Stockholm is built on fourteen islands where a lake meets the Baltic Sea, so water is never more than a glance away. It is compact enough to explore on foot, served by one of the world’s most scenic metro systems, and full of museums, islands and old town lanes that reward a slow few days. Here are the experiences worth building a visit around.
Gamla Stan, the old town
Start in Gamla Stan, one of the best preserved medieval city centres in Europe. Its honey coloured merchant houses, cobbled lanes and the narrow alley of Mårten Trotzigs gränd, just ninety centimetres wide, sit on the island where Stockholm was founded in the thirteenth century. The Royal Palace anchors the district, with a daily changing of the guard in summer. Wander without a map, then pause for coffee on Stortorget, the small square ringed by painted facades.
The Vasa Museum
The single most visited museum in Scandinavia earns its reputation. The Vasa Museum on the island of Djurgården displays a warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and was raised, almost intact, after more than three centuries on the seabed. Standing beside the towering, fully preserved hull is unforgettable, and the surrounding exhibits bring seventeenth century life vividly to the surface.
Djurgården, the green island
Djurgården is Stockholm’s outdoor living room, a royal park island that you reach on foot, by tram or by ferry. Beyond the Vasa it holds Skansen, the world’s oldest open air museum, where historic Swedish buildings and Nordic animals fill a hillside, and the playful ABBA Museum. Bring a picnic and walk the shoreline paths between attractions.
Ride the metro as an art gallery
Stockholm’s metro is often called the longest art gallery in the world, with more than ninety stations decorated by artists. The blue line stations of T-Centralen, Kungsträdgården and Solna Centrum are the most striking, their bedrock ceilings painted in bold colour. A single ticket on SL lets you hop between them, making it one of the best value sightseeing trips in the city.
Climb to a viewpoint on Södermalm
The hilly island of Södermalm is Stockholm’s creative quarter, full of independent shops, vintage stores and cafes. Walk the Monteliusvägen path for a sweeping view across the water to the old town, or take the historic Katarinahissen lift for a higher vantage point. Södermalm is also where the city’s fika and food scene feels most alive.
Take to the water
No visit is complete without getting on a boat. Public ferries and sightseeing cruises thread between the central islands, and from the quays you can set off into the Stockholm archipelago, a maze of some thirty thousand islands and skerries. Even a short hop to the island of Fjäderholmarna, twenty five minutes from the centre, gives you a taste of the open water.
Free things to do
Stockholm can be enjoyed cheaply. The City Hall gardens, the waterfront promenades and most parks are free, several national museums waive admission, and simply walking between the islands is the best sightseeing of all. Our budget travel guide has more ways to keep costs down.
Three days in Stockholm
- Day one: Gamla Stan, the Royal Palace and a Södermalm viewpoint
- Day two: Djurgården, the Vasa Museum and Skansen
- Day three: a metro art tour and a ferry into the archipelago
For tickets, opening hours and seasonal events, the official city guide Visit Stockholm is the most reliable source. When you are ready to look beyond the capital, see our overview of planning a trip to Sweden.