We realized that we have very little knowledge of Sweden or its capital, Stockholm. Honestly, IKEA and Swedish meatballs were the only things that came across our mind when we planned to visit Stockholm.
Cruising across the Baltic Sea, we arrived at Stockholm by a cruise ship. It was a completely new, exciting and fantastic cruise experience from Helsinki (Finland) to Stockholm (Sweden). From the cruise, we had the chance to witness the sunset and sunrise from two different countries plus some sightseeing of a few little islands when we were arriving at Stockholm. It was certainly a precious and unforgettable experience that we think everyone should try at least once in your lifetime!
Leaving Helsinki with magnificent views!
Let’s check out our itinerary:
Tips: None of the attractions are admission free in Stockholm. We would suggest doing some research before the trip to identify the museums or places of interest. This helps to save on the admission fees as some of the museums may have similar exhibits. Or, you can purchase the Stockholm Pass if you planning to visit many attractions. Click here for more details.
Our messy room! *shame shame*
We thought Stockholm would be similar to the other Scandinavian countries. But, this lovely city proved us wrong the moment we stepped down from our cruise ship.
Words couldn’t describe the beauty of the Stockholm’s building architecture! This was the first time that we stopped in front of the buildings and look in awe of every single detail of its classical, beautiful and historic features. It was really amazing!
We began our exploration in Stockholm by purchasing a 72 hours travel card which cost SEK260 each. This card provides us with unlimited ride on buses, ferries, subways, trams, commuter trains and boats in Stockholm. It was unfortunate that there is no 48 hours travel card since we were only in Stockholm for two days. Click here for more details of the travel card.
#1 Stockholm City Hall & Stockholm City Hall Tower
Our first stop was Stockholm City Hall. It might look like a dull political office building with nothing interesting in it. But, trust us! This is one of our favorite places in Stockholm after touring it.
It is a lovely and relaxing place with autumn leaves climbing up the building and wind blowing at our face. Distracted with the beautiful place, we almost forgot to purchase the tour tickets. We quickly ran to the ticket counter to get them. The short but detailed session (30 minutes) enabled us to understand the history and purpose of the place.
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| The "grand" City Council Meeting Room |
This is not the end of the tour. We proceeded to ticket office entrance and prepared to climb up the 106 meters high, City Hall Tower, for a breath-taking view of Stockholm!
We were given about 15 minutes to stay at the top of the tower. The fantastic view was definitely worth the hard work climbing the tower. Since there are no elevators, you just need to keep climbing the stairs to reach the top.
Tips: It is advisable to purchase the City Hall Tower tickets the moment you arrive as there are only 30 tickets for each session and it is based on first come first serve basis. No online/pre-booking is allowed.
The breath-taking view successfully energized us for the rest of the day. The entire area is so beautiful that we decided to spend some sweet time walking around.
#2 Kajsas Fisk & Restaurang
After enjoying the wonderful view, we headed to Kajsas Fisk & Restaurang located at Hötorgshallen (indoor food market) for our brunch. This is the famous fish soup that mustn’t be missed when you are in Stockholm! Upon reaching the restaurant, we were greeted with a long queue which proved how good they are.
In fact, the soup didn’t disappoint us at all as it is so yummy and rich in flavor. Most importantly, it didn’t have any fishy taste at all for a bowl of soup cooked mostly with fish and seafood. You might think that a bowl of fish soup may not be enough for a main meal. But, with the unlimited refills of breads, butter spread and vegetables, it could be more than enough for your lunch at only SEK110! The restaurant even allows a one-time refill of the fish soup for FREE! Don’t rub your eyes, you didn’t read wrongly. The restaurant is really kind to give a free refill to every customer. Who doesn’t like free stuffs?
After the heavy meal, we walked around the indoor market and how I wished my home is actually in Stockholm. I am totally in love with the European markets! The variety of cheese, meats and local products are just so attractive!
Kajsas Fisk & Restaurang
Address: Hotorgshallen 3 , 111 57 , Stockholm
Contact number: +46 8 20 72 62
Website: http://kajsasfisk.com/
#3 Haymarket
There is an outdoor market called Haymarket just in front of Hötorgshallen's entrance. This is a lively market with vendors selling fruits, vegetables, etc.
On Sundays, this place will turn into a flea market and we coincidentally pass by the market on the day we are leaving for Norway.
#4 Östermalms Saluhall
Östermalms Saluhall is a local famous food hall with over 128 years of history. There are numerous restaurants and cafes offering authentic Swedish cuisine in it. Unfortunately, the food hall was under renovation during our visit and it was temporarily moved to the building just opposite it.
From our research, we found out that Willy Ohlssons Eftr. and Husmans Deli are famous for meatballs. It was unfortunate that we were too bloated for any meatballs when we arrived at the food hall. So, we decided to just check out the restaurant even without buying anything. You can see that it was so crowded and there is hardly any vacant seat inside.
Passed by the Army Museum and were surprised that there is no admission fee!
Looking at the map, we noticed that Stockholm is made up many small islands. But, you might be too fascinated with the city’s beauty that you might not notice that you are actually crossing from one island to another.
