Exploring Stockholm

A short history of Stockholm

Stockholm stretches across fourteen islands. With a population of almost one million, it’s the largest city in all the Nordic countries. The place had already been settled in the sixth century BC, and the city was then founded in 1252. But Stockholm wasn’t always Sweden’s capital. That title first belonged to the town of Sigtuna that was pillaged by pirates in 1187.

What to see and do in Stockholm

We recommend that you take a boat tour, as the city was built on water. You can opt for a boat ride through the city canals and see Stockholm’s city centre or sail a bit further and visit the archipelago that consists of 30,000 islands, making it the second largest archipelago in Sweden.

And if you’re a coffee lover, then we’ve got some great news. Coffee is a very important part of Scandinavian lifestyle. There’s even the word “fika”, which describes the action of drinking coffee while also enjoying some cake. The best coffee is said to be found at the Drop Coffee café, which wants to bring forward a fresh view of the Swedish “fika” culture with its interesting coffee roasting techniques. Are you drooling already at the thought of coffee? Well, we bet you can already smell it. Here are some great guided tours if you want to explore the »fika« culture.

Sweden is also famous for Ikea and ABBA. The country even fittingly dedicated a museum to the band, where you can see everything – from the band’s history to the concerts and recoding sessions. Get ready to sing ABBA’s song in your head all day.

Some unusual things in Stockholm

Want to see something unusual? Head to the metro. Stockholm has more than one hundred metro stations and at least 90 of them host art installations and incredible mosaics, paintings and statues. Another unusual thing you can find in the city is Sweden’s first nuclear reactor. R1 is buried 25 metres below the KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The hall where the reactor was located is now open for visitors and is used for hosting dance shows and modern art exhibitions.

Cheap places to stay in Stockholm

You can find HI hostels in Stockholm with prices ranging from 24 euros per night upwards. The Chapman & Skeppsholmen Hostel is located in the middle of Skeppsholmen Island and offers a unique hostelling experience, as it offers accommodation on one of the sailing boats. It undoubtedly makes for an interesting experience, unless you’re sea sick, that is. But if you want to stay close to bars and restaurants, then you should choose the Zinkensdamm hostel in the southern part of Stockholm.

Even more information for a worry-free trip to Stockholm

We suggest that you also read the travelogue of our journalist Nika Ajdovec, who visited the city on a low student budget. But if your budget isn’t limited, then we also suggest that you read the City Break in Stockholm article.

Did you know?

• The shortest day of the year in Stockholm has only six hours of daylight, while the longest day of the year has 21 hours.
• Stockholm held the record for the world’s largest Ikea store with 56,301 square metres for 49 years. Its world Record was “snatched” by the Ikea store in South Korea in 2014.
• Sweden was ruled by Charles VII, but there were no kings named Charles I to VI before that.
• 89% of Swedes can also speak English.