City break - Stockholm – part II

Stockholm offers so much more, among other things, the tallest spherical building in the world. The list of “different kind of attractions” can easily feature:

As this attraction is all about alcohol and I don’t want to promote the unhealthy side effects of its misuse, let me just point you to their web-page www.spritmuseum.se. But if you plan to visit them, you should take the tram until the Gröna Lundor station or use the Djurgården ferries.

Skyview is a special world-wide attraction, as we climb on top of the biggest spherical building in the world – the Ericsson’s Globe – an attraction of Stockholm. From the 130 meters above sea level, you get a great view of Stockholm. There are two cable carts taking you up every 10 minutes and the ride takes about half an hour. To get to Skyview take the subway to the Globen station.

Östermalmshallen is the oldest active market of Stockholm, operating since 1888. Here you can get all sorts of fish and sea food, meat, poultry, cheeses, chocolates, fresh fruit, vegetables, and off course flowers. The smell alone makes it worth wild, to visit the market. And if you’re there around lunch time, there is also a rich offer of various cuisines. To visit the market take the subway to the Östermalmstorg station - exit Östermalmstorg.

Sweden is among world leaders when it comes to fashion and design. If you’d like to find out why, visit the part of the city called SoFo and Södermalm, where you’ll find many galleries, shops, furniture shops, boutiques… showing fashion and design of accessories. There are also many ceramic shops here, jewelleries, fashion clothes and naturally many restaurants and cafes. To visit this part of the city, take the subway until the Medborgarplatsen station and walk – or take a bus number three – to the Åsögatan station.

If you’d like to get to know the city through a tour first and then go sight hunting, I suggest you take a two hour panoramic bus tour and continue by one of the many tourist boats that take you along the islands and under the bridges – for as I’ve initially said, Stocholm has 57 bridges and 14 islands.

A city card will really help you enjoy an active city break in Stockholm, for it involves all the public transport, it allows free access to almost all of the museums, exhibitions and attractions (over 80 museums and attractions), and it even features a free guided tour of the city by boat, bicycle or on foot. Also the city card covers the transport to the airport and back (with public means of transport). You only need to pay the additional airport terminal fee. You might feel that the price is high, but once you see the prices of tickets that the city card covers, and the fares, you will realize it’s a very good deal to pay 120€ per a 5 day city card (making it 24€ per day) or 90€ per a 3 day city card (making it 30€ per day). There is also an option for a single day card (56€) but that is up to you. You can order the card before you travel to Stockholm or at the visitor center at the airport – or the terminals 2 and 5. Find all the offers on the following link: http://sthlmbr.episerverhosting.com/en/stockholmcard/.

 

If I haven’t worn you out completely with all the attractions I’ve offered so far, and you feel you’ve got enough energy left to go out on an evening exploration, there are many dance clubs and theme bars in Stockholm, but I can’t really give you sound advice on how not to empty your valet if going bar hopping. Despite the popularity of the night life in Stockholm, the night life isn’t easy, mostly due to the high taxes on alcoholic beverages. But since I’m not trying to support drinking parties anyway, there’s a chance you will spend the night out without getting bankrupted. 

 

Stureplan – for rich, beautiful and famous – is the symbol of extravagance and style. This is where the elite rubs shoulders. Expect velvet ropes and long queues where the bouncers decide who comes in and who doesn’t by the way they wait. Hint: come early!

Are you looking for a bohemian, hip, rockabilly, reggae, rock and gay scene? All of it meets here! It’s a relaxed and cheaper version of the above mentioned posh party in Stureplan. The places with relaxed parties can be found in Slussn, Medborgarplatsen, the trendy SoFo and in the Hornstull district.

 

Food and drinks: They are both priced above European average, but you can still find great Asian all you can eat restaurants and pay around 10€ for… well… all you can eat. But if you don’t mind fast food or eating off a supermarket raft you can get by even cheaper.

Warning: Stockholm is a friendly and safe city, with extremely low crime rates, so there is no danger if you’re walking around city alone (but sure, always be careful). But the taxis are a tourist trap. All drivers do have their taxi meters, but they’re free to set their own prices. Even those recommended taxies, which should have better prices (such as Taxi Kurir, Taxi Stockholm or Taxi 020), are much more expensive than in most European cities. For a 15 minute drive (10km) they’ll take between 25 and 45 Euro. But the more expensive companies can charge up to 100€ for the same destination – and it’s perfectly legal! They set their own price and it’s up to you if you’ll take their cab or not.

Be careful about the time of arrival and departure. The planes that arrive to Stockholm late or leave the city early mean extra sleeping – two more nights to pay for the same experience! There are many sites online that offer several prices for airfare, but you can read more about it in the article by Katja Prnaver www.globetrotter.si/links-det.asp?id=756&c=66&l=2013. When reserving the tickets you should also already know, how long you’ll stay in Stockholm and you should have an idea what you are planning to see and do there.

When we know how long we’ll be in the city and have our airplane ticket, it’s time to book the room. You can find good prices and good quality through www.youth-hostel.si, where you can also get the Hosteling International membership card, allowing you to benefit from discounts in hostels. You can find a place to sleep in a hostel from 24,5€ onward in Stockholm on a ship in the centre of the city. You’ll pay 30€ for a two bedded room in the former prison Långholmen, and there’s the Boing 747 on the airfield of Arlanda that will charge you a bit over 50€ for a four bedded room. There are also many other quality hostels in the city and the Swedish hosteling association "STF - Svenska Turistföreningen" presents them at www.svenskaturistforeningen.se/en/.

If there’s enough time you can buy it online, but there’s no need to do that, as you can get it on the airport and you will be using it on the SL train from the airport to the city centre.

So you can see that with something more than 300€ you can get to Stockholm, sleep there, explore the city and its museums, galleries, exhibitions… have a guided city tour… But don’t forget, that you will need to take care of food and drinks, while you’re there. So it’s up to you, how much additional funds you plan to spend for other activities, as you control those costs.

 

Have fun in Stockholm!