Stockholm Travel Guide

The capital of Sweden, the beautiful island city Stockholm, has been on our list of cities we have wanted to see for a long time. We spent three days in Stockholm, and it thoroughly delighted us with its history, architecture, nature, people, and cuisine.

Stockholm Travel Guide: Transportation

Stockholm has two airports, Bromma and Arlanda. We landed at Arlanda Airport. To reach the city center, there are options like the express train and bus. The express train costs 295 SEK and takes 18 minutes to the city center. The bus, on the other hand, costs 120 SEK and takes 35-40 minutes. We chose the bus and bought our tickets at the airport. You can check all transportation options and details here.

Within the city, we mostly walked or used the metro/tram. Since there is a metro station near almost every place worth seeing, we could easily explore everywhere. If you plan to use public transportation, I recommend downloading the SL app to your phone. The app shows you all transportation alternatives for your destination and keeps track of metro, bus, and train schedules minute by minute.

Stockholm Travel Guide: Accommodation

We stayed at Hotel With Urban Deli. Urban Deli Hotel, located very close to Hötorget metro station, impressed us with its market, restaurant, terrace, rooms, and service. The rooms are on the -1st floor and have no windows. Although this made me a bit uneasy at first, I said, “I’m glad we stayed here” after our visit. The terrace floor is a very popular place, and guests of the hotel get a discount. Breakfast was truly fantastic. Overall, we were very satisfied. You can find details about the hotel here and other accommodation options in the city here.

Stockholm Travel Guide: When to Visit?

We traveled to Stockholm in July. Honestly, even July felt a bit chilly to us, and we had to wear denim jackets and sweaters occasionally. There were times during the day when we got caught in light rain. However, despite all this, the weather was always very clear and bright. We witnessed the famous white nights, where it never gets completely dark from night to morning.

In short, the best recommended period to visit Stockholm is between May and September. During this period, the temperature is pleasant, the weather is bright, the city is lively, and everything is green.

Stockholm Travel Guide: Internet

If you want to avoid any internet inconveniences while exploring, you can purchase an e-sim from Airalo here. When making your first e-sim purchase on Airalo, use the code IAMONT3974 to receive a $3 discount. 🙂

Stockholm Travel Guide: Places to Visit

*Norrmalm

We started exploring Stockholm from the Norrmalm district where our hotel was located. It is a lively area with beautiful shops, cafes, and stores. Some streets closed to traffic, home decor stores, patisseries, and florists gave us the first hints about the city.

Kungsträdgården

A beautiful park located right in the middle of the city. We sat in a café here and had “fika” right after arriving. What is “fika”? Fika is the coffee and sweet break Swedes take between 2-4 pm. They usually eat a cinnamon bun with their coffee. Cafés get quite busy in the afternoon due to fika. Of course, we quickly adapted to this tradition and had our fika every day.

*Gamla Stan

When you look at Google Maps of Stockholm, you will probably notice first that the city consists of dozens of islands – exactly 14 islands. Some are connected by bridges, and others can be reached by ferry. The most famous of these islands is Gamla Stan, one of the most historical areas in Stockholm. We walked across the Strömbron bridge to Gamla Stan. We loved the orange-colored houses, random bikes left against the outer walls of the buildings.

Djurgårdsbrunn

Our first stop on the second day was Djurgårdsbrunn Island. It is like an island of museums, with many different museums in various fields. Since the weather was very nice, we wandered around the island before visiting the museum.

Vasa Museum

If you only have the chance to visit one museum in Stockholm, I strongly recommend spending that opportunity on the Vasa Museum. At least that’s what we did, and we really said, “We’re so glad we came to see this.” Vasa is the only ship that has survived from the 17th century to the present day. It was meticulously crafted and sank shortly after setting sail, still very close to Stockholm. For years, many sailors and historians couldn’t find this sunken ship despite searching for it. Then, in the 1950s, the wooden ship was found and salvaged at the place where it sank. It was meticulously restored. Both the story of the ship and the ship itself were truly impressive. You can buy your tickets either at the museum or online here. I’m also leaving the museum link here.

Gröna Lund

Famous Gröna Lund is located on Djurgårdsbrunn Island. It is similar to Tivoli Garden in Copenhagen, with a large amusement park inside and events such as concerts and festivals taking place. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go inside as we didn’t have time, but we could see it from a distance. If you want to go, you can check ticket prices and the event schedule here.

