1

You do not tell where you are from but the profile says UK.
The Scandinavia is SOO costly is some old thing that seems to live for ever - Scandinavia is not significantly different from rest of WEurope anymore. Medium and top quality in London,, Paris and Rome are much costlier BTW. But there is a "problem for very low budget travellers - not so much in Sweden as in Norway and Denmark - see later.

You will not find Sweden more costly the UK or Stockholm more costly than London (actually Stockholm will be cheaper).
Of course there will be things mere costly in one country than in the other - especially when it comes to taxed itams like tobacco and alcohol. But in fact restaurant/bar alcohol prices in Sweden are reasonaly low relative to the shop prices!
A 100 "GBP" or 200 "GBP" hotel in Stockholm gives you much better value for the money than a hotel for the same in central London IMHO.

The diffference ppl. WILL se is that the rockbottom price and quality range is simply missing (the stuff for those backpackers whose budget actually does not allow them to visit WEurope) - this range simply cannot exist due to the relative high salaries for unskilled ppl. in Scandinavia.

Re the list of cities you give: arn't they all in the same ±30% price range? - which easily would incorporate Stockholm.

2

I just spent a few years living in Sweden and it's not that expensive in compared to other major European cities at all. If you drink spirits this will cost more or if you eat meat dishes at restaurants this to can be more pricey.
Hotels will generally be of very good standard.

3

Bonjour,

I found Sweden not so much expensive :-) I stayed 2 weeks in august and found very charming hotels for less than 900 SEK (double room) everywhere. In Stockholm I found a B&B near Karlaplan for 700 SEK by night. During the season I avoided busy and touristic places, as Kalmar or Strömstad and found good prices in little towns, near the coast, like Trölhattan or Karlskrona. I hired a car and drive for cheap with ethanol, that I can't find in France !
I was in London in February and will go back in October, and I think that prices are more expensives there :-)

Bon voyage
Christine
My blog and Flickr with pictures of Sweden

4

In addition to what others said, and as a small correction of #1 post...
Strong alcoholic drinks (vodka, whisky) are the only item that are more expensive in Sweden, and the difference is visible. Wines and beers are more or less the same.
On the other hand cigarettes are much more expensive in the UK than in Sweden.
The price level in both countries, including food, transportation and accommodation, is comparable.

btw - you can certainly find a decent hotel in Stockholm that will be cheaper than £100.

5

Don't be put off going to Stockholm as it is a beautiful city, but I have to disagree slightly with some of the above and say that it is expensive - I am from London and travel quite often to Scandinavia and I find it far more expensive than London.

I would say that part of the reason for this is that the sheer quantity of choice as to what you can do in London means there is always something for all budgets, especially food-wise and a huge number of museums and tourist attractions here are free. In Scandanavia the museums are often very expensive, but you get a wonderful clean, orderly experience with things like a free cloakroom thrown in, so you do partly get what you pay for!

I would rate Norway (Oslo particularly) as shockingly pricey and I know Denmark has a bad rep but as I have family there it doesn't effect me so much. I found Stockholm pretty expensive, Malmo not as bad and am about to go to Gothenburg where I did struggle to find a hotel I wanted to stay at for under £100 per night, but I was being quite picky.

Having said all of this, much of the best things about the Scandinavian cities are free - wandering the
streets 9and waterways) and taking in the scenery and atmosphere. Stockholm has lovely open spaces and nature, and is a really vibrant place. If you make lunch your big meal you may find it cheaper than eating big at dinner time.

I would highly recommend the Time Out guide to the city (sorry LP!) which will point you in the direction of some of the less bank-breaking ways to spend your time. For example I remember having a drink at Gondolen, a bar suspended above Slussen which wasn't that expensive but priovided a wonderful view, and going to a traditional restaurant a few stops into suburbia called Tranan, where the food was better and the prices more realistic than anything you would find in the Gamla Stan.

I hope this helps you a little, I am sure you will have a great time in Stockholm!

6

Another one here that don't think Stockholm is any worse than other cities like London, Paris or Berlin. & often the quality is much higher for the price you pay.

Now Norway however was much more expensive...

7

Thanks for all the information guys - a few myths punctured there!

8

Hi, Just in case this info will help anyone I am just back from Gothenburg and would like to report that not only is it a great city with some of the best food (esp. cakes) I have ever tasted it was definately not expensive! The Gothenburg pass was a great investement too so would recommend a trip there.

9

okay, lets not exaggerate with Göteborg's food culture. It's allright. But the city is not particularly nice to visit in wintertime as it has very little to offer (and trips around the area are not particularly interesting in winter). Definitely Stockholm (maybe including a day in Uppsala).
oh, by the way, its a pain in the ass to find good restaurants in Stockholm on weekends. everything booked out, so make sure you get reservations if you want to treat yourself

10

Two weeks ago, I spent a weekend in Stockholm and have to admit that I found it pretty expensive.

I live in Munich, BTW, which is thought to be one of Germany's most expensive cities, which means very generally prices are around 20-30 % below London's.

Of course, I wasn't able to go "in-depth" during my trip due to lack of time, but I have the same impression as #5. There is less choice when it comes to many things that are of interest to tourists like hotels, restaurants and museums - and this means higher prices.

Here in Munich, I can arrange some basic accomodation not far away from the city center for € 40 = 400 SEK or less for a basic double room with bathroom, especially in low season. I have extensively searched this branch and available booking engines, also considering almost non-existent private accomodation, but all similiar offers in Stockholm that turned up in this price range were hostel beds in a dorm.

Same with restaurants - in the street where I live I have the choice of 8 restaurants and if I want to, I can have dinner for two people including two soft drinks in a nice atmosphere (no fast food) for € 25 + tip, a slightly better dinner would be max. € 40 with four soft drinks. Impossible in Stockholm (I'm not including alcohol to have a fair comparison) - I haven't found a restaurant that would charge less than € 15 = 150 SEK for a main course, usually these were around € 20 = 200 SEK. I had the impression there were by far not as many restaurants as in Munich.

Besides, here, there's always a museum that's free or that charges € 5 or € 6 per person, what I've seen in Stockholm usually is € 10 = 100 SEK. And yes, I know about the Stockholm Card.

As I said, this is entirely subjective and my impression my be wrong due to lack of time. Yet I have walked through Stockholm extensively, spent almost two full days only walking around - and not only in Gamla Stan.

To sum up my impressions: I think that Stockholm is even more expensive than London from a tourist's point of view.

And then, there's the alcohol issue, of course. If you like to have a few drinks while traveling, budget for it.

I want to point out that I'm not complaining here as Stockholm was surely worth it. Yet it seems to me that there are lot less budget options compared to other Western European cities.

11

Hi, random comment, but I have to disagree with Ria (post #6) because Berlin is MUCH cheaper than Paris or London and most likely Stockholm. Berlin is one of the cheapest major Western European city I've ever been to. Hostels abound, and a good meal with 2 beers can run you 10€, and a cheaper meal with one beer can run you as low as 5€. I think one would find such a low budget AND decent restaurant in Paris and London -- and these restaurants are found often throughout Prenzlauerberg, Kreuzberg, Schöneberg, and Friedrichshain. Granted, in Mitte and Charlottenberg are more expensive. Also, the cheaper restaurants are generally not serving German cuisine, and the German restaurants are again more expensive. Sorry, random comment.

12

Well we'll have to agree to disagree on that - I spend substantially less on a night out in Stockholm than I do London or did Berlin..