Here is my itinerary for Stockholm, city #3 of my residence in the Nordic countries.

• I will be combining learning and exploring and am planning to spend several days working at local co-working spaces (especially excited about Alma).
• My goal is to meet local entrepreneurs and start-up founders and blog about what it’s like to live and work in the Nordic countries. Also, ideally find some candidates for my Q+A series.
• Stockholm’s itinerary has been vetted by several locals as well as a few Swedes living in the States.

Read on below for the detailed itinerary.  And, it goes without saying, if any friends/clients want to join me for any part of this epic journey, I will welcome you with open arms!

 

STOCKHOLM: June 22 – July 2 (10 days)

 

DAY 1:   FRIDAY  JUNE 22 (Summer Solstice!)

• Arrive at  10:30am at airport (from Oslo)
• Take Arlanda Express train to Stockholm central station (20 mins)
• Hotel is a 10 minutes walk from Stockholm Central

 

HOTEL: HOBO (In Norrmalm Area/Central)

NOTE: Stockholm is pretty much closed this weekend for the Summer Solstice celebrations.

I worked on the blog in the hotel lobby (which is fabulous!), met fellow guests including one from Spotify who covers the European market. A great first day in Stockholm.

 

DAY 2:    SATURDAY, JUNE  23

10am: Take the 2 hour Under The Bridges of Stockholm Canal Tour

 

1pm: Lunch with Larry and Ann in Sodermalm and afternoon exploration of the neighborhood

Old wooden houses from the 1700’s in Sodermalm neighborhood. Also, beautiful gardens with cottages where people grow flowers, fruits and vegetables.

 

And Ann’s fabulous studio….

 

And finally, fantastic meeting so many of Ann and Larry’s friends just by walking around the neighborhood.

 

DAY 3:   SUNDAY JUNE 24

Drottningholm Palace – 45 minutes by ferry

 

• Drottningholm Palace – on Island of Lovon – 45 min ferry ride
• Again, highly recommend taking a guided tour – in this case both the palace and the theater tours (available in English) were outstanding.
• This is the private residence of the Swedish royal family.

 

 

DAY 4:    MONDAY JUNE 2

City Hall and Gamla Stan Area

• City Hall Building/Tower (Hantverkargatan 1) – one of the city’s most iconic bdgs and also where the Nobel Prize Dinner is held (CLOSED ON WEEKENDS)
• Guided tours available in English every 30 mins starting at 9am – HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Gamla Stan (Old Town): the crown jewel of Stockholm

 

• Stockholm Cathedral (Trångsund 1) with statue of George and the Dragon (most important church in Stockholm)
• Stortoget – oldest square
• Kindstugatan, a picture-perfect street near Stortorget
• Marten Trotzig Grand (narrowest street in Stockholm)
• Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet) 10am-5pm. English tours available and recommended.

 

DINNER:  Asian Post Office, Regeringsgatan 66 (opens at 4:30); closed Sunday.

• A “meatpacking” scene. Can’t recommend.
  

 

DAY 5:    TUESDAY JUNE 26

Highlight of the day has to be Rosendals Garden – phenomenally beautiful and great lunch!

 

Also checked out:

Swedish History Museum – Narvavägen 13-17 – (opens at 10am) – UNDERWHELMING. Maybe interesting for kids, but not geared for adults.

Vasa Museum , Galärvarvsvägen 14, Opens at 8:30am. 17C warship (the most visited museum in Scandinavia). I can definitely vouch that this is the #1 tourist stop.

 

Prins Eugen Waldemarsudde – mansion/museum (CLOSED MONDAYS)

•  Took forever to find this place and can’t say it’s worthwhile.

 

Fotografiska – Stadsgårdshamnen 22 – (in former custom house)

• Unfortunately this gallery/museum space is located right in the middle of a massive “big dig” construction site so very difficult to get to…..maneuvering thru the construction cranes and whatnot takes away from the experience.

 

Mosebacke Design District –  has great café run by Woodstockholm. Dinner only. Opens at 5pm. Looked (and smelled) fabulous. Would definitely come back to check this out.

 

6:30pm: Drinks at Bar Agrikultur (Skånegatan 79)

7:30pm: Dinner at Cafe Nizza with Ann and Larry

Backup Plan:

Monteliusvagen: 

Stroll through the winding, cobbled streets of northern Södermalm up to Monteliusvägen. Along this dusty cliff path a sweeping panorama of Gamla Stan and Kungsholmen lines the water and the northern sky opens up above you.

 

Skinnarviksberget:

The highest natural point in central Stockholm with stunning views – across Kungsholmen, Gamla Stan (Old Town), the Stockholm Town Hall, and other points of interest. The park beneath the hill has an open-air café and hammocks!

