Things to do in Stockholm
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Drottningholms Slott
Drottningholms Slott is a wonderland of Renaissance-inspired palace, French-style gardens and the whimsical 18th-century Drottningholms Slottsteater. The world’s oldest theatre still in its original state, its summertime performances still use the vintage machinery. Equally unmissable is Kina Slott, a lavishly decorated and skilfully restored Chinese pavilion (1753).
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Olssons
While the retro neon signage, dark tinted mirrors, dancing pole and cucumber cocktail might allude to a kinky disposition, this Vasastaden favourite was actually once a shoe shop. The ‘video’ in ‘video bar’ refers to the Studio 54–style films projected onto a screen, which is easily upstaged by the hip young crowd, super-cool tunes (from retro to electro) and mighty red mojitos. Head in before 10pm or be prepared to queue.
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Kungliga Myntkabinettet
Anything but a dreary accountant’s fantasy, the fabulous Royal Coin Cabinet sparkles with a priceless collection of world-turning currency, including Viking silver and the world’s oldest coin (created in Greece in 625 BC), as well as its heaviest (a copper plate weighing 19.7kg). The exhibitions are innovative, the kids’ playroom is fun and the kitsch collection of piggy-banks alone is worth the trip.
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Livrustkammaren
Quite frankly, the Royal Armoury Museum is brilliant. A regal storage attic of sorts, its engrossing collection of booty spans over 500 years of royal childhoods, coronations, weddings and murders. Sneak a peek at lavish royal wardrobes, King Gustav III’s masquerade costume (worn when he was shot in 1792) and the preserved stomach contents of Baron Bielke, one of the conspirators to the king’s assassination.
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Kungsholmen
Owned by celebrity chef Melker Andersson (F12, p76; Grill, p71), this sexed-up food court features six open kitchens cooking up six specialties – soup, sushi, grill, bistro, bread or ice cream. Add a sleek long bar offering a huge range of elaborate cocktails as well as simpler fare like pints of Brooklyn Lager, weekend DJs and a languid lakeside setting, and you’ll understand why it’s best to book.
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Moderna Museet
Cheeky and serious in equal measure, Stockholm’s always-absorbing modern-art museum balances reliable crowd-pleasers like Robert Rauschenberg’s Monogram with provocative new work from the likes of Paul McCarthy. Special exhibits in the basement are included with admission and always worth investigating, and if the boundary-testing art makes you feel lightheaded, seek sustenance in the award-winning restaurant.
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Stockholm in One Day Sightseeing Tour
2 hours 30 minutes (Departs Stockholm, Sweden)
by Viator
With limited time to spare, see Stockholm in a nutshell on this detailed 2.5-hour sightseeing tour. You'll get a comprehensive overview of the entire city first…Not LP reviewed
from USD$59.84 -
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Riche
While both bars here are hugely popular, the smaller Lilla Riche is the current choice of Östermalm’s hip parade. Buffed bartenders mix the drinks, skilled DJs mix the music and a tightly packed crowd of media types and celebrities flirt, flaunt and step on each other’s manicured toes. The adjoining Riche restaurant is one of Stockholm’s best for Swedish-Mediterranean cuisine.
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Ekoparken
The vast parkland of Ladugårdsgärdet is part of the 27-sq-km Ekoparken, the world’s first national park within a city. An impressive 14km long, its combo of forest and open fields stretches far into the capital’s northern suburbs. This section of it, reached by bus 69 from Centralstationen or Sergels Torg, boasts three fine museums and one of Stockholm’s loftiest views.
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Stadsbiblioteket
Designed by Erik Gunnar Asplund in 1924, the Stockholm Public Library is one of Sweden’s architectural masterpieces. A classic example of Nordic neoclassicism, its pièce de résistance is the breathtakingly beautiful cylindrical lending hall with its Technicolor panorama of books. Add artwork by Ivar Johnson in the vestibule and Nils Dardel in the children’s library and you have yourself an unmissable Scandi treat.
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Café Opera
Wannabe playboys and their glitzy girlfriends need a suitably excessive place to schmooze, preferably one with bulbous chandeliers, haughty ceiling frescoes and a spangly party vibe. This is it, darlings. In sharp contrast, the adjoining Veranden bar is a crisp white creation by architect trio Claesson Koivisto Rune and a favourite hangout for bartenders, meaning a mediocre martini is strictly out of the question.
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Mosebacke Etablissement
This multifunction party palace is a thumping institution. August Strindberg once hung out here, the lofty terrace is a summer-night must, and the club nights are among the city’s best – don’t miss veteran Friday favourite Blacknuss, with its gospel/soul/R&B tunes. Theatre and cabaret also make the occasional splash, while regular live-music jams span from Aussie rock to Nordic indie pop.
