A guide by ka0310
this is a cafe in the hippy sodermalm district, which is like stepping back to 1969. Everything is junk shop finds, and all of it is for sale, from the seat the sit on, to the cup you drink from. Try the muffins, they are fantastic!
Nytorgsgatan 38 116 40 Stockholm www.cafestring.com
Gamla Stan is the old town of Stockholm, with narrow cobbled little streets. Lots of medieval history and the Royal Castle, Storkyrkan (oldest church in town), and Stortorget (where the bloodbath of Stockholm took place in the 16th century. Check out the red brick building with white stones on one side of the square - the white stones denote how many people got their head chopped off. Nice!).
There are plenty of medieval cafes to head into for lunch or fika (morning or afternoon tea/coffee break) - sitting sipping hot chocolate in a medieval stone cellar complete with arches and stuff is exciting for most people. Chokladkoppen on Stortorget is always good, and so is Kaffegillet on Trångsund.
Västerlånggatan is the main drag, but sadly quite touristy these days. But if you're in the business of getting some reindeer slippers or the like, this is where to go. Österlånggatan is nicer, with little antiques shops and galleries. Next to Gamla Stan is Riddarholmen, which also has lots of history. The Parliament and the beautiful Riddarholmskyrkan church are located here.
Good places for food/drink:
Pontus in the Green House on Österlånggatan (good for lunch) - traditional Swedish cuisine but with an exotic twist.
Pontus by the Sea on Skeppsbrokajen (good for lunch) - see above.
Grill Ruby on Österlånggatan (lunch) - brasserie.
Källaren Movitz on Tyska Brinken – doesn’t look that special, but the restaurant downstairs is good for Swedish food.
Järnet Matsal & Bar on Österlånggatan is cosy and does good food.
Engelen/Kolingen on Kornhamnstorg - a nice old-school type of place where you're pretty much guaranteed to get a good night out.
Walk from Norrmalm along Drottninggatan towards the Houses of Parliament, or northwards from Slussen.
Östermalm - the classic posher areas of Stockholm. Lots of trendy clubs and restaurants where the rich and beautiful people hang out, mainly around Stureplan and Humlegården. It is also good for shopping - all the big designer names are around Birger Jarlsgatan/Biblioteksgatan, and the streets around Östermalmstorg.
There is a great indoor food market in Östermalmshallen. Sturegallerian is nice for little quirky shops and cafes, and Sturekatten is the classic old cafe around here.
Restaurants:
East on Stureplan - very good Asian food if you get tired of herring and crispbread!
Eriks Bakficka on Fredrikshovsgatan - the dinner menu is expensive, but it has a great lunch menu.
Carpe Diem on Lutzengatan (Karlaplan tube) - simple and rustic but very good.
Lisa på Torget on Östermalmstorg - great cocktails and good food too.
Walk up from Stureplan, or catch the tube to Östermalmstorg
The Skansen is an open air museum but one that won't scare you: over 150 relocated historic buildings from all over Sweden. Those open are attended by informative people in costume of the period of the house. Bears and other wild animals will captivate the children. Allow a whole day. 50Kr per person, children free but there is a 20 Kr discount with the travel card. Times vary: to end of April: 10.00-16.00; May: 10.00-20.00; June- Aug: 10.00-22.00.
Nearby is the Nordiska Museet of Swedish history and life: again don't be put off by the name and content. (free).
Moderna Museet and Arkitektmuseet are free and on Skeppsholmen: great collections (especially the models in the architecture museum) all in Rafael Moneo's building. T/W: 10.00-20.00; Thur-Sun: 10.00-18.00
Skansen located on Djurgårdsslätten, use bus 47, 44 or better the tram line 7 (try the café tram).
Get a boat from central Stockholm out to the island of Vaxholm (about an hour away). Vaxholm has cafés, shops, and an old fort museum that you can go and visit. It's a great day trip for a sunny day. You get to see a lot of Stockholm from the water on your way out.
Waxholmsbolaget also runs boats to loads of other islands - their website has good English pages telling you about them.
The ferries go from Stromkajen near the Grand Hotel. Look for the Waxholmsbolaget sign.
www.vaxholm.se/turism/eng/index.asp
www.waxholmsbolaget.se/
Even if you only spend a few days in the "Venice of the North", I would still advise you to get on a boat and go out to the beautiful archipelago surrounding Stockholm.
The closer islands in the archipelago, such as Waxholm, Finnhamn and Fjäderholmarna, are only an hour or two away and are nice places to wander around for a couple of hours.
It's a lovely way to spend a nice day or half-day out, and if you go during summer, the archipelago is a great place for a summer picnic and swimming - that's what the locals do.
You can catch boats from the ferry terminals at Slussen and Strömkajen, below the Grand Hotell. www.stockholmtown.com/templates/substartpage____2409.aspx?epslanguage=EN; www.waxholmsbolaget.se/
Step off the Arlanda Express or bus from the airport and head for a deep chill in the Ice Bar, located near the central station in the Nordic Sea Hotel on Vasaplan. Sip ABSOLUT vodka cocktails from ice glasses whilst wearing oven mitts and a snug poncho complete with a furry hood fit for the occasion. Chilly, touristy and incredibly funny.
Like the Mary Rose, the vanity of the ruling classes caused it's downfall (having too many cannons in this case). Only unlike the Mary Rose it is a full-size ship, very well-preserved and impressive. You will take one look at it's top-heavy shape and wonder how they thought it would ever float. It lasted about two minutes, taking many innocent lives down with it.
The Vasa Museum, Galarvarvsvagen 14.
Tel : (00 46) 851 954 800
www.vasamuseet.se
This tiny cafe in the old town does the most fantastic hot chocolate, served steaming in big bowls. Go in Winter and see the Christmas market before cosying down in one of the corners of Chokladkoppen with a good book.
Stortorget 20
No visit to Stockholm is complete without a visit to this outdoor museum of Swedish life. They have everything from Swedish houses, crafts, cultures and also a zoo complete with Swedish bears, reindeer and wolves. This would also be great for families.
A no-frills vegetarian restaurant situated in the Old Town. There are usually only a couple of choices but the food is always delicious and plentiful, Vegan friendly too. Free bread and coffee are provided, they are fine about you bringing your own drink (alcoholic or not). Meals work out at about a fiver a head which is very cheap for Stockholm.
Stora Nygatan 11, Gamla Stam
Take a break from pricey restaurants at this good value place on Soder. It does a tasty all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet and the seating area has great views over the water.
Fjallgatan 23
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