Östermalms Saluhall
Address: Östermalmstorg 114 39 Stockholm
Website: http://www.ostermalmshallen.se/en/
#5 Royal Palace & Riddarholmen Church
There are quite a number of attractions situated in Gamla Stan itself such as the Royal Palace, Nobel Museum, Riddarholmen Church, etc. Due to our limited time in Stockholm, we only visited the Royal Palace and Riddarholmen Church.
There are many places to visit in the Royal Palace itself, namely The Treasury, Museum Tre Kronor, Museum of Antiquities, Armory, etc. Basically, the Royal Palace is the official residence of the King of Sweden and also the venue for most of the monarchy’s official receptions.
Tips: Most of the attractions have varying opening hours for different seasons. Don’t forget to check it before visiting to avoid any disappointment. As for the entrance fees, purchasing the Royal Palace and Riddarholmen Church combination ticket is cheaper than buying them separately.
The Riddarholmen Church is a historical abbey from the medieval ages. The design of the church is simple yet magnificent at the same time.
The atmosphere in it is so peaceful and quiet.
#6 Gamla Stan
No more indoor attractions for the day as the attractions are closed at 5.00pm in autumn. Before most of the shops in the old town (Gamla Stan) close, we wandered around looking for souvenirs. There are actually many things to check out. For your information, most shops close around 6.00pm to 7.00pm.
While checking out the shops in Gamla Stan and comparing the souvenir prices, we spotted every girls’ favorite!
Ice Cream! Enjoying a scoop of ice cream in such a cold weather is just awesome! The ice cream is so yummy that we decided get more on the next day.
With our ice cream, we walked to the famous public square in Gamla Stan – Stortorget. The crowd just never stop coming from all directions. We also noticed many people hanging out at the cafes with their coffees and pastries. This is actually a Swedish culture called “Fika”.
Located in the public square, The Nobel Museum.
You can actually spot this store almost everywhere in Stockholm. They are just like the typical 7-11 convenience store.
We passed by this local famous shop selling colorful socks – Happy Socks! Their socks are so colorful that you might feel happy just by looking at them.
Some handicraft shop!
The sky is turning dark which signals for dinner time! As usual, we must definitely pay a visit to the supermarkets!
Tips: There is a supermarket at Gamla Stan Station but the food prices are so expensive. Hence, we took the metro to T-Centralen Station for our grocery shopping.
We noticed that Swedish loves colorful sweets! After walking around the supermarket, we ended up with bread, milk, ham and salads for dinner.
#7 Metro Art Exploration
After filling up our tummies, we began our art hunting adventure! Stockholm’s metro stations are home to the world’s longest art exhibit because most stations come with different color, theme, story and surprise.
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| T-Centralen Station |
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| Kungsträdgården Station |
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| Rådhuset Station |
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| Solna Centrum Station |
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| Stadion Station |
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| Tekniska Högskolan Station |
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| Thorildsplan Station |
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| Hötorget Station |
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| Night of the old town! |
Stockholm Metro Art
THE NEXT 24 HOURS …
The quiet and historical street of Gamla Stan in the morning!
#8 Drottningholm Palace
It was a long journey to check this out - Drottningholm Palace. A beautiful palace with a lovely compound to walk around.
While waiting for the ferry to Djurgården island, our tummies were growling due the attraction from these sandwiches and pastries (fresh from the oven)!
It was a cloudy day but the Sun just wouldn’t let the clouds to cover it!
You have arrived at Djurgården the moment you see this theme park.
#9 Skansen Museum
There, we visited another famous attraction, Skansen. Skansen is the world’s oldest outdoor museum with lively exhibits of the people in traditional costumes performing their daily routine works and a zoo with Scandinavian animals.
The museum is just like a time machine transporting us to the olden times giving us a glimpse of traditional Swedish culture. It was so interesting and fun. Just like everyone else, we usually dislike visiting museums as we find them to be boring. But, Skansen completely changed our minds.
Some of the animals such as the reindeer can only be found in the Scandinavia.
Every single place in Skansen is very interesting to be checked out because it shows the Swedish people's way of life from the 18th until 20th century. There are many places to visit such as the town quarters (engineering works, bakery, glassworks, pottery, printer, etc.), herb garden, allotment huts, farmsteads, market street and many others. There will be people at each place dressed up based on the era they are portraying while performing their routine work.
The bakery in the town quarters.
Tips: Don’t forget to check the opening hours of the museum as well as the opening hours of the specific houses (bakery, glassworks, engineering works, etc.). Both have different opening hours.
We took the tram in front of Skansen with our 72 hours travel card. The tram designs in Djurgården are so special and unique. Some of the trams even have a restaurant in one of its coaches.
On the way to Vasa Museum, we passed by the Nordic Museum and were attracted by the building’s exterior!
#10 Vasa Museum
Vasa museum is categorized as one of the must visit places in Stockholm. Before entering the museum, we already knew that there is a real gigantic ship inside the museum from our internet research. The ship is also the world’s only preserved 17th century ship.
Now, we know how big the ship is (about 7 – 8 storeys high) after seeing it from up-close. We actually went floors by floors to look at all the details of the ship from different angles and height. Of course, visitors are not allowed on the ship but the distance is good enough for viewing.
