Stockholm

Our rating: 8.60

2009-07-29,2016-03-25,2019-07-20

http://www.visitstockholm.com

2016

This time we spent 4 days in Stockholm. Every day we walked about 10-15 kilometers. Lived at the Radisson Blu Waterfront Hotel (booking.com), it has one of the best locations (also we checked Sheraton which is located nearby). Photos from the window.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Route of the first day (google.maps).

©Yuriy Buriak

At first we passed along the river to the house on the street Vulkanusgatan, 12 (in the yard). This is the house in which the scholars of Astrid Lindgren's stories found cubby of Carlson.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Next, walked through Vasaparken park. Stockholm stands on a granite plateau and granite outputs are everywhere.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

On the other side of the park, above the cafe, located Astrid Lindgren's appartment, where a museum was recently opened (Dalagatan, 46).

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

During Easter everywhere in the city could be seen chickens and feathers. It's funny, because in other countries we saw only rabbits as an Easter symbol.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Climbed on the Observatory hill (Observatorielunden).

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

A smart trash can: uses solar panels and reports when full.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Went down on the other side of the hill and went to the central square - Kungsträdgården. Sakura has not yet blossomed, but funny rabbits were found.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Visied Skeppsholmen island, a pleasant and quiet place. On the bridge to the island everybody makes classic Stockholm picture with the crown.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

A lot of small boats on the eastern side of the island.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

One more rabbit.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Also walked in the old town.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

New funny signs.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Found the smallest statue in Scandinavia - Järnpojke ("little boy who looks at the moon"). Look for it behind the Finnish Church (Finska kyrkan).

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Where to eat in Stockholm:
- A lot of small restaurants at the railway station and in the shopping malls
- Vigårda Barbeque (Norrlandsgatan 13) - hipster's hamburger restaurant, nice place
- Wayne's Coffee - a lot of restaurants around the city, usually light snacks, sandwiches and a few dishes, like lasagna
- Jensens Bøfhus (Vasagatan 26, Sveavägen 53) - in the afternoon till 16:00 inexpensive steak with potatoes and vegetables
- Sturekatten (Riddargatan 1) - café in the house of the 18th century

On the second day in the morning we went by subway to Gullmarsplan and by tram 22 to Stockholm Luma stop. From there we went for a walk in the Hammarby Sjöstad district (google.maps).

©Yuriy Buriak

This is the eco district of the future (similar to Kronsberg district in Hannover), planned for the Olympics in 2004, which were not held by Stockholm. All houses are built from special materials, do not have air conditioning, powered by renewable energy, all waste is sent for recycling and so on. It's a very beautiful place.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Crossed the channel by bridge and came to the viewing platform on Katarinavägen street.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Climbed a little on a small but nice street with wooden houses - Mäster Mikaels gata and went to the observation deck on the top of an elevator Katarina Hiss. It opens about 11 in the morning.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Next we had a booked walk on the roofs, an unusual tour that offers walking over the rooftops in the downtown. It costs ~$60, book here.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Had a lunch and went walking again (google.maps). We were very lucky with the weather, usually in March, it is far worse in Stockholm.

©Yuriy Buriak

At first a long promenade Norr Mälarstrand.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Then view of old city from the Västerbron bridge.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

The bridge passes over a small island Langholmen, you can turn left and get on a small rocky observation deck. A little further along the path is an open-air theater.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Next we are on the island of Sodermalm, which is familiar to fans of Stieg Larsson's detective stories. In the southwestern part of the island there is a large green area with parks and holiday houses. On the hill, at the end of the Tantolundsvägen street, there is an unknown viewpoint.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

In the northern part of the island is the best place to meet the sunset - Skinnarviksberget. Find it by a large radio tower.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Met only one home rabbit, although we expected to see wild rabbits. In 2009 there was a scandal in Stockholm, as thousands of rabbits were caught and burnt to biofuel. Maybe that's why we did not see them?

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

The best views of the old town from Monteliusvägen street.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Evening photo from Katarina Hiss.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

On the third day we got up early and went along the promenade (google.maps) in the direction of TV-tower Kaknästornet (http://www.kaknastornet.se/eng/).

©Yuriy Buriak

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Kaknästornet TV tower has an indoor and outdoor observation decks at a height of 155 meters ($8). You can reach this place by bus #69 to the stop "Kaknästornet Södra (Kaknästornet South)" or by bus #69K to the stop "Kaknästornet". Use the route planner to find the public transport.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Both observation decks bad.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Went down and crossed the small river by a bridge to get to the Djurgården island. From here we went though the forest to Skansen. We hoped to see wild animals, but did not see anyone.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

In Skansen bought sausages and fried on a public grill.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

View of TV-Tower from Skansen.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

The center of the city we reached by historic tram. In the evening we went to the island of Skeppsholmen to make pictures of the old town.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

On the last day we woke up at 6 am and saw in the window that the water was perfect. Quickly went to the promenade and made great pictures of Stockholm.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

Then on the subway went to the Globen, where located Globen Arena. Here we visited SkyView, not an ordinary observation deck but rather an attraction. In a transparent gondola you will pass the roof of the sports and concert arena, reaching 130 meters at the highest point. You can get there by the green subway line to the Globen station. The ticket costs $23, you can buy it online., althouh it's not necessary.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

As in the case with a walk on the roofs, this entertainment for those who have extra money and time.

Stockholm ©Yuriy Buriak

From the Globen Arena walked towards the hotel though the in hipster district SoFo (google.maps).

