Stockholm is a modern European capital spread across 14 smaller islands. You can get here by plane for a few euros, but then be prepared for quite a high cost of living. Our round-trip ticket from Budapest cost us 10€. In September, the climate is around 15-20 degrees, so a t-shirt, a jacket, and you’re ready to explore the charm of northern Europe. On one hand, it’s a super modern European capital where you can pay for almost everything by debit card, even a hot dog from a street stand. On the other hand, imagine a perfectly preserved historical center on a separate island.
Contents
Day 1 – By all means of transportation
Day 2 – Old Town Gamla Stan
Day 3 – Vasa Museum and Open-Air Museum
Day 4 – Farewell to Stockholm
Day 1 – Using all means of transportation
We travel to Budapest by early train from Bratislava to Keleti station. From there, we take the M2 and M3 metro lines through Deák Ferenc tér interchange to the final stop of M3 – Kőbánya-Kispest. Bus 200E will then take you directly to the airport in front of terminal T2. The flight from Budapest to Stockholm Skavsta takes approximately 2 hours. From Skavsta airport, the only company operating a bus connection to the capital is Flygbussarna. This monopoly charges 259SEK for a round-trip ticket, which you can pay by card at the indoor machine. The journey takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes. We strategically chose our accommodation through booking.com to be closer to the old town. Hotel Fridhemsplan is located on Kungsholmen island, which is also within walking distance from the station. The word “holmen” translates to a small island. We take a direct route through the center of the island and stop at a park near our hotel. It’s shortly before dusk, and if I count correctly, we have used six means of transportation – tram, trolleybus, train, metro, bus, and airplane. In the evening, just a light walk across the bridges to the old town and then off to sleep, so we wake up refreshed in the morning.
Day 2 – Old Town Gamla Stan
Waking up to a sunny morning, but it doesn’t look like swimming weather 🙂 We stroll along the coastline to the majestic Stockholm City Hall. You can take a tour of the city hall itself, or just go up the tower. We opt for the tower ascent for 40SEK. The first part is by elevator and then you have to climb a bit. Your reward will be panoramic views in all directions.
TIP: The postcard-perfect view of Riddarholmen and Gamla Stan is captured from here
The ascent is guided, so when the guide says it’s time to go down, you have to listen. We take some photos in front of the city hall with the statues and then continue towards the old town.
After the main bridge there is also a metro line, and in the minute it took us to cross the bridge, it passed us twice. The metro stations in Stockholm are marked as T-bana. We start the tour of Riddarholmen Island, dominated by the Riddarholmskyrkan church. Yes, you are correct to assume that “kyrkan” means church. The church houses the tombs of Swedish monarchs and, in our opinion, is unequivocally the most beautiful church we have seen in the capital. Entrance fees for individual landmarks are quite high, so we were content with admiring churches and cathedrals from the outside. The Stockholm card, which provides free entry to almost everywhere, is also very expensive by our standards, and you wouldn’t have time to visit so many sights in a day or two. After crossing over the metro tracks, we step into the heart of Stockholm – Gamla Stan. Perfectly coordinated colorful houses, historically infused narrow alleys, and ubiquitous architectural diversity; it’s unbelievable what people have managed to build on such a small island. We stroll through the streets past the oldest 700-year-old cathedral Storkyrkan to the square Stortorget. Here are the two most photographed houses, the red and orange ones with numbers 18 and 22 🙂 A coffee under one of them costs just under 5E, but the experience is perfect, and we also appreciated the toilet in the underground.
At 12:15, everything with legs gathers in the courtyard of the Royal Palace, the Swedish Kungliga slottet. You can watch the ceremonial changing of the guards with a performance by the Royal Guard. We were there completely by chance at that time, but make sure to plan it as it’s a better spectacle than the palace tour itself.
