Everything Seems Nicer in Stockholm
A BEAUTIFUL CITY WHERE I’LL REMEMBER THE 7-11
I went to Stockholm with few expectations. I assumed it’d be a clean, livable city with IKEA. The primary advice I’d been given about visiting was - just walk around. Following that advice, I was consistently delighted.
First, I didn’t know that Stockholm was in an archipelago! We approached the city by cruise ship, so we got to watch the small islands pass as we approached. It was a stunning entry point into the city.
Second, for whatever reason, I anticipated that Swedish architecture would be a bit drab. I was very wrong. Throughout the city, I found myself saying “this section feels like Hell’s Kitchen - but cleaner and with wider streets.” Or, “this section feels like Venice - but cleaner and with wider streets.” Or, “this section feels like London - but cleaner and with wider streets.” I’m sure you get the picture. The different neighborhoods of Stockholm draw architectural inspiration from the greats throughout Europe, so the buildings rival the beauty of pretty much any other city in Europe - but within a more livable, less polluted urban plan.
Third, Stockholm is a city built across 14 islands, so everywhere you go you get delicious water views. And the water isn’t polluted - so it feels like being embedded constantly in pristine nature.
The first thing we did on arrival was stop at the 7-11 across from our hotel. I’ve never seen a more perfect convenience store - so clean you could lick the floor, spacious, with a high quality bakery, and everything was stocked and evenly lined. There was literally a small red carpet and velvet entry ropes outside. It really does seem that Stockholm takes everything and makes it - much, much better.
I will add one caveat. I’ve never been someplace so white and so blonde. We liked to joke throughout our time in Stockholm that both the American right and the American left can say “we want to be more like Sweden” depending on what they’re pointing to.
WALK THROUGH GAMLA STAN - OLD TOWN
The original section of Stockholm - Gamla Stan - is located on a small central island and is the city’s main tourist attraction. The island is full of cobbled streets cut between with cute alleys and colorful 17th / 18th century buildings amidst a medieval city plan. At the island hill’s peak you’ll find Stortorgert - an idyllic main square that hosts the Nobel Museum - and nearby, the Royal Palace.
Amazingly, only one of the streets feels like a bit of a tourist trap - riddled with souvenir shops, cinnamon buns, and ice cream stores. On the rest of the island, you’ll find a intact local economy. We even bumped into a small fishing gear store.
TAKE IN THE WATER VIEWS
One of the main delights of Stockholm is that you constantly have island-water views. Some of the best viewing points are Monteliusvägen (southwest of Gamla Stan), Strandvägen (an esplanade northwest of Gamla Stan with some of the most expensive housing), Södermalm (southeast of Gamla Stan above Fotografiska), and the Skeppshomsbron Bridge (east of Gamla Stan). Each of these include the colorful buildings of Old Town in their view points.
OTHER THINGS TO DO
I don’t think you can go wrong in planning a Stockholm trip as long as you leave yourself plenty of time to just stroll around. Here are some of the most common to-dos to schedule along your walks:
Shop at the Original IKEA: Perhaps kitschy, the only thing both my friend and I knew we wanted to do in Stockholm was to visit the original IKEA. It’s a short subway ride out of the city and includes a small exhibit on the history of IKEA. I think it’s a really good time - and offers some of the cheapest food in Stockholm. They also have a smaller IKEA in the city that has a cafe.
Read at the Public Library: The Stockholm Public Library is one of the its main architectural sites. It’s a round library that offers curved bookshelves and cool tuck-away nooks to read in. I’m glad that we stopped by.
Go to a Museum: Stockholm has A TON of well-known museums. Some of the most visited are the world’s first open air museum (Skansen), the most visited non-art museum in the world (Vasa Museum - a historical ship museum), one of the most famous photo galleries (Fotografiska), the ABBA museum, and the Modern Art Museum.
Explore Drottningholm Palace: On the outskirts of Stockholm, this palace is one of Sweden’s world heritage sites.
Take a Ship Along the Archipelago: We were lucky that this was a coincidental benefit of taking a Baltic Sea cruise - but you can intentionally book an excursion in Stockholm to see the archipelago islands of Stockholm.
Again, I don’t think it really matters what particular activities you choose to do as long as you leave plenty of time to just soak up your time wandering around.
