Stockholm, the city on the water: the back story

About Stockholm, the city on the water: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Stockholm Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Stockholm is built on islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic. Its old town, Gamla Stan, holds the Royal Palace, the cathedral and the Nobel Prize Museum on Stortorget; Riddarholmen, beside it, the burial church of the kings. To the east, the green island of Djurgården has the Vasa Museum, Skansen, Nordiska museet and ABBA The Museum; to the west, the City Hall stands over Riddarfjärden. Beyond lies the archipelago, which Visit Stockholm says has over 30,000 islands, beginning just 20 minutes from the city.

Gamla Stan and the palace

The Royal Palace is the King’s official residence and the place where he carries out his duties as Head of State, as the Royal Court describes it; the Royal Apartments, the Treasury and the Museum Tre Kronor are open to visitors. The Nobel Prize Museum is on Stortorget, and Riddarholmen Church, Stockholm’s only preserved medieval abbey, is the burial place of Sweden’s monarchs.

Djurgården

The Vasa Museum shows the warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628. Skansen, founded in 1891 by Artur Hazelius, is the world’s oldest open-air museum. ABBA The Museum, Junibacken, Gröna Lund, Nordiska museet and Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde are close by.

Use the boats: the Djurgården ferry and the archipelago boats are part of the city’s life.

The City Hall

Stockholm City Hall, designed by the architect Ragnar Östberg, can be visited only with a guide; tickets for the tours and the tower are sold on the city’s website.

The archipelago

Waxholmsbolaget’s boats leave Strömkajen for Vaxholm and the islands; SL tickets are valid on its boats as far as Vaxholm all year.

Our advice: give Djurgården a whole day, and the archipelago another.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Stockholm, the city on the water: the back story before you go.