplagsvagan
1, outlet store
This chain of Swedish
fashion and homewares stores now has outlets in the UK, but you will want to
visit the “warehouse store” to get the best bargains.
Take the commuter train
to Arstaberg station. Walk north along the pavement/cycle lane under the
flyovers until you get to a major junction. Using three pedestrian crossings,
you need to be on the far left of the road. You will see the Gudrun Sjoden shop
easily.
Designtorget, 6 stores
in Stockholm including Kulturhuset, Kungsgatan 52, and the airport
This is a one-stop shop
for homewares, design objects, postcards, knick-knacks and souvenirs. All
authentically Swedish and some absolute bargains.
Myrorna, Adolf Fredriks Kyrkogata
A nice second-hand store
raising money for charity. Glasswares, clothes, books, CDs and vinyl – where we
found a copy of the rarest Roxette 7” in the world.
See also: Stockholm
Stadsmission
Granit, Kungsgatan 42 and elsewhere
https://www.granit.com/se/
Another design and homewares store, now also found in Norway, Finland and Germany
System Bolaget, all over town
https://www.systembolaget.se/
The Swedish state off-licence network, less restrictive than it used to be, but still the only place to buy alcohol outside a bar
Granit, Kungsgatan 42 and elsewhere
https://www.granit.com/se/
Another design and homewares store, now also found in Norway, Finland and Germany
System Bolaget, all over town
https://www.systembolaget.se/
The Swedish state off-licence network, less restrictive than it used to be, but still the only place to buy alcohol outside a bar
Museums always free:
Swedish History Museum
A vast collection of
art, treasures, and Vikings
Moderna Museet
collection (and ArkDes in same building), Skeppsholmen
Take the tram, bus, boat
or walk to the island of Skeppsholmen. As well as this modern art gallery, and
architecture collection, you can walk round the island and explore its
defensive history. It has a domed church from 1827, now a concert venue.
National Museum, Sodra
Blasieholmshamnen
Artworks and exhibitions
Stockholm City Museum,
Slussen
Artefacts showing the
development of the city
for library fans:
Stockholm Public Library,
Sveavagen
National Library of
Sweden, Humlegarden
for Olympic nerds:
Olympic Stadium (1912)
Entrance is by the
Northeast tower (Klocktornet) on Lidingovagen. There is a single open gate,
probably unmanned. From there you can enter the stadium and take photos to your
heart’s content, and probably run 400m if you wanted to. It is free, but check
the calendar online as it is used for sporting and cultural events as well.
Metro art
walks
These in
English every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 3-4pm from SL Customer Centre, at
T-Centralen Metro station (entrance underground at Sergels Torg).
Tuesdays
and Saturdays you can visit some of the most interesting Metro stations in the
city.
Thursdays
you can explore the art in the two city commuter rail stations Stockholm City
and Stockholm Odenplan.
National
Maritime Museum, Djurgardsbrunnsvagen
Boats
Sightseeing free with
Stockholm Pass:
Kungliga Slottet (Royal
Palace), Gamla Stan
A combination ticket
allows you into the Royal Apartments, the Treasury, the Tre Kronor museum, the
Royal Chapel, and Gustav III Museum of Antiquities.
If using the Stockholm
Pass, you don’t need a separate ticket, just visit each part and show your
pass.
Watch out for the
Changing of the Guard. Daily at 12.10pm (1.10pm on Sundays)
Riddarholmen Church,
Gamla Stan
Storkyrkan (Cathedral),
Gamla Stan
Nobel Museum, Gamla Stan
This is the museum of
the Nobel Prize Organisation. Not large or overly technical; very interactive,
including videos and interviews describing why the work of particular winners
was so significant.
Post Museum, Lilla
Nygatan 6, Gamla Stan (1 block from the metro station)
Postal Museums are great
to visit, they try so hard, and this one is kitschy like all the rest!
The House of Nobility,
Riddarhuset
On the island between
the city and Gamla Stan, this houses an old parliament building from before the
time of democracy (1668-1865). Nobility is represented inside by over 2000
coats of arms, including those of the scientist Linnaeus.
Vasa Museum, Djurgarden
Big tourist attraction
with long queues. 17th century royal warship which sunk 30 minutes into its maiden
voyage and was rediscovered in the 1950s. Arrive as early as you can. There is
a nice restaurant/café.
Skansen
Open Air Museum, Djurgarden
Taking up
a large part of Djurgarden island, this museum has authentic houses from
throughout Sweden’s history, churches, shops, Sami huts, a large collection of
Arctic animals, and lots of places to eat and drink. It also has an Aquarium
next door.
Viking
Museum, Djurgarden
A weird
combination of walk-round exhibition then a superfluous sit-in ride telling a
story of a Viking family. Great for kids, but has nothing authentic – for
actual artefacts you need the Swedish History Museum.
Grona
Lund, Djurgarden
Large
amusement park, you get free daytime entrance (not for concert evenings) but
rides need to be paid for.
Nordic
Museum, Djurgarden
Folk art,
Sami life, a giant statue of King Gustav Vasa, Swedish traditions and much
more.
Drottningholm
Palace
After a 1
hour boat ride (also free) from near City Hall (queue up at 9am to get
reservations for the first boat of the day at 10am) you arrive at a beautiful
Palace complex west of the city. There are spacious gardens, an interesting
tour of the palace, a Chinese Pavilion, and nice cafés. You can get the boat
back, or a bus (runs every 10 minutes outside the entrance) to Brommaplan and
change onto a metro into the city.
Fotografiska
A photography gallery
with usually 5 exhibitions, in the Customs House building near Slussen. A major
selling point is it stays open very late, and also has a café and bar.
It’s a 10 minute walk
from Slussen, or the hop on hop off boat stops right by it.
Take the lift or the
steps across the road, up to Fjallgatan for a view across the archipelago
Skyview at the Ericsson
Globe
This is a trip in a
glass capsule up the outside of the Globe arena for views over Stockholm. There
is a shopping centre next door. Easy access by metro.
Other
Sightseeing worth paying for:
City Hall Tour
The city hall can only
be viewed on a guided tour in English (every half hour between 9 and 4) and you can climb the tower. SEK 120
Catch buses 3 or 62 to
the City Hall or walk from T-Centralen.
Comments