A view from the tower of Stockholm City Hall over Riddarholmen island and the historic Gamla Stan quarter
PHOTOGRAPHS: HENRIK TRYGG/VISITSTOCKHOLM.COM
Stockholmers call their city ‘beauty on water’, an epithet that is entirely justiied. And it’s not just the historic district of Gamla Stan that’s easy on the eye. Stockholm’s sense of style is in evidence everywhere you look: from elegant coffee-shop interiors to well-dressed locals striding by; from a restaurant’s carefully chosen crockery to a museum’s strikingly bold design. It’s replete with world-class institutions - displaying everything from a salvaged warship to props used by Sweden’s most beloved musical export, ABBA - yet it feels more manageable than many metropolises. The city is spread across 14 islands, but most are stitched together by bridges and, as it’s relatively compact, walking is the best way to get around, with perhaps the occasional ferry through the ice, just for fun. You’ll generate ample appetite for Stockholm’s excellent cuisine, which mixes traditional Swedish dishes with the inluence of the city’s sizeable immigrant population.