Back in November, besides traveling to Copenhagen, the MDVP crew also did a little bit of sightseeing in Stockholm as well. We had booked 10 ish days off anyways so we figured that we might as well hit up 2 destinations while we were at it! After all, we did hear from many friends and colleagues that Copenhagen was a relatively small city that we would get through within a few days so we figured why not visit Stockholm? It’s only a couple hours of a train ride away! So onto the itinerary it was added.
Upon our flights landing in Copenhagen, we immediately hopped onto a train to Stockholm and made the 5 hour trek there. We stayed for a total of 3 full days with a half day added onto the tail end as we had a bit of time on the last day before catching our train ride back to Copenhagen, and boy is there a lot to do in Stockholm! While most people had warned us that we wouldn’t need more than a few days in the city, I definitely would have loved to spend an entire week there just to explore every single nook and cranny. Remember, I’m not exactly the hit-up-all-the-sightseeing-spots kind of gal, I’m more of the live-among-the-locals kind of traveler, so I always like to enjoy my time wherever I’m traveling to.
That being said, we still got so much done while there for only 4 days and I can’t wait to share with you some of my favourite highlights of the trip! Keep reading to find out what some of the best things to do are, and make sure to bookmark this page so that you can come back to it for reference when you book your trip to Stockholm!
Bask in the Beautiful Twinkling Lights of Stockholmsjul
I’d be lying if I said that we weren’t looking forward to anything Christmas related while visiting Stockholm. We had actually coordinated our visit to the city to time it with the launch of their annual Stockholmsjul—a celebration of the festive spirit that begins each year with the official lighting ceremony of their Christmas decorations across the city. Spread across the entire city are a handful of beautiful and twinkly Christmas installations that literally begged to be photographed. Because there are so many of them, it would take an entire night to see them all, so we made a list of our favourites and set off exploring. We began our adventure at around 9PM and probably stayed out till about 2AM in the morning. By then we had barely made our way through 80% of our list so I would recommend beginning as early as possible if you plan on seeing multiple sights. They’re all spread pretty far out across the city so you’ll want to give yourself adequate time to travel to them all.
My favourite installations (in order shown in the image above from left to right):
Norrmalmstorg, Kungsträdgården, Kungsträdgården, Centralplan, Sergels Torg
Pro-tip: We found that exploring the sights later on in the evening was easier as there were less people out and about. If you’re in the city for a few days while this celebration is going, I’d recommend splitting it up over the course of a few nights. We were unlucky and had to leave the next day so we didn’t have the luxury of going back for seconds on the next night.
Ride the Subway and Visit the Stations
Stockholm has an extremely efficient public transit system that essentially renders a car rental useless. Not only will you spend more time in traffic and hunting down packing spots, but you’ll probably waste more money paying for gas than for a transit pass. Seriously, take the subway. You’ll not only get to where you want to be faster (their subway is so damn efficient that the TTC pales in comparison), but each station is like a work of art. We spent quite a few evenings subway hoping just to see all of our favourites in person. A quick Google search will bring up a full list of all of Stockholm’s subways with accompanying images of the artwork displayed in each one, so I won’t summarize them all here, but I’ll definitely list some of my favourites.
My favourite stations (in order shown in the image above from left to right):
Row 1: Solna Centrum, Solna Centrum, Thorildsplan, Stadion
Row 2: T-Centralen, T-Centralen, Tekniska Högskolan, Odenplan
Pro-tip: Since there is no sun, you can literally shoot the subway stations at any time of the day. If you don’t care about photos then stop by and visit them at your own schedule and leisure. But if you do want photos, I would advise adventuring in the evening once the rush hour has died down so that the stations are a little bit emptier.
Visit the Largest IKEA in the World
No trip to Stockholm is complete without a visit to IKEA. Though we originally wanted to visit the first ever IKEA in Älmhult, however it’s a little outside of the city and difficult to get to without a car so we settled for the current flagship in Kungens Kurva, which is also the largest location in the world. Though you can drive and park there like any other IKEA, they also offer a free shuttle that leaves from the downtown central station that takes only about 20 minutes. I would recommend checking the shuttle’s schedule for departure and arrival times so that you’re not left stranded at IKEA after the last one departs.