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Bakfickan
Set in the opera house and appropriately crammed with opera photographs and deco-style lampshades, this buzzing counter restaurant is famed for its savvy old-school waiters and top-notch husmanskost (traditional Swedish fare); Bakfickan shares a kitchen with Operakällaren. A great place for solo supping, it’s best late at night, when you’re bound to stumble across a bitching soprano.
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Edsbacka Krog
For the ultimate dining indulgence, book a table at Michelin two-star restaurant in Sweden, Edsbacka Krog. Set snugly in an inn dating back to 1626 and headed by Christer Lingström (Sweden’s culinary ambassador), its seasonal Swedish-French menu will send shivers up your spine – the things Lingström does to salmon, scallops, lobster, lamb and rabbit are criminally good.
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Leijontornet
Award-winning Leijontornet boasts the ruins of a 14th-century defence tower in its uberelegant dining room. But that’s where the history ends, with culinary creations like squid with burnt leek or fried Mutzu apple with spruce-tree jelly and tar ice cream pushing the culinary envelope. The trendy in-house bar serves up fab midpriced fare and smooth DJ-spun tunes on Friday and Saturday.
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Rosendals Slott
On the northern side of Djurgården, Rosendals Slott was built as a palace for Karl XIV Johan in the 1820s. One of Sweden’s finest examples of the Empire style, it sparkles with sumptuous royal furnishings. Admission is by guided tour only. While you’re out this way, don’t miss the wonderful cafe, set among lush gardens and greenhouses and serving tasty organic grub.
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Gröna Lund Tivoli
This landmark amusement park boasts Europe’s tallest ‘Free Fall’, dropping thrillseekers 80m in two seconds. Children (and the sane) have plenty of options and all rides except the Haunted House (Skr40) are covered by Gröna Lund Tivoli’s ride coupon scheme (Skr20 per coupon); individual rides range from one to four coupons each. For unlimited access, buy a Skr260 day pass.
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Östasiatiska Museet
Know your Buddha from your bodhisattvas at Stockholm’s Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, famed for its world-class booty of ancient Eastern art, stoneware and porcelain. Particularly noteworthy is the collection of wares from the Chinese dynasties of Song, Ming and Qing, as well as the museum’s fresh temporary shows, which cover anything from comic-book manga to the art of Japanese tattoos.
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Kalikå
This wholesome toy shop sells adorable handmade soft toys, dolls and felt puppets made by the mothers of Russian children with disabilities. The program, entitled ‘Fair Play’, was set up to financially support women and prevent their children from ending up in Russian orphanages. You can also buy toy-making kits, cute kids’ clothes and giant wooden pencils to infantilise your office.
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Republik
Republik’s trés urbane bar was voted Stockholm’s best in 2006 (try a Gasper cocktail and you’ll see why), yet the ultimate indulgence here is the restaurant, where the vibe is suave, the staff clued-up and the French-influenced food scandalously good (the seared scallops with truffle risoni, jamón Serrano, romanesco and fennel dill will leave you with a post-dinner glow).
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Sturebadet
Old Norse meets Ottoman chic at Stockholm’s poshest pool, gym and spa, once the haunt of Greta Garbo and still a favourite with the rich and famously frazzled. For full-on Scandi bliss, try the Samezen treatment (Skr1590, 80 minutes), choreographed to Sami jojk music and performed in a tepee-inspired room. While day passes are readily available, treatments should be booked two weeks in advance.
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Liljevalchs Konsthall
If you’re in town February to mid-March, the Vårsalongen Art Show held here is a fun place to shop for high art and kitsch from both new and established Swedish artists. Otherwise, come for the neoclassical architecture, Carl Milles statues by the entrance and top-notch temporary exhibitions of modern art, which range from video, photography and sculpture to painting, drawing and etching.
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Stockholm Grand Tour by Coach and Boat
3 hours 30 minutes (Departs Stockholm, Sweden)
by Viator
Take the most comprehensive sightseeing tour of Stockholm available, combining panoramic coach travel and a boat cruise out to sea. Perfect for first-time…Not LP reviewed
from USD$67.72 -
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Hallongrottan
Adding weight to Hornstull’s counter-culture rep, this queer-centric bookshop boasts an eclectic mix of gay and feminist titles, queer-friendly kids books, trashy zombie flicks and free hallongrottan (raspberry tartlets). In-store cultural gigs range from screenings of Pink Flamingos to readings by scribes like Sarah Waters and Dennis Cooper – check the website for details.
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Svensk Form
Stockholm’s foremost design centre features temporary exhibitions of cutting-edge industrial design and applied arts, and a Swedish design library and archive, as well as a cool little design shop and cafe, complete with copies of in-house design magazine Form. On Wednesday evenings, designers (and the design-inclined) drop in for a drink, a schmooze and regular design seminars.
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