A Long Winter Weekend In Stockholm

Stockholm, Stockholm, Stockholm, where do I even begin? It’s very rare that I come back from a trip abroad and instantly want to write up a post about all my recommendations, but I absolutely fell in love with the city, so much so that I was looking for English speaking jobs on the coach back to the airport – a girl can dream!

We booked to go to Gothenburg way back in 2020, but unfortunately the trip was cancelled as the UK went into lockdown the day before and alas, we were stuck at home – seems like a distant memory now! But Sweden has always been top of my list to visit. I’ve been to Norway and Denmark in the past, and absolutely loved the vibe of the Scandi lifestyle – cosy cafes, incredible food and beautiful architecture wherever you turn – and everyone is so friendly, it makes you feel as though you’re home away from home.

We spent four days and three nights in the Swedish capital and I honestly can’t wait to go back in summer and discover what it’s like in the sunshine, or autumn when the seasons are just about to turn. I would 100% say that we could have spent more time there, as there is so much to do – even more reason to book a trip back in my opinion. The great thing about booking a trip to Sweden too is that the UK is exempt from any travel restrictions (as long as you’re double jabbed) and nowhere requires you to wear masks, except on the flight there.

In this blog I’ll be outlining what we did when we were there, how easy it was to get around and where I would recommend – and the reasons why you should book a trip as soon as possible. For full disclosure, we were very lucky to be offered a ‘Key of Honour’ card by the Stockholm tourist board, which meant that some of the museums we went to were free of charge – a massive big thank you to these legends!

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Getting There

Stockholm has four airports – Arlanda, Bromma, Skavsta and Vasteras, which are served by airlines from all around the world. I booked our flights back in November on Ryanair’s 241 Black Friday sale, which meant it came to around £30 for two of us to go. We flew from Stansted at 10am, and arrived in Vasteras by 1:30pm. If you’re planning on visiting Sweden soon, you will still need your proof of vaccination, information on where you are staying, and they may as for your return journey details – but the whole thing was quick and before we knew it, we were through security.

From Vasteras airport, we jumped on the Flygbussarna coach into the city, which took about an hour and cost us £35 for two people one way. There is the option to book a return, but I wasn’t sure what our plans would be for our last day. You are dropped off at the Centralen station, which has connections to all over the city.

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Stay

We stayed at the Radisson Blu Viking Hotel, which was just around the corner from the coach station and was in a really good location. We paid £250 for three nights, which was one of the cheaper rates I found compared to some other areas of Stockholm. It had a downstairs bar, rooftop cocktail terrace and breakfast options, and also an Espresso House downstairs, which is a chain of Scandi coffee houses and much better than your regular Costa! There was also a gym and swimming pool, but both required a prior booking and are limited in capacity.  There were a few places to eat nearby to the hotel, but 100m from the front door is the underground, which takes you to all other areas of the city.

The one thing I would say about this hotel is that a lot of the rooms look into the central courtyard/lobby, which plays music all night (the windows are soundproof but I could still hear it mildly) and is where they serve breakfast from 7am most days. But for the price and the location, I would say it’s a good base to explore, just maybe bring earplugs if you’re a light sleeper!

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Getting Around

Getting around the city was really easy! On the first night we were there, we walked everywhere to get our bearings, and jumped on the underground back to the hotel which was less than £3 each for a single – be warned though, the ticket machines don’t take Apple Pay!

On the 2nd, 3rd and 4th days, downloaded the SL app, where you could purchase 1, 3 or 7 day tickets for all the buses and underground rides. It was around £13 for a day pass, which was reasonable for how far and wide you can get, and the 3 day ticket will set you back about £20. It’s super easy to use the passes too – you get a QR code to the app which you scan every time you get to the station.

The great thing about Stockholm too is that it is super walkable, but if fancy a change of pace, there are electric scooters and bikes around every corner.

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Do

One of the things I love to do whilst abroad is a boat trip, and this trip was no different. We went for the Stromma Archipelago Tour which took around 3 hours – it was a bit jumpy from time to time as we went during a snow storm, but I really enjoyed listening to all the history of Stockholm and travelling through the beautiful islands.

I had also been recommended a lunch place called Rosendals Tradgard which was in a beautiful park called Royal Djurgården and definitely worth a visit. In the summer I can imagine it’s a great place to have a picnic or take a scooter or bike, but it was just stunning in the snow when we were there.

We really enjoyed exploring some of the less touristy areas. Some of my favourites were Slussen, SoFo and Luma, which was an environmental part of the city where the flats use renewable energy and they try to limit their waste – a pretty cool area!

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Visit

One of the main places I was excited to visit in Sweden was the Abba Museum, I mean, how could you not visit! I booked us tickets in advance and it cost us £20 each. The museum is in the Alberget region easily reachable by public transport or you could walk it if you fancied. It’s really interactive and I honestly couldn’t recommend it enough. I grew up with Abba Gold constantly on repeat and it reminds me of my grandparents so I was really excited to go, and it didn’t disappoint.

Another museum I would recommend is the Fotografiska (photo museum) in Sodermalm which had different photo exhibitions including The Pet Show, Pixy Liao and Andres Serrano. There was also an amazing restaurant on the top floor with amazing views over the water!

A couple more museums I would suggest you visit are the The Vasa Museum where you can see the ship that capsized in Stockholm in 1628 and is fully in tact. We also went to The Nobel Prize Museum which is on the Gamla Stan island (Old Town) which is worth a visit if you’re around this area.

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All in all, I couldn’t recommend Stockholm enough and I can’t wait to go back. I found a lot of my recommendations through Time Out Stockholm and Trip Scout for some of the less crowded, off-the-beaten-track things to do. There is something to do and see around every corner and the locals are so welcoming and friendly. Definitely a city to get on your to go list!

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