When my dad and brother planned their trip to visit me in Europe and we started planning for some weekends away, I knew I wanted to visit Stockholm. I’d visited for work earlier this year, but had spent most of my time there visiting Intersport or XXL stores (yes, this is what you do when you travel and work in the sporting goods industry). The city had such a nice vibe, I knew I had to come back.
Stockholm feels more like a city to me than Amsterdam. The streets are wide, the buildings made of huge stone blocks, and so many of the buildings are spice colored – I imagine that helps the Swedes make it through their long winters. At first glance Stockholm doesn’t boast all the iconic sites like a Paris, London or Rome. But, that’s exactly why I wanted to visit Stockholm. To wander the streets, pop into boutiques, enjoy moments of fika… – make that many, many moments of fika.
If you don’t plan to visit Stockholm yet, let me inspire you…
Visit Stockholm for the architecture
Read more: Visit Vaxholm, the perfect Stockholm day trip
Visit Stockholm for the food
There are three things I overindulged in when we visited Stockholm…
#1: Swedish meatballs. Yes, they are delicious, and better than the ones at Ikea 😉
#2: Fika. Ok, so fika isn’t really a food, but it is a Swedish word for that moment of the day when you take a moment to have coffee, usually accompanied by a delicious Swedish pastry. These people really know how to bake, trust me.
#3: Seafood. Again, the Swedes know how to do it right. An open faced sandwich with shrimp and salmon? Yes, please!
Visit Stockholm for the subway art
Yes, you read that correctly, there is subway art in many of the subway stations of Stockholm!
We spent one rainy morning going from subway station to subway station taking pictures – and for only €4 per person 😉 That was the only time we actually did spend money on the subway and it was so worth it!
For a full list of the subway station check out this list we used from Savored Journeys
What to know before you visit Stockholm
Stockholm isn’t known for being cheap, so be ready to have sticker shock from time to time. A single ride on the metro in Stockholm costs €4. We traveled with four people, which meant €16 in only one direction each time! If you’re traveling with 3 or more people, it is probably most cost effective to order an Uber.
We stayed on the outskirts of Sodermalm in a modern hotel which was actually affordable, but that meant that we needed to get into the city somehow since the walk wasn’t really do-able. We actually saved money by catching an Uber each way into the city.
Where to stay when you visit Stockholm
We stayed at Motel L just on the edge of Sodermalm. When trying to find a place to stay in Stockholm, I honestly had a pretty tough time finding anything decent and affordable… then I found Motel L. While it is not centrally located, it is still close enough to the center that you can get around pretty easily. It’s also just a few doors down from a Wayne’s Coffee, so you’ll have your fika chance every morning 😉
Motel L cost us about €100 per room per night – so all in all, not such a bad price to pay in Stockholm!
Looking for more in Stockholm? Here are the best places to take photos in Stockholm
What did I miss? What are your favorite things in Stockholm/
Gabby is a native (Northern) Californian who spent the majority of her 20’s living the expat life in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, exploring Europe and beyond. 27 countries later, she’s relocated back to her home base in California where she explores her passions for the travel and the outdoors.
18 Comments
I’ve never been there, but it’s in my bucket list.. Must be a wonderful city.
OK your food pics made me want to go NOW!
I think I did not do Stockholm right when I was there. Your post makes me go again. Sep the underground stations, I missed some of cool ones.
This is so timely! I am heading there in March with my 6 year old. Stockholm looks beautiful and the food looks delicious. I can’t wait to explore the city!
Stockholm looks wonderful! My best friend is Swedish and I’ve been meaning to take a trip there with her for the longest time!
Wow, I had no idea how impressive the architecture is in Stockholm. I’ve always wanted to go and you’ve just made me want to go even more! I love the idea of fika too….:)
I’ve been to Amsterdam but never to Stockholm! The architecture alone makes me want to go there, but I also love the look of the food and the city atmosphere. I love Europe so much, it’s just a gorgeous place. I might have to save up a lot more before I go though!
I enjoyed reading your post about Stockholm. And I didn’t know the city has lots of beautiful spices colored building. I also like the subway art. But, do you have to pay one way all the time? It is kind of pricey if you want to go places.. Don’t they have the all day or weekly passes?
I believe there are some passes you can buy… but we just weren’t travelling enough to warrant the passes. For a group of 4 uber was somehow a better deal!
It looks very like Copenhagen, in its building style. Still, I’d have to contemplate the cold. I’m about to travel to the Netherlands soon, and don’t really want to think about the 9 degree weather quite yet. :/
ah it’s not so cold yet! it’s been around 12-17 degrees lately!
I really enjoyed Stockholm too! It was such a pleasant city to be exploring. Had trouble trying to find decently-priced accommodation in the city, so I picked a private room at a hostel as well. The private room in your motel looks very bright and cheery!
Beautiful pictures, and definitely makes me want to visit Stockholm!
Stockholm is such a pearl. I love going there, getting lost in the city centre and going for fika like every two hours 😀
I love your pics! Sweeden looks like a neat, cute and organized country. The food also looks good. I think that if i go, I’ll try their seafood. That open-faced shrimp sandwich sold me.
thank you! it is a very neat and cute country! hope you get to visit 🙂
I love Stockholm! It’s truly an underrated city. I’d love to spend a week there in the summer someday.
Now this is somewhere that’s always been on my list but I’ve never had a chance to go! I love how the architecture looks!
Gorgeous pictures! I particularly enjoyed Gamla Stan when I visited Stockholm a few years ago. The food you got looks delish too :p