The colorful and beautiful buildings viewed from the ferry on the way back to the Old Town.
Headed to Slussen for the famous herring street food for lunch - Nystekt Stromming. Unfortunately, they are no longer operating in Slussen and were in the process of moving to Gamla Stan.
With a broken heart, we ended up with McDonald's for lunch. We decided to try the special burgers that we have never seen in Malaysia (possibly only available in this region).
#11 Free Sky View at Eriks Gondolen
As mentioned earlier, there are no museums or attractions that are free for admission in Stockholm. But, we managed to find a restaurant called Eriks Gondolen that provides a great view of Stockholm City. In fact, you don't even need to dine at the restaurant as the viewing spot is actually a bridge outside of the restaurant. The entrance to Eriks Gondolen is just next to McDonald's but we realized that it is only accessible with an ID card or password. The restaurant doesn't seem to be open when we were there. Fortunately, we found another way to access the bridge for the free city view.
Stepping out from McDonald’s, turn left and walk along the sidewalk. You will be able to see a flight of stairs across the road. Cross the road start climbing up the stairs.
Not a perfect view thanks to the construction works.
#12 Drottninggatan Street
Then, we walked around Drottninggatan Street – the busiest street in Stockholm to feel the shopping atmosphere!
#13 Vete-Katten Café
We weren't attracted by the shopping atmosphere but were attracted by desserts instead. We went to Vete-Katten Café to try out the must eat Princess cake! It used to be a dessert specially for the royal family only but everyone can try it now.
We order a slice of the famous Princess cake and we just loved it so much. The sweetness is just alright. The sponge cake is layered with whipped cream, custard cream and raspberry jam, plus an apple green layer to top off. The cake is so fluffy and the cream-to-cake ratio is just perfect.
Vete-Katten Café
Address: Kungsgatan 55, 111 22 Stockholm
Contact number: +46 8 20 84 05
Website: http://vetekatten.se/en/
Note: They have other outlets at Östermalms Saluhall, Åhléns City, etc. Check out their website for the details.
#14 Experience Swedish “Fika” Culture
On Sundays, the old town quiets down (many shops are closed) since it is an off day. However, it didn’t stop the tourists from walking around the Stortorget area! Most of the locals can be found at the cafes for their usual “Fika” culture. Since we were here, it would be a waste not to experience this. We were so lucky to get a nice spot at one of the cafes in Stortorget. We ordered a cup of coffee and a blueberry pie, and enjoyed the “Fika” culture under a temperature of below 10°C.
Chilling with the black coffee and dessert, the feeling was wonderful. We guessed we will appear in many photos taken by other tourists since we are seated in front of the colorful buildings of Stortorget.
#15 Skinnarviksberget (City view of Central Stockholm)
Oh yeah! Another place without admission fees for a nice Stockholm city view – Skinnarviksberget! It is not difficult to get there as it is only a 5 minutes walk from the nearby metro station, Zinkensdamm. You will pass by the residence area on the way to the place.
An amazing city view to end our short Stockholm trip! With an acceptable cold weather and some wind blowing, it was really relaxing looking at this fantastic view.
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| Stockholm City Hall can also be seen |
This is the highest natural point in central Stockholm. We guessed it is a common hangout place for the locals because we didn’t spot any tourists there. Many locals were there for picnic, drinking, photo shooting, etc.
On the way back to the metro station, we passed by the residence area again and saw the interior design of the houses clearly. The houses are really simple and there are not many things in it. It is totally different from an Asian house which usually has many different kinds of things in it. Most of the houses interior has the typical Scandinavian design (simple, nice and white).
#16 Meatballs for the People
How can one not eat any meatballs before leaving Sweden, right? In Malaysia, most people will think of IKEA when they think of meatball. But, in Sweden, there are plenty of meatball restaurants. We decided to try one of the famous ones, Meatballs for the People!
Their menu is very simple. Just choose the kind of meatball that you want to try.
We ordered the Classic Swedish Meatballs at SEK179. Plain water and some crispy crackers with cream are served as appetizers.
We were lucky to be seated at the bar as we were able to witness the preparation of the meatballs dishes by the chef. Actually, we didn’t choose to be seated there. The restaurant was fully packed when we arrived.
Say hello to our classic meatballs! It tasted different than the ones we ate at IKEA. The meatballs are so fresh that you can taste the meaty taste. There isn’t any flour taste as well which means that the majority of the meatball is made of purely meat and other ingredients with little flour. To emphasize again, the flavor is totally different from what we normally ate at IKEA. The meatballs are really yummy! Of course, the price we paid here is a lot more than what we paid in IKEA Malaysia. Haha. This is definitely a must try!
Meatballs for the People
Address: Nytorgsgatan 30 116 40 Stockholm
Contact Number: +46 8 466 60 99
Website: http://meatball.se/en-se
A bright big moon saying goodbye to us on our last night in Stockholm before leaving for Norway.
Oh ya! We must highlight that Stockholm Arlanda Airport has fantastic interior design at the boarding gates. You will definitely fall in love with this place!
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