It may seem hard at first to shake off all the preconceived notions ... the blond-haired Vikings in ABBA platform shoes driving their Volvos packed with unassembled Ikea furniture and Absolut Vodka to auditions for Bond films. But a visit to design-chic Stockholm will put at least some of those to rest. There’s no big-city angst, no frenetic bustle - it’s the city of the leisurely stroll. And it’s all about the water.
 
The town itself is located on 14 islands, which makes it hard to walk more than a few hundred metres in any direction without crossing a bridge or at least coming to a dead-end at a parked boat serving beer. The parked-boat concept isn’t limited to cocktails. There are also boat restaurants, boat discos, boat tours, boat hostels and boat hotels. On those precious sunny summer days, you can take a swim (yes, right in the downtown waterways, no biohazard suit required) or explore the city with a rented kayak. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, just turn the vessel east and you’ve got Stockholm’s 24,000-island archipelago to explore within a day or two’s paddling.
 
Come winter, the waterways become an ice skater’s dream and the nearby nature reserves fill with cross-country skiers. If this seems just a bit too Arctic, concentrate on the defrosting, which is practically an art here. Exorcise the chills with a sauna or, better yet, one of the many public bath-houses, possibly the most authentic local experience available to visitors. And if that doesn’t work, there’s always aquavit.