Taste of Stockholm

During the last two decades Stockholm has seen an ever increasing number of new high standard eating places. Today Stockholm can offer an impressive amount of high quality restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars. In addition to the well established restaurants that serve traditional Swedish dishes, a variety of ethnic restaurants have sprung up during the last two decades. Fish has a prominent place in the modern Swedish cuisine, do not leave town without tasting it. Not only is Stockholm a beautiful city to look at, it is also clean, really organized, funky and stylish. The people are gorgeous and really know how to enjoy life. With its great food markets, fairs, shops, restaurants and waterfront you'll never be short of things to do there. The city is made up of fourteen main islands, so there are bridges and waterways everywhere, which is why it is often called 'the Venice of the North'. The old town, Gamla Stan, is one of the most beautiful medieval cities around.

Shopping in Stockholm

Stockholm is known as a leading design centre, and design in the broadest sense – both contemporary and traditional – is an important part of the city’s exciting shopping scene. Stockholm attracts shopping-hungry visitors from all over the world. And compared to other international cities, Stockholm is reasonably priced. In the city district you’ll find the big department stores and chains, with affordable shopping, especially for the young trendy crowd. Stockholm is filled with shop after shop of dazzling merchandise -- often at dazzlingly steep prices that reflect the high esteem in which Swedish craftspeople are held. Bargain shoppers should proceed with caution. Some good buys do exist, but it takes a lot of searching. If you're a casual shopper, you may want to confine your purchases to handsome souvenirs and gifts. Swedish glass, of course, is world famous. Swedish wooden items are works of great craftsmanship, and many people like to acquire Swedish functional furniture in blond pine or birch. Other items to look for include playsuits for children, silver necklaces, reindeer gloves, stainless-steel utensils, hand-woven neckties and skirts, sweaters and mittens in Nordic patterns, Swedish clogs, and colourful handicrafts from the provinces. The most popular souvenir is the Dala horse from Dalarna. Östermalm is Stockholm’s most exclusive district, offering the finest of everything interior design, international fashion, jewellery, etc. The blocks south of Folkungagatan are packed with interesting, cool and creative shops specializing in clothing, design, jewellery, knickknacks, vintage and second-hand. Several fashion brands have their own stores in this district. There are also scores of restaurants, cafés and galleries. The atmosphere is laid-back, yet highly aware. In the warm months, Nytorget Square is a bustling social atmosphere. Typical tourist shops are in Gamla Stan, the old town in the heart of the city. If you are looking for souvenirs you’ll certainly find something in Västerlånggatan, the busiest street in Gamla Stan. Prices are high. Nevertheless, many find a cuddly elk or a straw puppet dressed in Swedish yellow and blue hard to resist.

Art in Sweden

The art scene in Sweden has attracted increasing international attention in recent years. Some may ask whether, in today’s age of globalisation, mobility and a growing exchange of information, it is appropriate and sensible to look at art from a country-specific perspective. After all, with the avant - gardes born at the beginning of the 20th century, common ideas, themes and formal languages were developed which went beyond national horizons. Upon closer inspection, the history of art and culture reveals that individual countries have provided the impetus for artistic developments in other countries time and again. Art and culture spring from a national context, while at the same time crossing national boundaries. The different nations and cultures of Europe are a valuable source from which Europe can draw inspiration. Without a curiosity for and receptiveness to cultural diversity, this potential would remain untapped, and there would be little room for innovation or for creating common experience.

Culture in Sweden

Centuries of relative ethnic, religious, and linguistic homogeneity were followed by substantial immigration during the last sixty years, creating a multicultural society in Sweden. Most citizens speak Swedish as their first language and English as their second. Swedish is a north Germanic language related to Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, and Faeroese; it has incorporated elements of German, French, English, and Finnish. The language has been nationally standardized for more than a century, but regional variations in pronunciation persist. English is a required second language in school. With a robust feminist movement, comprehensive publicly supported child care, and an unparalleled percentage of women in government, Sweden is considered a leader in gender equality. Advancement in this arena is a significant national self-stereotype, a symbol of what distinguishes Swedes from others. Families are predominantly nuclear rather than extended. While the two-parent household with children remains normative, the rate of single-parent households is high. No industrialized nation has a higher frequency of one-person households, which are particularly common among young adults in urban areas and among the elderly.