TIP: The ceremonial changing of the guards has a schedule according to the months: May – August: daily at 12:15, Sundays and holidays at 13:15; April, September, October: Wednesdays and Saturdays at 12:15, Sundays at 13:15; November – March: Wednesdays and Saturdays at 12:00, Sundays at 13:00
After about a 40-minute performance, we continue with the tour of the palace itself. This attraction for 150SEK, by the way the most expensive of our trip, however, did not meet our expectations. Only a few rooms and coronation jewels are accessible as part of the tour, and photography is prohibited everywhere. The tour consists of several parts from various corridors of the building.
After a demanding walk, we were convinced to take a sightseeing boat tour, the so-called Hop-On Hop-Off Boat Tours. You can board and disembark at any stop, enjoying a ride around throughout the day. It had been several hours already, so they gave us a bonus ticket valid for Sunday as well. During the ride, there is excellent commentary in English, and you get to learn interesting facts, such as the most expensive apartments in Stockholm. We were transported from the Royal Palace to the final stop at Gamla Stan.
We walk across the bridge to the island of Södermalm towards the lookout tower Katarinahissen. The lift was already closed, so we took an elevator inside a building and arrived on the opposite side. The view was spectacular, and on our way back, we walked through the streets of Södermalm, crossed the bridge, and continued through the alleys of Gamla Stan.
Gradually, it’s getting dark, and we head back to the hotel. Before the next day, we replenish our food supplies at Lidl, which is just a few meters from the hotel.
Day 3 – Vasa Museum and Skansen
The morning plan is clear: to move as soon as possible to the Vasa Museum, which opens at ten. We walk along the coast past the town hall to Gamla Stan, where we board our hop-on hop-off boat near the royal palace. We take about two stops and get off at Vasamuseet stop on the green island of Djurgården.
TIP: Make sure to watch a short video about the history of the Vasa at the beginning
The Vasa was a warship that sank in 1628 on its maiden voyage just a few meters from the port because it was excessively overloaded. It took another 333 years for it to see the light of day again. 95% of the original parts have been preserved, and those that have been replaced are color-coded. After being salvaged, the Vasa was preserved for many years with polyethylene glycol. In 1990, based on an architectural competition, a museum shaped like a ship was built to house it, where it remains to this day. The museum has several floors, allowing you to see every detail of the ship up close; in the lower decks, there are even skeletons and personal belongings of the crew. Today, it is the most visited museum in Scandinavia.
After touring the ship, we move on to the Skansen open-air museum. It is an open-air museum of houses and a zoo. To explore it fully, you should reserve at least half a day. In each house, they present their ancient crafts, and you can purchase their products. We visited places like a glassworks, ironworks, pottery, mechanical workshop, tavern, bakery, and even a primary school 🙂 After exploring the houses, we continue to the zoo section. Here you can find typical Nordic animals such as moose, reindeer, bears, and shy squirrels.
Pleasantly tired from walking, we continue to the port towards the amusement park Gröna Lund. Perfect for adrenaline junkies, but we didn’t feel like seeing for the second time what we had for lunch 🙂 We board a boat and take a ride for one stop. We disembark on the edge of the island Södermalm., from where we attempted to find Fjällgatan alley. We succeeded with a little help from a local lady. Along the way, she also showed us wooden houses from 1730 on Åsögatan street. As a reward, panoramic views of the surrounding islands unfold before us.
Hungry as wolves, we go to grab a bite in Gamla Stan, preferably a hotdog or sausage 🙂 Along the way, we also browsed through souvenir shops since it’s our last day here. To end the day, a stroll across Langholmsgatan Bridge. About halfway across the bridge, there are hundreds of padlocks locked to the railing, so you can add yours as well.
Day 4 – Farewell to Stockholm
We make our way to the main station by heading north through Östermalm Island. Flygbussarna departure terminals are by the turnstiles, and according to the information boards, you can easily find your departure. The journey to the airport was according to plan, leaving us an hour to stroll a bit around the airport. Our flight is at 14:45, and we’ll be in Budapest in two hours. Then just a transfer by an evening train, and we’re home.
