Happy Tuesday friends! Today I am sharing my Stockholm travel guide from my most recent trip to Stockholm featuring 19 of my top things to see and do! Enjoy! Click here for my 2018 Stockholm Travel Guide!
1.Visit and tour The Royal Palace. The Royal Palace is the official residence of His Majesty the King of Sweden and with 1,430 rooms, one of the largest palaces in Europe! The Palace was largely built during the 18th century in the Italian Baroque style. The royal residences have been built on this very location since the 13th century. The palace contains apartments for the Royal family, guest Apartments, State Apartments, The Apartments of the Orders of Chivalry and the Bernadotte Apartments.
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2. Visit and tour Drottningholm Palace, the Palace Church, the Baroque Gardens and the Chinese Pavilion. Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish Royal family. It was originally built in the late 16th century and it served as a summer residence of the Swedish royal court for most of the 18th century. Apart from being the private residence of the Swedish royal family, the palace is also a popular tourist attraction. The current Swedish royal family have used Drottningholm Palace as their primary residence since 1981. Since then, the Palace has also been guarded by the Swedish Military in the same fashion as Stockholm Palace. The palace is so elaborate and ornate and beautiful! Each room more impressive than the next. Palace Church, which was erected in 1746. Inside the church there is a Cahman organ from 1730 that is still in use. Another noteworthy item is the traditional church tapestry which was made by Gustaf V of Sweden. You can also explore the beautiful Baroque Gardens. The oldest part of the garden was created at the end of the 17th century. The many statues scattered throughout this garden area were taken by the Swedish army as spoils of war from the Wallenstein Palace in Prague and the two marble lions at the main gate of the palace were transported from the Ujazdow Castle in Warsaw. The Chinese is a Chinese inspired royal pavilion originally built in 1753. The pavilion is currently one of Sweden’s Royal Palaces and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As a huge fan of chinoiserie style, this pavilion had be swooning! You can catch the hour and a half ferry to Drottningholm from City Hall.
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3. Tour Rosendal Palace. The Rosendal Palace was built between in 1823 for King Karl XIV Johan, the first Bernadotte King of Sweden. Rosendal Palace is a uniquedocumentation of the European Empirical style. The palace stands today largely as it did in Karl XIV Johan’s lifetime. Though only open for tours in the Summer, a tour of Rosendal Palace is a must! Our tour guide was so fascinating and engaging!
4. Tour the Vasa Museum. The Vasa museum houses the Vasa, which is a retired Swedish warship built in the 1620s. The ship sunk after sailing only 1,400 yards of its maiden voyage in 1628. That’s less than five minutes. Forgotten until the late 1950s, she was rediscovered in a busy shipping lane just outside the Stockholm harbor, salvaged and brought to land in 1961. The beauty and magnitude of this ship are hard to put into words; it was simply so impressive!
5. Eat at The Hairy Pig Deli. The Hairy Pig Deli is a charming and very small Swedish tapas restaurant offering cozy vibes and outstanding comfort food! I highly recommend the salmon pate, the sausage of the day and the moose lasagna. This is a must for lunch or a casual dinner.
6. Check out The Stortorget. Swedish for grand square, The Stortorget is the oldest square in Stockholm. The brightly colored building line the square making it a beautiful spot to grab a photo or a cocktail at one of its many restaurants’ patios.
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7. Check out the Uppland Runic Inscription 53. This Viking stone that is embedded on a street corner just blocks from our hotel, is believed to be older than the city itself. Though its exact origin is unknown, it’s estimated to date back to the 11th century. Officially called “Uppland Runic Inscription 53,” the Gamla Stan stone is prominently located at the intersection of Prastgatan and Kakbrinken. The stone depicts a serpent body in decorative winding loops.
8. Dinner at Den Gyldene Freden. Meaning “The Golden Peace”, Den Gyldene Freden has been in business continuously since 1722. One of Sweden’s most well known restaurants, it is the second oldest restaurant in the world to have the same surroundings, according to the Guinness World Records. Its surroundings and environment are more or less unchanged since the day the restaurant opened. How cool is that?! For our dinner we split the beef wellington for two which was served on a bed of spinach. You could literally cut the meat with a spoon it was so delicious!
9. Visit theNordic Museum. The Nordic Museum is dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period to today. We found the exhibits beautiful and fascinating especially loving the fashion exhibit!
10. Visit the National Museum. The museum was founded in 1792 and the present building was opened in 1866. The museum’s collection consists of about half a million pieces of work from the Middle Ages to 1900. Also in their arsenal, a 17th century collection of Rembrandt and other Dutch painters, which will leave you swooning!
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11. Lunch at Glashuset Kajplats 18. The restaurant is absolutely gorgeous and the food and service were equally as impressive! At this water front trendy hot spot I recommend the salad of pea pesto, zucchini, sunflower seeds and aged goat cheese. It was so fresh and bright! Also the deep-fried artichokes topped with parmesan & almonds. Also amazing!
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12. Visit the Swedish History Museum. The Swedish History Museum covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to present day. It was fascinating! One of our favorite things we saw there was the Backaskog Woman, a skeleton of a woman who lived around 7000 BC! As someone who studied early Christian art, I also enjoyed their large display of biblical relics as well.
13. Go antiquing. Zedell Konst och Antik and Antique Maps and Prints are my two favorite antique shops in Stockholm. Both are located in Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm.
14. Happy Hour at Vau De Ville. Vau De Ville is a brasserie in the bougie area of Stockholm with a massive outdoor patio. This place is hoppin’ at happy hour, or “after work”, as they say in Europe with Stockholm’s young and beautiful.
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15. Dinner at Gastsabud. Gastsabud is located in in Gamla Stan, or “Old Town”. II highly recommend the meatballs served with silky mashed potatoes and he sausage which is served with creamy dill potatoes. This quaint spot is oozing with charm and the food is delicious as well!
16. Take a canal tour. There are many different canal tours offered in Stockholm. You can catch many of them right outside of City Hall.
17. Lunch at Angbatsbryggan. A docked boat turned restaurant, this waterfront restaurant has a large patio area which is so cute, stunning views and the food is very good as well!
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18. Lunch at Villa Godthem. Located in Djurgarden, Villa Godthem is an absolutely beautiful water front spot serving up amazing shrimp salads and more!
19. Drinks at Pharmarium. Pharmarium is a former pharmacy turned cocktail lounge in the Stortorget. It offers perfect views of the Stoortorget and a massive list of tasty craft cocktails.
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Thank you so much to Elite Hotel Stockholm Plaza, Collectors Hotels and Visit Stockholm. You made our time in Stockholm one to remember!
Kisses and travel bug wishes,
