Stockholm is one of the most diverse and interesting cities I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. There’s something of interest for almost everyone there and most of it in a compact and almost walkable package. Most tourists will end up spending the bulk of their time in the Gamla Stan (the old town), Kungstragarten and Djurgården areas. Within Gamla Stan, you’ll find a labyrinth of twisty little streets and alleys. Explore them to find a wealth of restaurants, cafes and shops in addition to the treasure trove of architectural delights. The area is fairly small and surrounded by water so just how lost can you possibly get? The Royal palace is also in Gamla Stan and worth a visit around noon for the changing of the guard. A significant number of Stockholm’s museums including the Skansen open-air folk museum are located in Djurgården. Kungstragarten and Birger Jarl provide opportunities for the shoppers in the crowd. All that and so much more…it’-s a fantastic city.
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Without a doubt, Gamla Stan leads my list. As an avid people watcher, I like to find a nice sidewalk café, and have a cold beer or three as I watch the people stroll by. There are plenty of opportunities for this kind of amusement all over the city.
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The greatest thing about Stockholm is its residents. I found the locals to be friendly and helpful in every respect and rightfully proud of their city. Scandinavia in general has been hugely successful in embracing the technology age without sacrificing their historic roots. Stockholm seems to epitomize that bridge.
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| Sights: |
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Gamla Stan, Skansen, the Vasa Museum, City Hall and the state historical museum lead most tourists lists of where to go. You can add a canal tour or a visit to any of the 24,000 islands lacing the archipelago just to round out your agenda.
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| Accommodations: |
Stockholm has no shortage of hotels especially in the moderate to high price categories. My pick is the Nordic Sea. It is very modern hotel located adjacent to the central train/bus station. The hotel has easy access to any part of town either by foot, bus or tunnelbana (subway). Its unique feature is an ice bar. The entire room and all its barware are constructed of ice. Temperature is maintained at -5 celcius. Parkas, mittens and booties are issued upon entrance so you can stay warm and toasty while you consume ice cold akavit.
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| Hangouts: |
Nowhere in the city did I find a shortage of places to quench my thirst. The Hard Rock Café provides a taste of the USA to American travelers getting homesick for familiar foods and beverages. There is a nice Belgian themed bar near the south end of Gamla Stan that pours a seemingly endless variety of Trappist beers.
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So I traveled all the way to Sweden to eat Italian food or at least that’s the way it seems. We found an abundance of good restaurants in Stockholm with a disproportionate number of them being Italian. None were bad.
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The Stockholm card can be a real bargain if you like to visit museums but there are better alternatives if all you need is transportation.
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Published on Thursday July 18th, 2002
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