©Yuriy Buriak

2009

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden, the largest and most interesting city in the country. Actually it's the only large city in the kingdom. It reminds me our native Kyiv, but only in some places, as the Swedish capital is unique. We spent only 1.5 days in Stockholm, but managed to visit a lot of interesting places. In contrast to the calm Copenhagen and Oslo, this city is pretty noisy and bustling.

Stockholm is built on the 14 islands and the Swedes call it "Beauty on the Water" and "The Capital of all Scandinavia". The city has a diverse architecture: ancient buildings are concentrated in Gamlastan (Old City), while the multilevel "boxes" dominate on the outskirts.

We started our day in Stockholm from the observation deck on the tower of the City Hall, which is open from May to September. The best time to come here is in the late afternoon, but we didn't know about the http://suncalc.net website at the time of our visit :) The ticket costs approximately $6, but the main problem is that you cannot buy tickets in advance and the number of visitors per day is limited. We came at 9 am and went up at 9:15 am, so we were lucky. The timetable and other information can be found here.

City Hall in Stockholm ©stockholm.se

View from the observation deck at the City Hall

After a visit to the City Hall, we went for a walk in the old city (Gamla Stan), which is located on a small island in the downtown. In addition to the Royal Palace, there are many other places of interest here. Be sure to find the Morten Trotzig Lane, the narrowest street in Sweden, and "Boy Looking at the Moon", the smallest monument in Sweden.

At 12:15 pm Monday to Saturday and at 1:15 pm on Sundays and holidays you can observe changing of the guard near the Royal Palace (point 1).

At the official website of the old city you can find some interesting maps. For example, on this map you can see the location of 15 palaces within the old city. It's curious that the Parliament building is not included in this list, although it's the most beautiful building.

Other maps:
- Sights of the old city
- Secret and hidden places
- Interesting buildings

Some guides show a house and even a window in the old city, where Karlsson-on-the-Roof used to live. They are wrong. It's clear that Karlsson is a fictional character, but still in the books his place of residence is indicated as close to home of Astrid Lindgren near the Vasa Park (Vasaparken). Therefore, if you want to find Karlsson's home, go to 12 Vulkanusgatan (map).

After the old city we went for a walk to the downtown. We passed over the bridge with rainbow flags: the next day there was a Gay Parade in Stockholm.

Next we went to the museums. The major museums are located on the Museum Island (Dyurgarden), which can be reached by a beautiful historical tram from the center.

We visited several museums on the Museum Island.

Junibacken ($23) - museum based on the books by Astrid Lindgren. You'll meet here Karlsson, Pippi Longstocking and others. The most famous Swedish writer took part in the creation of the museum and offered to settle there fairy tale characters of other writers. Since childhood I loved her tales about Karlsson and still re-read them from time to time. This museum is a paradise for kids and is unique because of the "fabulous train". Don't ask what is it, just go and check :)

Junibacken, a fabulous museum in Stockholm

The Vasa Museum ($21) - the museum of the world's only ship of the XVII century. This is the most famous museum in Sweden. Vasa started its journey in the port of Stockholm on August 10, 1628. After 3 kilometers it sank due to a gust of wind, which turned it over. At that time it was one of the biggest ships in the world. It was found in 1956 and risen in 1961. The condition of the ship at the moment can be described as excellent.

Skansen ($25) - the world's first ethnographic open-air museum, which was founded in 1891. Since then, the open-air museums are called skansens. Currently at Skansen there are more than 150 houses and manors of XVIII-XX centuries from all over Sweden. There's also a small zoo inside.

We used the Stockholm Card to visit everyting that was described above. It costs $80 per day and gives free access to public transport and places of interest. We bought it right at the hotel, but you can find it in press kiosks near the subway and in tourist information offices.

Attention! The Stockholm Card was discontinued on December 31, 2015 and is no longer valid.

Don't miss the chance to visit the blue line of the subway. Its carved stations regularly appear in all ratings of the most unusual subway stations.

The next morning we went by subway to the Drottningholm Palace, the permanent residence of the royal family, which occupies the southern wing of the palace. The bigger part of the palace is open to visitors. There are guided tours ($23, information). It's not difficult to get there: first go to Brommaplan by the subway, then to Drottningholm by buses ##301-323 or ##177-178.

More photos of Stockholm

Maps of subway and commuter trains can be downloaded here.
Stockholm brochure in English can be downloaded here.

Getting there: The main airport is the Stockholm-Arlanda Airport. The fastest way to get to the city from the airport is by the Arlanda Express train, journey time is 20 minutes, the ticket costs ~$34 for one person or ~$35 for two persons. You can also use the Flygbussarna buses, journey time is 45 minutes, the ticket costs $15.

https://www.flixbus.com - busses between Göteborg, Stockholm and Malmö, and between Sweden and Northern Continental Europe, especially Denmark and Northern Germany.

Stockholm can be reached by ferries:
http://www.tallink.com - Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Riga, Mariehamn (Aland Islands)
http://www.vikingline.com - Helsinki, Turku, Longnes (Aland Islands), Mariehamn (Aland Islands)
http://www.stpeterline.com - St.Petersburg, Tallinn

Stockholm can be reached by train (sj.se) from Oslo, Copenhagen, and Berlin.

Tags, Sweden: city
Tags, all countries: city

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Comments (Total: 1)

# 1 Ludmila Mihailova

2017-06-21 22:37

Очень хорошее описание вашего тура, фото просто шедевр! Живу 7 лет в Стокгольме во многих местах , описанных вами - была, где то и не была, но прочитала до конца.Очень интересно описано. Спасибо большое.

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