After our journey through Norway, I made my way to Stockholm for a quick visit. I’d never been to Sweden and probably should have given myself more than 24 hours in the city. It’s okay though, I made the most of my time with non-stop exploration.
Whether you’re visiting for a day or a week, there are tons of things to see and do in this pretty city by the water.
About Stockholm
- The city is made up of 14 islands connected by bridges. When walking from island to island, you’ll see and feel the different vibes. This Culture Trip post gives good insight into Stockholm’s diverse neighborhoods.
- It’s a very walkable city and is full of small cobblestone streets. Even though the city is made of islands, they are well connected by bridges with walking lanes. However, if you make a wrong turn on certain islands, you may need to either turn around and go back the way you came, or take a ferry to make it to another island (if you didn’t already know, I’m terrible with directions so this obviously happened to me).
- Sunlight varies greatly depending on the time of year, there can be as few as 6 hours of sunlight daily all the way up to 21 hours.
- The official language is Swedish but everyone pretty much spoke English. Communicating with locals and store owners was no problem at all. My favorite thing was the way they say hi, it’s like an upbeat “hey hey!” (actually spelled hej)
My trip was brief but I hit most of the items on my to-do list. Let me tell you about all my favorites in Stockholm:
Where To Stay:
Freys Hotel: The Freys Hotel is cute, reasonably priced and located just a few steps away from the train station (which is how you will easily get to and from the airport). If your trip is quick, this is a convenient spot and a good jumping off location for your day of adventure. A pretty good breakfast buffet is included (it has Swedish meatballs so you can’t go wrong!).
What To Do:
Walk the Islands: Spend a couple of hours walking island-to-island. Maybe you won’t hit all 14, but a good route will take you through Vasatan, Gamla Stan, Sodermalm and Kungsholm,
Fika: Basically a fancy word for a coffee break. Fika is a social institution in Sweden when people break for coffee with colleagues, friends or family. It’s a nice practice (which should be a norm in the US too, right?), so amid your walking and exploring, make sure to stop for Fika (or stop for a Fika? Still not sure how to properly use the word).
Side note: If you like oat milk, which is gaining popularly int he US, you can be sure to find it at many coffee shops, Oatly hails from Sweden!
Vasa Museum: I’m not a huge museum go-er, but even I found the Vasa Museum pretty interesting. Do the audio tour and you’ll spend about an hour at the museum learning about a giant ship that sank (like 10 minutes after setting sail…whoops). If I had time for another museum, I would have hit up the Abba Museum, seems fun.
Grab Some Candy: There’s more to Sweden than Swedish Fish. Candy is a part of the culture of Sweden (uh, when can I move there?). I visited Karamellaffaren (pronunciation…unknown) for bulk candy (my weakness). If you like black licorice, Lakritsroten is a MUST. They specialize in black licorice and have approximately 1 billion types (my own estimate). The woman at the shop was so friendly and gave me samples of anything I even glanced at. I bought a couple of different kinds, including licorice covered in a key lime white chocolate (so good), and more traditional types (the site is in Swedish so hard to say exactly what it is…). Anyways, just go and sample and buy what you like!
Where to Eat:
Petrus Bakery: Go here and order the cinnamon roll (a staple of Stockholm, therefore you must eat at least 1 a day). I snacked on my first cinnamon roll in the shop and took a cardamom one for later (listen, I only had 24 hours in this city and it was important to try both!). I vote the cardamom as my top choice. But you should probably eat both so you can decide for yourself.
Hotorgshallen: I stopped at Hotorgshallen food hall for lunch. I jumped into the longest line and ordered what everyone else ordered, (seemed like a no-fail way to approach an overwhelming food hall). It was the daily fish soup from Kajsas Fisk and was so good and filling. If you love lively food halls, Ostermalms also looks cool
k25: After my Barry’s workout (see below), I hopped over to K25, another food hall of sorts. There are about 10 different restaurants set up in this hall, serving everything from sushi, to burgers to falafel. If you’re traveling in a group that can’t decide on dinner, this is the perfect spot. Grab food from your stall of choice then sit in the center area together to eat. I chose a salad from Malmo, delish.
Where to Workout:
Barry’s Bootcamp Stockholm: Out of nowhere, I just happened to stumble upon Barry’s Bootcamp, one of my favorite US studios. I had no idea there was a studio in Sweden but you better believe I went in and immediately signed up for class. It’s just like the US class and was an awesome workout. Make sure to sign up for the one in English!
Since my trip was brief, I’ll definitely aim to go back in the future. Have you been, and if so, did I miss any of your favorite spots?
