Stockholm

Gamla stan: where the city began

Gamla stan is the spot where Birger Jarl founded the city in 1252. Most of the buildings standing today went up in the 1600s and 1700s. Walk the cobbled lanes and you'll reach Mårten Trotzigs gränd, the narrowest alley in town, just 90 cm wide at its tightest point. If someone's coming the other way, one of you has to flatten against the wall to let the other pass. Stortorget is Stockholm's oldest square. At the Nobel Prize Museum (Nobelprismuseet) on the square, you can follow the stories of past laureates, and in winter a Christmas market sets up here. A few steps away, the Royal Palace (Kungliga slottet) is the King's official residence, with more than 600 rooms, and parts of it are open to visitors.

The Vasa Museum: the ship that sank on her first voyage

Walk into the Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet) on Djurgården and the first thing you see is a wooden warship filling the dim hall. The Vasa sank inside Stockholm's harbor on 10 August 1628, the very day she set out on her maiden voyage. A gust heeled her hard over, and seawater poured in through the open gunports. Of the crew and guests on board, 30 lost their lives. She was raised and broke the surface again on 24 April 1961, 333 years after she went down. More than a million people visit each year, so from June to August it's much calmer if you arrive for the 8:30 a.m. opening. Adult admission is 240 SEK from May to September and 195 SEK the rest of the year, and under-18s get in free.

Skansen and Djurgården: the green island

A short walk from the Vasa Museum brings you to Skansen. Artur Hazelius opened it in 1891 after moving old houses from all over Sweden up onto the hill, making it the world's oldest open-air museum. Among those old houses, you'll also meet wild Nordic animals and native Swedish livestock. Around the summer solstice, the midsommar (Midsummer) celebrations run for three days, from morning until late at night, and in winter there's the Christmas market, first held in 1903. From October to December it usually closes around 3 or 4 p.m., so go in the morning (on Fridays and Saturdays during the Christmas market it stays open until 5 p.m.). Djurgården is part of the world's first national city park, designated in 1995.

City Hall and the metro: art in everyday places

Stockholm City Hall (Stadshuset) is built from more than 8 million red bricks. Three crowns sit on top of its 106-meter tower, which you can climb only from May to August. The Nobel banquet is held here too: dinner is served in the Blue Hall (Blå hallen), and afterward the guests move to the Golden Hall (Gyllene salen), covered in 18 million gold mosaic tiles, to dance. The interior can only be seen on a guided tour. Each of the 100 stations on the Stockholm metro (Tunnelbana) has its own art on the platforms, walls and waiting halls, which is why it's called the world's longest art exhibition, at 110 km. The blue line platform at T-Centralen is a cave painted blue and white, worth stepping off for a moment as you pass through.

Fika and the Swedish table

Fika is a habit that holds everyday Swedish life together. The cardamom bun (kardemummabulle) that sits next to the cinnamon bun (kanelbulle) is less sweet and is known as the grown-up choice. Prinsesstårta, a dome-shaped cake of sponge, vanilla cream, raspberry jam and whipped cream in layers, is sometimes called Sweden's national cake. At restaurants, start with husmanskost, traditional Swedish home cooking. Its signature dish, meatballs, comes on one plate with mashed potatoes, brown gravy, lingonberry jam and pickled cucumber, and the sweet-tart jam and pickles keep the salty meat from getting tiresome. To try a little of everything, head to Östermalms Saluhall, a market hall that's been going since 1888.

Södermalm and the archipelago: along the water

Cross the bridge south from Gamla stan and you're in Södermalm. With its cafés and bars, it's known as the neighborhood where Stockholm's new trends show up first. From Monteliusvägen, a path along the hillside on its north side, you can take in Gamla stan and the City Hall tower across the water, and on the waterfront is Fotografiska, a photography museum. If you have time, head out to the Stockholm archipelago (Stockholms skärgård). Just 20 minutes from the city, an archipelago of more than 30,000 islands begins, and islands within an hour's reach, like Fjäderholmarna or Vaxholm, make easy day trips. Boats to Fjäderholmarna run mainly in summer, so in other seasons look into Vaxholm instead. Waxholmsbolaget's regular ferries run all year, but there are fewer departures once the summer high season is over.

A 3-night, 4-day itinerary

Day 1 — Arrive at Arlanda Airport (18 minutes to the city on the Arlanda Express) → Gamla stan and Stortorget → Royal Palace → evening walk on Monteliusvägen Day 2 — Vasa Museum at opening time → Skansen → waterside walk on Djurgården → dinner at Östermalms Saluhall Day 3 — City Hall guided tour (up the tower in May–August) → art in the metro stations → fika at a café → Fotografiska Day 4 — Day trip to Fjäderholmarna (summer) or Vaxholm → airport

What to eat

• Swedish meatballs (with lingonberry jam)
• Cardamom and cinnamon buns (fika)
• Toast Skagen (shrimp toast)
• Prinsesstårta (dome-shaped cake)

Handy tips

• Plenty of restaurants and shops don't take cash at all. Change only a little money and bring a card that works abroad.
• A single metro or bus ticket costs 43 SEK and is valid for 75 minutes. You can buy one by credit card at the turnstiles or on the bus, and there are 24-hour, 72-hour and 7-day tickets too.
• Wine and spirits are sold only at the state-run Systembolaget (supermarkets and convenience stores carry low-alcohol beer only). It closes early on Saturday afternoons and is shut on Sundays and public holidays.