While there, you have to make sure to visit the restaurant and to grab yourself some food. Consuming Swedish meatballs is quintessential to any visit to IKEA. There is also noticeably more options on their menu then what you’re probably used to at your local IKEA.
Once you’ve taken the time to enjoy your meal, wander around the circular set up as you walk up and down in between the half floors exploring all of the displays, set ups, and wares. I was pleasantly surprised by their plant section (the Canadian plant selection is sadly abysmal) as they had insanely mature pothos’ with massive leaves larger than the size of my hand.
I’d also recommend checking out their snack stand near the check out counters and picking up a hot dog for yourself. You’re probably used to seeing the normal style of hot dogs back in America but you’ll be in for a nice little surprise at what Swedish hot dogs are like. Not only are the buns a little bit thinner, but the actual sausage itself is about twice the size of the bun. Talk about a value meal! I forgot to snap a picture for this blog post, but one quick Google search will shed some light on how large the sausages are. Why can’t we have those types of hot dogs here?!
Visit the Swedish Acne Archive
I know that I had mentioned visiting the Acne Archive while in Copenhagen, but while in Stockholm, you also have to do the same. After all, it is the birth home of the brand. If you’re on the hunt for deals, the Stockholm location is where it’s at. I compared a lot of similar items between the two locations and found that the Copenhagen one was priced to be slightly more expensive after conversion rates. The Stockholm location is actually where I purchased my Acne boots and scored the amazing deal on them, but when comparing the exact same pair in Copenhagen, they came out to be around $50 CAD more. How? I’m not exactly sure since the two countries are only a 5 hour train ride away from each other, but it probably has something to do with import fees and whatever their local currency value is worth in CAD. Regardless, I wouldn’t pass up on the opportunity to shop the Acne Archive in Stockholm because the deals are much better than the ones in Copenhagen.
Explore Gamla Stan
Gamla Stan, which quite literally translates into “old town” is the oldest part of Stockholm where building were first built in the 13th century. To this day, there are still buildings from the 17th and 18th century that are intact. I would set aside an entire day to explore Gamla Stan as there is so much to see and do. When we arrived in mid November, they had just begun to set up the neighbourhood’s annual Christmas market (sadly we left before it was completed) in their main square, Stortorget. Funnily enough, the rough translation of Stortorget means “big square” but it is actually one of Europe’s smallest squares!
While in Gamla Stan, I would recommend walking down Prästgatan street. Roughly translating to Priest Street, which beautiful yellow and orange lined street was where priests used to live. It sort of cuts directly down the middle of Gamla Stan, so if you’re ever bored of just seeing row and rows of yellow houses, you can turn off of any of the side roads for a different view.
Take a stroll down Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, which is the narrowest street in all of Stockholm. There’s nothing insanely exceptional about the little alley of 36 steps which ends at a width of 35 inches besides the fact that it’s a fun little street to walk up and down on. Legend also has it that if you make a wish and then stretch your arms out and brush your fingertips along the sides of the walls as you walk down the alley, your wish may come true. I didn’t try this so I have no anecdotal confirmation, but it doesn’t hurt to give it a go.
If you get hungry wandering around Gamla Stan, I have 2 restaurant recommendations for you. The first being Slingerbulten for lunch as they have an unlimited bread and salad bar, but they also serve reindeer meatballs! If there’s one dish that you have to have while visiting Stockholm, it’s their Swedish meatballs. Though they were all sold out the day that we had lunch there so I can’t confirm if they were good at this particular establishment, but the ambiance was cozy and the food was plentiful so I had a good time.
For dinner, I would recommend a spot literally across the street from Slingerbulten called Gamla Stan Hof. There we had the chance to try Swedish elk meatballs for dinner and I fell in love with the dish. I can now proudly say that I’ve tried Swedish meatballs!
