I finally got to visit Stockholm! It had been on my wish list for years, but until now it had never happened. Until an invitation landed in my inbox to go to this city and so we flew to the Swedish capital on a beautiful autumn day.
Destination: Stockholm, Sweden
Travel period: October 3 to 5, 2024.
Travel companions: My husband (and previously his colleagues)
Transport: plane, KLM
Hotel: Grand Hôtel Stockholm
Een overzicht:
- We flew to Stockholm with KLM and stayed at the luxurious Grand Hôtel, which offers various amenities, including a fitness centre, wellness facilities, and a restaurant.
- Highlights of our visit were the Vasa Museum, exploring Gamla Stan, and shopping in Norrmalm.
- One day in Stockholm isn’t enough to fully experience the city. Go for a long weekend if you want to see more and discover the city’s history.
The company my husband works for organizes an annual exclusive dinner to which partners are invited. This year the dinner is in Stockholm, where the company has a branch. The visit is a combination of work and relaxation for my husband and his colleagues, but for me it was a dream come true.
This is a travel blog, so I won’t bore you with the dinner. By the way, it was at Restaurant Operakällaren, in case you are looking for a star restaurant in Stockholm.
Contents
How did we get there?
We flew with KLM from Amsterdam Schiphol to Stockholm and back. It is a flight of about two hours, and you land at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, more than half an hour’s drive from the city centre.
A luxury 5-star hotel in Stockholm
We stayed at the Grand Hôtel, a 5-star hotel in the centre of Stockholm. It is a very luxurious hotel with a classic look. Our room was beautiful and surprisingly modern for such a classic building. I really felt like royalty, and I enjoyed the view of the historical buildings.
The Grand Hôtel has a huge range of facilities. There is a spacious fitness room, which reminded me of a small gym, and the hotel has a serious wellness department, where they offer various beauty treatments and massages. There is also a swimming pool if you prefer to swim.
There is a bar and a restaurant, where they serve breakfast in the morning. The breakfast is a combination of a large buffet and à la carte, for if you want something extra.
A day in Stockholm
We spent two days in Stockholm, one of which we had to see the city. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful that day and it was a lovely day for a walk. We walked everywhere, except for the time we stood on the ferry.
The day started with a visit to the Vasa Museum, which we went there with my husband’s colleagues. From there we walked through the park in the Alberget district and then we took the ferry to Gamla Stan. Then we walked through the more modern centre of Norrmalm.
What were the highlights? I will tell you below in the tips.
1. Visit the Vasa Museum
To be honest, I am not really into museums and the reason I started this travel blog is to share other travel tips than museums. But visiting a museum is part of this annual dinner and so on Saturday morning we went to the Vasa Museum, which is located in the Djurgården district.
The Vasa Museum houses a warship that lay at the bottom of the sea for over three hundred years. Now I am not averse to a bit of history, and I like the story behind this ship. The ship, the Vasa, was built in the seventeenth century by order of the King of Sweden. The king wanted to impress with the ship and had it decorated richly. It looked impressive at the time, but it was much too heavy and unstable. Nevertheless, the ship was sent out to sea and it sank shortly after sailing for over a kilometre, due to a strong wind.
The number 1 activity in Stockholm
The ship has now been salvaged and can be admired in a fairly good condition in the Vasa Museum. Although you can’t go on the ship, it is easy to see because the museum was specially built for the Vasa. You will learn more about the history and through projections and models, you can see what the ship must have looked like at the time.
A visit to the Vasa Museum is named the best activity in Stockholm by several websites and is the most visited museum in Scandinavia according to Wikipedia.
2. Take a walk through Djurgården
Our walk started on the island of Djurgården, where the Vasa Museum is located, after we said goodbye to our colleagues. Djurgården is a district in the east of Stockholm and is very popular with tourists.
We walked around the Galärpark, where there are more museums. We didn’t visit any of them, of course. But if you are a fan, you will find the Nordiska Museum and the Viking Museum here. If you continue further to the southeast, you will find an art gallery and the much-visited ABBA museum.
Tivoli
Just a few more steps and you’ll be in Gröna Lund. An amusement park on the Norrström river. The amusement park, Tivoli in Swedish, is a bit like a funfair because of the rides and stalls. If you like colourful cheerfulness, you can easily spend a day on this island.
In addition to all this, there is also the Astrid Lindgren Museum Junibacken on Djurgården and Skansen, which is an open-air museum and zoo. We missed these on our walk.
We were still on the island at the beginning of the afternoon, and it was relatively quiet. The queue at the ferry to Djurgården in Gamla Stan made me suspect that it could still be very busy later in the day. Not surprising, because there is plenty to do.
3. Discover Gamla Stan
From Djurgården we took the ferry to Gamla Stan, which means old town. This is the old city centre of Stockholm. A relatively small, colourful neighbourhood with beautiful Amsterdam-like buildings and streets. The royal palace can be found in this neighbourhood. The streets also have many shops and restaurants. We had Swedish meatballs for lunch here.
If you are in Stockholm, you really should take a walk through Gamla Stan. If you do this without visiting a palace, museum or church, you will be done pretty quickly. It is definitely worth staying here a little longer and taking in the atmosphere, because this is different in other places in the city. Stand on the large square (Stortorget) and look around you and plan your lunch here, so that you can also eat a Swedish meal like me.
4. Nice shopping in the city centre
We eventually ended up from Gamla Stad in Norrmalm, the centre of Stockholm. This is where the shopping streets are, where you can stroll through all day if you like shopping. This district also has a park, which had an open-air theatre when we were there, and many restaurants.
It is a bit less cultural than Djurgården or Gamla Stan, but no less fun if you like shopping. Although this district is home to the national museum and the prime minister’s official residence. If the weather is not so great, you can wander around Mood, a shopping centre with art, luxury shops and restaurants.
Eating cinnamon buns
We were in Stockholm on 4 October, kanelbullens dag, or cinnamon bun day, a commercial day that is all about the cinnamon bun, so I had to eat a cinnamon bun. But then again, I really wanted to eat Swedish meatballs in Gamla, so I had to spread the meals out over the day. Luckily, I found one on an indoor terrace somewhere in the centre.
Cinnamon buns are available all year round, by the way. I case you are in Stockholm on one of the other 364 days.
One day in Stockholm is not enough
If you are fit, you can easily explore Stockholm on foot. You will find yourself in a completely different environment every time because the neighbourhoods are so different. That makes Stockholm very beautiful in my opinion.
As mentioned, we only had one day in Stockholm and in the time we had, we wanted to see as much as possible. I think we managed that, but it took away the opportunity to go inside somewhere and learn more about the history of the city.
If you do have the time, I recommend that you make a long weekend of your visit. That way you can perhaps visit one of the many museums or go into the palace. Or you can go shopping extensively in Norrmalm or just sit on the terrace in Gamla Stan with a book.
