In winter Sweden’s capital buzzes with gliding ice skaters and fairy-tale Christmas markets, steaming smorgasbord holes-in-the-wall and warming drinking spots with roaring fires. In the summer the locals emerge as if from hibernation, to once more settle with Scandinavian beers amidst the sea of Boho bars in Sodermalm, or wander the open air museums on Skansen. This is a city that lives, and breathes energy all year round.
Most first-time visitors will want to start their trip below the charming medieval rooftops of the Gamla Stan where, in addition to the Royal Palace that crowns its cobbled streets, Stockholm tour guides should be able to recommend a wealth of worthy museums and attractions within this old town’s borders. Others may want to grab a bike and cycle between the various islands of the downtown; the historic Kastellholmen; the cool Ostermalm; the verdant Skeppsholmen.
But let’s not forget the great archipelago; more than thirty thousand islands of fortresses, holiday homes and wild backcountry, all wrapped up in the mysteries of the Nordic past. Catch a ferry (or even better a RIB boat) to the skärgården for entertainment options that range from adventure heavy, gastronomic, to just pure relaxation.