*Södermalm

We took a ferry from Djurgårdsbrunn Island to Södermalm Island. Compared to the other two islands, Södermalm is a larger island. The streets, roads leading to the sea, and buildings here are very beautiful.

Mariaberget

The most beautiful part of Södermalm Island is Mariaberget. Finding this place on the offline map was a bit difficult for us, but after a few attempts, we found it. The view was truly beautiful. It started raining right when we were here, making the scenery even more enchanting.

Fotografiska

Another important structure on Södermalm Island is Fotografiska. If you are interested in art and photography, you can visit here. The cafe part sells beautiful photographs and souvenirs.

*Vasastan

Stockholm Public Library

We came to this area just to visit one place; Stockholm Public Library. We had seen very beautiful photos of this place and were very curious about it. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go inside because it was under renovation.

*Kungsholmen

Stockholm City Hall

We visited Kungsholmen Island on the last day of our trip. Stockholm City Hall is one of the coolest municipal buildings we have seen with its architecture and view. While we were at Stockholm City Hall, there was a graduation ceremony for the Police Academy, so the garden was quite crowded. This event provided us with a great opportunity to observe the local people.

Stockholm Travel Guide: Activities

There are plenty of activities to explore in Stockholm and its surroundings. You can take a guided city tour or cruise through the archipelago islands by boat. Check out the activities you can enjoy in Stockholm here and here.

Stockholm Travel Guide: Dining & Food and Drink

Stockholm exceeded our expectations with its coffees, desserts, meals, and wines. One of my favorite things in Stockholm was that water was free everywhere. Since tap water is clean and everyone drinks tap water, you don’t have to pay for water in establishments.

*Norrmalm

Thelins Grand Cafe

A sweet café overlooking Kungsträdgården. We sat here when we wanted to have fika. We paid 170 SEK for a latte, an Americano, and two cinnamon buns.

Pyttirian

While looking for a place before restaurants closed, we luckily found this place. I tried the famous Swedish meatballs, and they were delicious. We paid 270 SEK for dinner for two.

Urban Deli

The terrace of the hotel where we stayed, also named Urban Deli, is quite popular among locals. We enjoyed the bright weather and beautiful music on the terrace. It closes at 10 pm. We paid 98 SEK for two glasses of wine.

Stockholm Under Stjärnorna (Stockholm Under the Stars)

A very nice terrace. Although there was no proper sunset due to the bright weather, the atmosphere is best enjoyed on the nicest terraces. Locals were watching football and enjoying after-work beers. I really liked both the view and the atmosphere. We paid 230 SEK for two cocktails.

Hötorgshallen

Hötorgshallen is a large food hall, like a hidden box with dozens of different restaurants and cafes inside. We sat at Kajsas Fisk, located on the lower floor. I ordered salmon and white wine, and there was also a complimentary salad and delicious bread. The meals were very tasty, and the prices were much more reasonable compared to those outside. We paid 397 SEK for this meal for two. A small note; Hötorgshallen closes at 7 pm.

*Södermalm

Kalf & Hansen

While on Södermalm Island, we wanted to stay in a cool place to eat when caught in a heavy rain. We found this extremely cool and beautiful place by pure chance, which turned out to be one of the most popular award-winning organic cafes in Stockholm. We tried vegetable soup and meatballs, and everything was very tasty. Soup and meatballs for two costed us 340 SEK.

Kaferang Nytorget

There are many places and cafes side by side just across the park. The coffee was very good. We paid 92 SEK for two coffees.

*Gamla Stan

Restaurant Tradition

This cute restaurant in the Gamla Stan area has become quite popular due to its delicious food. We came here with our local friends. Among the meatballs I ate in Stockholm, the best and the largest portion was here. I recommend it with peace of mind. We paid 240 SEK for this meatball plate.

Stockholm Travel Guide: Tips & Notes & Conclusion

• Stockholm is generally a ‘cash-free’ city, meaning that cash is not used. Credit cards are used almost everywhere. Using a card provided us with both peace of mind and helped us keep track of expenses like where and how much we spent.
• Another app we frequently used in Stockholm was Maps.ME. We downloaded the city map of Stockholm on this app and used it to find directions when we didn’t have internet.
• For this trip, we brought our mugs with us. We made tea from the herbal teas in our hotel, used our mugs during our breaks, and found them very useful. I recommend this to you as well.
• Keep in mind that restaurants and eating places close by 7 pm.
• On days when rain was expected, we borrowed umbrellas from our hotel. You can also ask for an umbrella if you find yourself in such a situation.
• You can find my articles about other European cities in here.