Travel to Stockholm, Sweden – Episode 372

Hear about travel to Stockholm, Sweden as the Amateur Traveler talks to Malin from HauteCompass.com about Sweden’s beautiful capital city.

“You really should go. I realize having lived there myself, for every time I go back I start to like it more and more. You go there and you realize ‘this is really good’. After another five years you think ‘oh my God, this is incredible’.”

“The first time you go there, to get the best impression, you should go in the Summertime. If you go there for the 10th time because you have fallen in love, you will take the November cold or the wind or the miserable weather, but Spring, Summer, and early Autumn are definitely the best times to go to Stockholm.”

“Stockholm is an old city. It was founded already by 1250 as a hub of trade and finance. It was the northern hub of the Hanseatic League. ” Malin, recommends starting in the old town of Stockholm which is on 4 different islands and includes the royal castle. There is an interesting royal armory museum and the changing of the guards which are worth seeing. Just walking around the medieval street is enjoyable but go earlier in the morning before the tourists fill up the streets. The narrowest street is only 35 inches wide.

Stockholm is built between a lake and the sea so everything is focused on water. Many of the different neighborhoods are different islands. Malin walks us through the various neighborhoods including Riddarholmen and through Södermalm which readers may recognize from Stieg Larsson’s novels.

Surprisingly, one well-known site that Malin does not recommend is the Skansen Folk Museum.

Malin recommends several good restaurants and hotels as well as her favorite shop. We also talk about day trips from Stockholm out to the archipelago between Sweden and Finland.

A great way to save money when you visit Stockholm is the Stockholm Pass. This pass covers more than 60 top attractions including a hop-on-hop-off bus and boat tour, entrance to the major museums and palaces, and more.

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Show Notes

• Haute Compass
• Airport – Arlanda Express fast train
• Hanseatic League
• Old Town
  • Gamla Sta
  • recommended to walk from Old Town to Riddarholmen
  • a small island with a church
  • previous kings buried here and very tranquil island
• Den Gyldene Freden restaurant (the golden fleece)
• Södermalm – Millenium trilogy, largest Island and population in Stockholm City Centre
• Restaurant Gondolen for views over Stockholm
• Centralbadet, the bath off Drottningatan for healthy food and a beautiful courtyard
• Clarion Hotel on Södermalm
• Kungsholmen – the part of Stockholm where the Town Hall is located, recommend to walk along the shore
• Vasastan – where the Stockholm Public Library is located
• Closeness to reach the National Park – Djurgården
• Liljevalch Spring Salon
• Museum of Modern Art
• Nationalmuseum
• Östermalm – favourite part of Stockholm
• Archipelago
  • Closest to Stockholm (25 minutes by ferry) – Fjäderholmarna Island
  • Further out with hotels, etc. – Sandhamn Island
• Vasa Museum
• Restaurant Prinsen
• Operabaren
• Favorite Shop – Svenskt Tenn on Strandvägen

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