Sights and sounds of Stockholm

Sweden, the land of forests and lakes, also boasts bustling cities where cutting edge design mixes with rich cultural heritage. The capital city Stockholm is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world, largely due to the archipelago system it is built around. Captivating landscapes abound in Sweden from scenic coastlines, idyllic islands, arctic wilderness areas, vast lakes and starkly beautiful forests that cover over half the country. Stockholm has to be seen by water as it sparkles with the water that surrounds it. Made up of fourteen islands ‘the water city’, as it has been nicknamed, is the capital of Sweden and the Nordic region’s largest city. Here grand historic buildings and culture dating back to the 13th century intermingle with some of the best contemporary art and design in the world. Stockholm’s extensive public transport system makes it easy to get around and discover hidden corners of one of the world’s most beautiful cities. City Sightseeing has bus tours guided in several different languages. The buses take you from the centre of the city and around the different parts of Stockholm passing all interesting sights. If you prefer to step off at the sights we recommend our Open Top busses and the Hop-on Hop-off tour that can also be combined with the Hop-on Hop-off boat. If you want to go further out in the archipelago the Cinderella boats depart from Strandvägen heading far out to small isles. Also recommended is the purchasing of the Stockholm Card which provides free entrance to 75 sightseeing spots, free use of city sightseeing buses, undergrounds, bus and suburb trains. The Stockholm card is sold in most tourist information centers and hotels. There are many ways to see Stockholm apart from the ones mentioned above. There are biking tours, kayaking tour of the archipelago, sunset wildlife safari tour, royal tour, historical tour, Viking history day trips, royal canal tour and so on and so forth. You can take your pick as per your liking and convenience. You can also do a round of sightseeing in just a day if you are short on time.

Stunning Stockholm

If you ask someone who has visited Stockholm the first word they would probably use to describe it is “beautiful”, and that it is. Sweden's capital is one of the most beautiful major cities in the world, a mirage of saffron and terracotta coloured buildings shimmering between blue water and bluer skies all summer, or covered with snow and dotted with lights in winter. Perhaps more than any other city of its size. What is so special about Stockholm is its natural location, its waterways and its parks. To the north, south, east and west are lakes, sea and forest. Even the city centre is crisscrossed by vast open water and wonderful parks, forests and walking areas, filled with historical sights and attractions. It's also a vibrant, modern city, famous for producing sleek designs, edgy fashion and world-class nightclubs. Stockholm offers great shopping, quality eateries in abundance, fabulous standard hotels, an internationally renowned club and music scene and a vibrant cultural life. Where Stockholm comes into its own, however, is its sheer natural beauty. Stockholm, as a city, is over 700 years old and spreads across 14 islands as it faces proudly out to the Baltic Sea. You can get to just about all of Stockholm’s many wondrous sites on foot, which is the perfect way to see the city. You can also take a boat trip that will give you a different facet of Scandinavia’s largest and probably most beautiful city. Around 16% of greater Stockholm's 1.2 million people are immigrants, which creates a much more multicultural and diverse cityscape than many travellers might expect. Stockholmers themselves are almost uniformly polite and friendly, making travel both easy and rewarding. Swedes are helpful and speak adequate English in general. Most swedes won't approach a tourist if they think that they are lost, in respect that they might not need help. But if you ask for directions or recommendations you will most likely get it. A popular destination in the summer months, the Stockholm Archipelago begins just a few miles east of the capital, covering about 140 kilometres (90 miles) from north to south. Only 150 of the islands are inhabited but many Stockholmers have summerhouses there. The landscape varies tremendously, from the more populated, thickly wooded inner archipelago to the bare, flat rocks of the central and other islands.