I’ve always romanticized Scandinavia. A land where biking is everyone’s primary mode of transportation (no matter their age), urban design mixes 13th century ruins with clean, modern lines, indoor spaces invite you in with candles and hygge, and you wouldn’t dare take an hour of sunshine for granted. Healthcare and education are treated like basic human rights. Seasonal, fresh nordic cuisine is pervasive, and people are the most active and happy in the world.
Stockholm appealed to me most as a city to call home: it was built on 14 islands, all connected by 57 bridges, and is surrounded by an archipelago of islands that remind me of home. The city seems to exude elegance and sophistication, and is the perfect size to explore on foot. In my time there, I covered just about every corner of the city on foot — setting out every morning with a new island as my destination, crossing bridges and hopping ferries along the way. It’s so difficult to condense my experience into a few words or photos, so I’ll just highlight my very favorite things in and outside the city.
Home base was a 400-year-old apartment in Gamla Stan shared with a lovely Swedish family: Chandra works as a product designer, her husband as a chef and owner of the oldest fish deli in the city. Gamla Stan, the oldest little island of the city, is the heart of Stockholm and located right in the middle of it all. Ten minutes walk south lands you on the bohemian island of Södermalm where the best coffee shops and independent boutiques live; ten minutes the other direction lands you in the posh city center of Östermalm.
But Gamla Stan, the Old Town and one of the best preserved historic districts in Europe, is where the magic is… Where a maze of cobblestone streets leads to 13th-century meeting squares and green parks. Where golden yellow, rusty pink, and orange-hued facades are crammed next to each other, stacked with oversized windows and framed by antique lanterns. (When winter days offer a measly 5 hours of sunlight, you don’t skimp on windows.)
COLORS
I spent my first few weeks in Stockholm wandering without my camera, marveling at the earthy color palette of the city and the way the light bounced between the narrow alleyways. Many of the buildings in Stockholm are shades of yellow, the pigment produced as a byproduct of the copper industry. Cinnamon red, olive green, beige, gold, and gray are just as pervasive and seem to reflect the uniformity of Swedish culture.
Every corner of Stockholm just felt so… considered. It’s human-scale city planning. Designed for pedestrians and for bikes as a form of transportation, not recreation. The densest neighborhoods are criss-crossed with tiny garden houses and quiet paths leading to beautiful cafes.
As someone who’s decidedly navigationally-challenged and prefers walking to figuring out public transportation (even if it’ll take four times as long…), Stockholm’s subway system, the tunnelbana, is a dream.
the tunnelbana is the world's longest art installation
Of the 100 stations, 90 are filled with mosaics, sculptures, installations, and paintings, with a noted focus on environmental issues and women’s rights. That said, walking was still my go-to form of transportation. Some of my favorite peaceful spaces around the city were:
— Skeppholmen, the smallest and greenest island
— Humlegården-Östermalm park
— Mariatorget in Sodermalm
— Brannkyrkagatan street, with the view of Pyssgrand
— Skinnarviksberget and Monteliusvägen cliff path
— Tantolunden park, specifically the allotments gardens dotted with tiny wooden cottages
fika
Swedes relish their coffee. But the concept of a Swedish fika isn’t about the coffee. It’s about stepping away from work and responsibilities, taking time to savor something sweet and sip something warm, and socializing. Cafes in Stockholm are devoted to this practice and are designed for you to get comfy and stay a while — not grab and go. I love this.
Rosendals Trädgård
My absolute favorite place in the whole city for a fika was Rosendals Trädgård on Djurgarden, a 25 minute walk from Gamla Stan. Rosendals is one enormous garden encompassing greenhouses, vegetable fields, an orchard, rose garden, vineyard, wood oven bakery and cafe, all with sustainable, biodynamic farming practices. Their garden cafe is located in one of the greenhouses, and serves up the most beautiful pastries, soups, and sandwiches. You can cut your own bouquets of flowers in the garden, and enjoy lunch outside in the orchard. While on Djurgarden, don’t miss the Vasa Museum to see the incredible warship that sank in the middle of Stockholm in 1628, was salvaged 300 years later, and has been restored to its original state.
