Ok, where do I even start? I finally visited the capital of minimal style, home to H&M, IKEA and ABBA – Stockholm. Apart from its impeccable Scandinavian fashion sense and iconic design, it’s simply one of the most beautiful cities on the Baltic. Built on a series of islands, Stockholm has a mix of everything from traditional architecture in the form of royal palaces and state buildings to the sleek minimalism of the modern districts which all culminate in the mesmerising Gamla Stan ( Old Town).
We flew from Manchester airport by SAS which took only 2 hours and then were transported almost telepathically (Sweden is among the top 10 countries with the world’s fastest trains) to Stockholm by “The Arlanda Express ”
Our hotel was a city gem , located right in the city centre, New York-inspired Grand Central by Scandic is famous for its distinct music profile ( its has its own club and theatre ) and offers the best breakfast in Stockholm!
We did our best to explore the city in three days which is obviously not a lot but I think we still managed to see quite a few things even in such a short period of time ( and we loved every bit of it):
- Saw famous New Year fireworks display at Strombron area
- Visited the most popular museums : The Vasa , Abba , Nordic and Fotografiska Gallery.
- Walked around Gamla Stan – one the largest and best preserved medieval city centres in Europe .
- Saw one of the most unique touristic attractions in the world, the world’s longest art gallery – Stockholm metro. More than 90 of the 110 stations feature artworks created by some 150 artists. ( I will share pictures and talk about it in my next blog post )
- Had a break for “Fika ” ( is a concept in Swedish culture with the basic meaning “to have coffee”) at one of the oldest bakeries called ” Sundbergs Konditori” ( This place has served hot coffee from a copper samovar for more than 200 years! ) with traditional cakes and coffee .
- Sale shopping at H&M , H&M Home and Monki.
- Had dinners and lunches in various local restarts and bakeries… My verdict on the local dishes? Simple, healthy and totally delicious!
We had so much fun in Stockholm in December so decided to come back here when it’s warmer so that we can explore the city’s famous parks and open-air museums and maybe have a swim in one of the Stockholm’s lakes!
I hope you liked my mini guide to Sweden. X
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