Top tips

Image by Karen Jubinville from Pixabay

Built across 14 islands in a sparkling archipelago, its buildings painted warm shades of orange and yellow, Stockholm has to be one of the world’s most beautiful cities. It’s known for its chic design and has a thriving food culture. Small ships and ferries dart in and out of the islands and docks ready to transport you to other parts of the city, or out into the archipelago. It’s an easy city to explore, as well as a varied one, with many neighbourhoods having their own distinct characters. There’s also plenty of seasonal variations. In summer, you might want to stay on one of the islands, or in a waterside neighbourhood, to make the most of the long days that allow you to swim in the sea and sail, as well as explore Stockholm’s green spaces. In winter, you might prefer to stay in a more central neighbourhood, and enjoy the cosiness and romance, or the excitement of Christmas.

Our Guide to the Neighbourhoods of Stockholm

Map c/o Moving2Stockholm

Gamla Stan

Image by G Poulsen from Pixabay

Gamla Stan is the name for Stockholm’s Old Town, which occupies Stadsholmen Island, and the islets of Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen and Strömsborg. Space is limited on islands, especially once you build a huge Royal Palace, a number of grand churches, and rows of elegant townhouses, so the warren of streets and passageways of Gamla Stan is even more of a maze than in other classic old towns. Imagine cobbled streets, and architecture from the 17th and 18th centuries, painted mustard, clay and terracotta, and you can start to build a picture of Gamla Stan. The Baroque Royal Palace is on Stortorget, the main square, as is the pretty Royal Chapel; off the square run arteries towards Gamla Stan’s other highlights: the Nobel Prize Museum, the Riddarholm church, the parliament buildings, the Medieval Museum, and the Royal Armoury. This is a busy part of Stockholm for tourists, however in addition to the numerous touristy cafes, bars and restaurants, Gamla Stan also has its share of authentic Swedish eateries, including one of the world’s oldest restaurants, Den Gyldene Freden. And plenty of choice when it comes to accommodation.

Östermalm

Image by Andrzej from Pixabay

The Östermalm neighbourhood is elegant and central, known for its classic Nordic architecture, its theatres and nightlife, and for having some fantastic museums. It’s also the place to stay for high-end shopping trips and people watching. Östermalm's highlights include the National Library, the Östermalm Market Hall (heaven for foodies), The Royal Dramatic Theatre, Filmhuset — the Swedish Film Institute, the Swedish Museum of Performing Arts, the Swedish History Museum, and the Royal Stables. If you don’t have theatre tickets, you might consider checking out Zita, which is Stockholm’s oldest cinema and a cool city institution. Lovers of chic design should head over to Biblioteksstan, where you’ll find all the coolest local brands.

Djurgården

Image by Tamás from Pixabay

Djurgården translates to the ‘Royal Game Park’, and is its own separate island in Stockholm’s archipelago. Some of the island is still a hunting retreat, though of course with no hunting taking place, but much of Djurgården is now covered by museums, including the Vasa Museum, the Skansen Open Air Museum, the ABBA Museum, the Viking Museum, the Museum of Wrecks, and the Stockholm Maritime Museum. Djurgården also boasts an amusement park, a zoo, an aquarium, and a mini forest (Djurgården is one of the greenest of all of Stockholm’s islands). This is one of the most visited areas of Stockholm, ideal for a fun family day out.

Södermalm

Image by endlessboggie from Pixabay

Södermalm, or, as it’s often called Söder, is Stockholm’s arty neighbourhood, known for its little galleries, vintage and design boutiques, cool cafes, and innovative restaurants and bars. Södermalm’s main sights are the City Museum of Stockholm and the Fotografiska — Stockholm’s museum of photography. It's situated next to Gamla Stan, so close to many of Stockholm’s major historic sights. Plus, this is where you catch the ferry from to get to the island of Djurgården. Södermalm is also a hub of concert venues and old-fashioned cinemas — the one screen, art-house variety. The district has some lovely parks and green spaces, with several well-known walking routes for exploring them. This is a great place to find well-priced accommodation, as well as boutique hotels and chic design apartment hotels.

Norrmalm

Image by Lena Lindell from Pixabay

Norrmalm is the new heart of Stockholm city! It is also the city’s main transport hub, and where you’ll find the central station, business and commerce hubs, many of the major shopping streets, and plenty of places to eat, drink and make merry, including the Royal Opera House and the Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, which is a huge theatre and cultural centre. Norrmalm is close enough to Gamla Stan to offer easy access to Stockholm’s main historic sights, but it’s not classically beautiful — most of the buildings here were built between the 1930s and the 1970s. It’s much less touristy, and because of that, the accommodation is more affordable. However, Norrmalm isn’t just office blocks and shopping streets, it has a couple of lovely parks and plenty of water frontage. Norrmalm also has a huge covered market called Hötorgshallen, which is a fantastic place to try all sorts of Swedish food, or to do some flea market shopping on Sundays. Norrmalm also has a couple of museums and a fantastic old church called St. Jacob’s Kyrka.

Vasastan

Image by annamaria anderson from Pixabay

Vasastan neighbours Norrmalm, but it’s the quieter, greener, more residential neighbourhood of the two. It also neighbours Kungsholmen to the west and Östermalm to the east. This isn’t a very touristy area, but it does have great transport links, and there’s a good and very affordable range of accommodation. The streets here are wider than in central Stockholm, and there are more Neo-Renaissance style buildings, which makes for a different atmosphere, and a number of aparthotels and boutique hotels have taken advantage of this. Vasastan does have its own sights as well, including the Stockholm Public Library, which is admired by architecture fans as well as bibliophiles, several art galleries and museums, and the Strindberg Museum. If you’re visiting Stockholm in winter, you might want to visit Vasastan’s Vasaparken, which has an ice skating rink, while in summer, we recommend the Observatorielunden for its incredible views over the city.

Kungsholmen

Image by Rolf from Pixabay

Across the water from Norrmalm, Kungsholmen is a largely residential neighbourhood, great for longer stays in Stockholm. Expect green space, friendly cafes, and local restaurants, all within relatively easy access of the sights of Gamla Stan. Kungsholmen’s architecture is that classic Swedish mix of colours and designs. The busiest part of the area is around Hantverkarhgatan and Fleminggatan; these are the shopping and eating streets. Kungsholmen’s main sights are the Stockholm City Hall and the City Archive.