My other favorite fika spot, a bit off the beaten track, was Gamla Orangeriet Bergianska, an old orangery located in the Bergius Botanic Garden. The grounds are so peaceful to wander through and include an insanely enormous water lily. My other noteworthy cafes around the city include:
— Lillebrors Bageri in Vasastan for the very best kardemummabullar in the city (I went back for a second immediately after finishing my first)
— Snickerbacken 7
— Johan & Nyström
— Fabrique, a traditional wood-fired bakery with locations all over the city
— Bageri Petrus in Södermalm for the kanelbulle
— Kaffeverket for the gorgeous space and healthy options
— Bröd & Salt for the almond rolls (my daily indulgence)
The archipelago
Stockholm’s archipelago is an expanse of over 20,000 islands reaching into the Baltic Sea. The rocky coastlines, deep blues of the sea, and vast forests of pine trees seemed like a straight replica of Maine’s own coastline. If it weren’t for the classic red cottages sprinkling Sweden’s landscape, it would be hard to tell the difference. We opted to ferry a few hours out to Grinda, known as the bathing paradise of Stockholm. It was only after we disembarked with our (3?) fellow ferry riders that we realized just how remote we were, and just how… little there is to do on Grinda. A full circuit on the island by foot takes a solid 30 minutes, so we covered that twice over before settling in for the other main activity: eating. Grinda Wärdshus offered us 3 types of herring and a hearty dish of potatoes and lingonberries, with sea views to boot. I suppose that’s what island life is all about…
city sights
Some of my favorite city spots around Stockholm were also the least expected: Fotografiska, Stockholm’s museum of photography, hosted a compelling exhibition of Swedish photographer Lars Tunbjörk and photojournalist Paul Hansen on global health and hygiene. Climbing the tower at City Hall on Kungsholmen offered my favorite city views, and the City Library with its 360-degree tower of books is the place to spend a rainy day. A bit out of the city, Skogskyrkogården woodland cemetery is a stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site — I spent all morning here wandering underneath the tunnels of pine trees.
Eating
My most memorable meal in Stockholm, hands down, was at Woodstockholm in Katarina-Sofia. The owners transformed their furniture showroom into a tiny bistro outfitted with community-style tables and a handful of handmade bar seats. It a cozy, sunbathed, laidback space outfitted with community-style tables. I stumbled upon it just before the dinner rush and managed to snag a coveted bar seat. Fast forward three courses and a few drinks, and everyone at and behind the bar felt like family.
Another very special dining experience in Stockholm is at Ett Hem, a private residence-turned-boutique hotel surrounded by leafy courtyard gardens in Östermalm. I didn’t have a chance to stay at Ett Hem as a guest, but managed to sneak in for a decadent lunch in their kitchen followed by an afternoon soaking up the space’s nooks and crannies and piles of books.
In Gamla Stan, I took full advantage of living a stone’s throw from a few gems. Grillska Huset has a secret courtyard / rooftop that might be the loveliest in all of Stockholm to sit and read. Stiernan is a few alleyways away and serves up the best ramen in town, and Matgatan 22’s grilled halloumi salads still make my mouth water. For possibly the most romantic, tucked away restaurant in all of Stockholm (it’s French, of course), find Pastis. Order the beef bourguignon. For inventive Nordic food, reserve a spot at Kagge. The best part of dining in Gamla Stan is that Stampen is right there — a 17th century tavern with live jazz and blues music every night.
I admittedly tend to favor restaurants based on their atmosphere, not on the food they serve… But I promise these last three picks are satisfying on both accounts: Pelikan has a gorgeous art deco interior and serves traditional Swedish food; Oljebaren is another cozy French bistro in Vasastan; Cafe Pascal is a bustling, local spot renowned for its coffee, and Nytorget 6 in Södermalm can’t be missed.
As one of the best design cities in the world, Stockholm’s shopping scene did not disappoint. I managed to stuff a suitcase-worth of knitwear, skincare, lingonberry jam, sardines, salty licorice, and a growing collection of brass candle holders for my trip home (my suitcase zipper actually broke). Below is a little compilation of my favorite places to find considered, Scandinavian homewares, linens, ceramics, clothing, skincare products, and gifts, all backed by my extensive (seriously… extensive) research :)
— Granit & Designtorget for a more innovated and curated version of Ikea
— Erika Petersdotter’s ceramics
— Filippa K, Riddargatan 12, Whyred, and Acne for womenswear
— Betón for non-toxic, slow fashion children’s clothes
— L:A Bruket for wild rose hand lotion and jumbo-sized lip balm
— Byredo for a unisex fragrance (& free samples!)
— Stutterheim for a classic Swedish raincoat or John Sterner knitwear
— E Torndahl AB for Victoria Lanolin egg-white facial soap
— Tambur for the most beautiful toothpaste, kitchenware, and linens
— Iris Hantverk for her handmade brushes and textiles
— Grandpa for trendy Scandinavian homewares and clothing
— Papercut for the best selection of print media
— Dry Studio for Frama’s Sandalwood lotions
— The Hotorget flea market for antique brass candle holders
The impression I was left with from my time in Stockholm was that the city, at its very core, embodies sophistication, sustainability, and simplicity.
The result is a refined sensibility that I find so beautiful. I’m already scheming ways to get back…