Admire the Stockholm Parliament House
Before you leave Gamla Stan, make sure to pay a visit to the Stockholm Parliament House. I don’t think you’ll be able to enter it (we didn’t try, but it didn’t exactly look like it was open to public), but you can walk by it to get a nice little look of the jaw-droppingly beautiful architecture. Designed in a Neoclassical style, the Stockholm Parliament House is a formidable building that truly displays the talent of Swedish design.
Soak in the Literature and Architecture at Stockholm Public Library
The Stockholm Public Library may look ordinary from the outside, but the inside is spectacular. Walking through the main entrance of the building leads you towards the entrance of the library that almost feels as if you’re walking into the lair of a super villain. Upon walking through the enormously tall and dark walls, you’ll enter the main area of the library which opens into a massively expansive rotunda. The two-story, open concept, circular library is not only pleasing to the eye but easy to navigate as well.
Take a seat along the benches to catch up on some much needed rest (I definitely saw a few snoozers lying around the library) or wander around the two floors admiring the organization beautifully designed space.
Admire the Only Fully Intact 17th Century Ship
If you’re a history buff then you’re going to love the Vasa Museum. Located inside this museum is the only ever (almost) fully intact ship from the 17th century that was ever successfully salvaged. The Vasa was built to be a warship for King of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus during the 16th century and actually sank during its maiden voyage when it was only 1,300 m into it’s journey. Sadly the ship’s gun ports were constructed too low along its side, allowing water to enter the ship, thus sinking it. 333 years and many attempts later, the Vasa was finally recovered and is now restored and maintained inside of the Vasa museum for visitors to learn about its demise and recovery.
The museum itself is built around the ship and visitors can explore the history of the ship such as its design, its demise, the cargo it carried, and the individuals aboard the ship. The museum itself isn’t large, I would estimate that we spent around 2 hours in there, but I do wish that we had an extra 2 hours to really take our time with the exhibits. This museum probably warrants about a half of your day.
Explore the Hallwyl Museum
To be very honest, there isn’t anything particularly special about the Hallwyl Museum besides the fact that it’s a historical building and the architecture is absolutely breath taking. But if you’re looking for things to do and places to explore, this is it. There is no admission fee required to explore the house and it’s relatively quiet, so enter whenever you please. The house was originally designed for Count Walther von Hallwyl and his wife to live in, but was later donated to the Sweden and turned into a museum. The Countess, Wilhelmina, was an avid art collector, which is why the museum houses so many beautiful artworks.
The building itself was relatively small and we found ourselves i and out of it within the hour. This would be a great place to visit on a rainy day if you’re in need of somewhere to kill time while it’s raining outside.
Visit the H&M Flagship and H&M Home
Besides paying a visit to Acne Studios, another Swedish powerhouse brand that you can’t miss while visiting Stockholm is H&M. Although the actual flagship itself was under renovations while we were in Stockholm (I only just found out that it re-opened about 2 weeks after we left—gosh darnit!), we did manage to sneak a little visit into a freestanding H&M Home (Biblioteksgatan 11, 111 46 Stockholm, Sweden).
We barely have any H&M’s in Toronto that carry home products to begin with so I had no idea that freestanding ones even existed in Europe. Oddly enough we had stumbled in at around 9 AM in the morning when it had just opened and was launching a special limited edition collection in collaboration with Jonathan Adler, so Mel and I were able to scoop up some pieces from the collection before the masses came. Talk about dumb luck! I had absolutely no idea that the collection even existed to begin with, nor the fact that it was launching that particular morning.
Walking into an H&M Home in Stockholm felt like I was walking into an H&M Home outlet. Even after converting back the prices from Kr to CAD the prices were still extraordinarily lower than what we usually pay for here. I literally had to restrain myself from purchasing more than just the 2 pillow cases that I grabbed from the Jonathan Adler collab. Peter was already not enthused that I was adding more pillows to our collection so I had to stop myself from purchasing anything else.