 

Nytorget Park (hippest area)

 

DAY 6:    WEDNESDAY JUNE 27

Stockholm Archipelago – DAY TRIP

Leaves from Nybrokajen, Berths 6 or 8 at 11am; returns at 3:20pm

 

• Boat trip with Strommma from Nybrokajen, kajplats 6 or 8 (15 min walk from hotel)
• Artipelag Museum Trip (also great waterside dining) CLOSED MONDAY/TUESDAY
• Artipelag combines modern art, cultural activities and stunning views of the archipelago.
• The brainchild of Björn Jakobson, the man behind the iconic ‘BabyBjörn’ baby carriers, the compound features two restaurants and nearly 3,000 square metres of exhibition space, making or a one-of-a-kind outing.

 

DAY 7:    THURSDAY JUNE 28

Ostermalm vicinity – turned out to be one of my favorite areas

 

• Stockholm Public Library with curved interior walls – one of the most distinctive bldgs in the city. Opens at 10am.

• Ett Hem (fancy boutique hotel) – go for lunch or dinner.  Lunch not served until 1pm and although is chill and the staff was welcoming, I wasn’t feeling the vibe and happy to move on to Ostermalm Saluhall (food hall) which turned out to be fabulous even in temporary digs while the original is being revamped.

 

Ostermalm Saluhall (Food Hall)

 

Had one of my best plates of herring here at Tysta Mari. The hall is undergoing a major renovation but the temporary digs are good and this is clearly a popular spot for lunch for local office workers.

 

Hallwyl House/Museum

Home of Count and Countess Walther and Wilhelmina von Hallwyl, one of Stockholm’s most eccentric and engaging museums. Highly recommend!

 

DINNER:  OK Bakfickan 

Touted as the chiller, cooler Opera Bar restaurant sidekick. UNDERWHELMED. They’re really just phoning it in. Do NOT go here.

 

DAY 8:   FRIDAY JUNE 29

Co-working space:  Alma (Membership Only/ Invited as a guest)

Spent the morning here. Beautiful space but unless you have a dedicated desk location, there is a serious lack of charging stations for laptops. I stayed until the juice ran out and then headed back to the hotel. Also not serving lunch so took that as another cue to leave.

 

Lunch: Holy Greens @ the Mood Mall

 

Planned to have lunch at Boquerie but Holy Greens looked more interesting and had bigger crowds waiting in line. This is the Swedish version of sweetgreen. Not knock-your-socks-off amazing but very good. And for my purposes, great to experience a typical millennial lunch break.

DINNER:  LILLA EGO, Västmannagatan 69, (opens at 5pm) – 8 unreserved seats at the bar

 

My hotel set up a DJ station in the lobby which inspired me to get to Lilla Ego by 5pm when they open and supposedly have 8 seats at the bar available on a first-come-first-serve basis. I was #3 in line. Great dinner, not too expensive (3 courses, 2 wines for $95). It’s a remarkable little restaurant with lots of interesting touches. My seat mates at the bar were great fun and great fonts of information. And it was fun to see the chef (and his young son) work their magic. Dinner, btw, consisted of chanterelle mushroom appetizer with pate shavings, cod with artichoke pate and foam of some kind and an amazing dessert – all written in Swedish so don’t know what it was but it was delicious.

 

DAY 9:   SATURDAY JUNE 30

Retail Exploration: Ostermalm Area

Svenskt Tenn – this iconic store is home to the signature fabrics and furniture of Josef Frank

 

Eataly – stumbled across this on Friday but didn’t have time to check it out.

 

Hornstull Area

Went to have brunch at Tjoget but not open – BUMMER. However, it looks so amazing that I made arrangements to get in for dinner on my last night in Stockholm. Will report back.

 

 

From dodgy neighborhood to hipster heaven: things are happening in Hornstull. Restaurants, bars, and shops are opening around the newly built mall and along the waterfront. (Seems like a work in progress)

Walk across Hornsgatan: Cool area with stores (e.g. Nitty Gritty, Krukmarkargatan 26). Opens at 11am

 

 

Lunch:  Urban Deli

It was good – NOT amazing!

 

 

DAY 10:    SUNDAY JULY 1

Graffiti area: Snösätra Wall of Fame

ABSOLUTE HIGHLIGHT OF MY TRIP. Even if only marginally interested in street art, this is a must-see.

Claimed to be Europe’s biggest Grafitti park. Snösätra Grafitti Park is walking distance from Högdalen and Rågsved T-bana stations on the Green line. If visiting during weekdays, please note it is an operational industrial estate. Full details of the annual festival are at www.springbeat.com.

 

Art in the subway – wanted to do this but not enough time

1. Radhuset
2. T-Centralen
3. Stadion
4. Kungstradgarden
5. Odenplan