What to see in Stockholm: Milan Bez Mapy’s tips and where to eat

I liked Stockholm in summer and in winter, and it’s one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen. I wouldn’t skip Gamla Stan, the Vasa Museum, the ABBA Museum, Skansen on the island of Djurgården or SkyView. If you have time, add a sauna too, such as Sickla. Centralbadet, the historic bathhouse, is closed until spring 2027.

Quick factsby Milan Bez Mapy

From the airport to the centre

I took a Flygbussarna bus; a return ticket bought online in advance is discounted, and the Arlanda Express is faster

Where I stayed

In Södermalm, but in Stockholm it hardly matters where, as long as you’re close to the metro or a tram

Boat 80

Leaves from Nybroplan; with an unlimited travel ticket you can ride it as often as you like; I’d get off at Blockhusudden

Food

Swedish meatballs at Stockholms Gästabud in Gamla Stan; IKEA’s can’t compare

ABBA Museum

I expected a silly tourist trap, but I ended up dancing with the band’s holograms

Watch out

SkyView closes when it’s windy, and I was unlucky; you can buy tickets online in advance or on site (card only there)

What is there to see in Stockholm? I’ve been to the Swedish capital in summer and in winter. And you know what? I couldn’t tell you which is more beautiful. I’m not sure why, but northern cities like this have always appealed to me. As with my visit to Copenhagen, Stockholm has joined my list of the most beautiful cities in the world I’ve travelled to.

In this article I’ll share my tips on what to see in Stockholm: where to go, the best way to get around and where to eat. I visited Stockholm in collaboration with Košice Airport, as part of the ‘Z Košíc do sveta’ (From Košice to the World) campaign.

Visiting Stockholm: practical tips

How to get from Arlanda Airport to central Stockholm

You’ll most likely land at Arlanda, Stockholm’s main airport. The fastest way to get from the airport to central Stockholm is the Arlanda Express train. It runs every 15 minutes and gets you to the centre in about 20 minutes. There are also buses. Stockholm has two more airports, Bromma and one in the town of Nyköping, but they aren’t the main ones.

Flygbussarna runs several bus routes from the airport to the city centre and other parts of Stockholm. The buses are fairly comfortable and reasonably priced. Flygbussarna is what I took myself, and if you buy online in advance, there’s a discount on a return ticket.

How to get around Stockholm

Stockholm’s metro, the T-bana, is efficient and reliable. Its three colour-coded lines (green, red and blue) cover most of the city. They’re the ideal way to get between different parts of Stockholm.

But Stockholm is built on islands, so ferries and boats are a very popular way to get around. You reach some parts of the city by water. I’d buy a travel card at the ticket booth in a metro station. Then I’d ask the lady behind the counter to load an unlimited ticket onto it. It’s valid on boats, buses and the metro. Stockholm also has a great network of cycle paths and bike routes, so a bike is another good way to get around.

Try the number 80 boat for sightseeing

Tip from Milan Boat number 80 is worth a ride. Many tourists use it as a sightseeing boat around Stockholm’s islands. It leaves regularly from Nybroplan in the centre. With an unlimited travel card you can ride it as often as you like.

I’d get off at Blockhusudden and walk around the area, but more on that below. Google Maps shows all the departures for boats, the metro and buses. One word of warning: the travel card isn’t valid on a few boats, so ask the crew.

Where to stay in Stockholm

Östermalm, Norrmalm and Gamla Stan are popular central districts, with hotels close to the sights and easy connections to most of the city. Södermalm is known for its creative, lively atmosphere and has plenty of restaurants, bars and shops. That’s where I stayed. But in Stockholm it doesn’t really matter where you stay, as long as you’re close to a tram or the metro.

Tours of Stockholm and trips out of the city are here:

Things to do in Stockholm: Milan Bez Mapy’s picks

Gamla Stan: Stockholm’s old town and a restaurant tip

Gamla Stan, the Old Town, is the historic core of Stockholm, full of narrow lanes, old buildings and landmarks. The Royal Palace (Kungliga slottet) is one of the largest royal palaces in the world. Besides touring its interiors and museums, you can watch the famous ceremonial changing of the guard.

Storkyrkan, the Gothic cathedral, is known for its architecture and long history, and inside there are artworks and other treasures. You can’t miss Stortorget, the central square of Gamla Stan, with its colourful old houses and Renaissance façades. It’s a great place for a stroll and for trying Swedish food in the restaurants and cafés. I came here for the Christmas market.

• Tip from Milan One of the best-rated Swedish restaurants in central Stockholm is Stockholms Gästabud. Their Facebook page describes it like this: ‘We serve well-made Swedish home cooking at fair prices. Welcome!’ I’d order the most touristy dish on the menu, Swedish meatballs. I’m a big fan of the IKEA ones and consider them the classic weekend meal of a typical Bratislava resident. But they can’t compare with the ones in Stockholm.

People also recommended the Nobel Prize Museum, but I didn’t have time for it. It focuses on the lives of Nobel laureates and is a fascinating place for anyone curious about this prestigious prize. If Swedish history interests you, the Swedish History Museum (Historiska museet) has extensive collections of artefacts and exhibitions that trace the country’s long history.

The Vasa Museum and the ABBA Museum

The Vasa is a wooden warship that sank on its maiden voyage, just after leaving the harbour. Building it took two years and 400 men, yet it went down within minutes, a stone’s throw from the harbour. That would have annoyed me. It wasn’t an enemy attack that sent it straight to the seabed, but poor design. Walk around the Vasa and you’ll see it for yourself. Its tall, slender hull was doomed to kiss the soft seabed from the very first rivet driven into its solid timber.

The ship lay on the seabed for 333 years before it was raised. It’s almost a miracle that the wood survived the salty seawater nearly undamaged. This is partly put down to the fact that the waters around Stockholm were heavily polluted in the Middle Ages. So no bacteria lived in them to rot the wooden hull. The ABBA Museum, a story in its own right, is just a short walk from the ship. I expected a silly tourist trap, but I ended up having a great time dancing with the band’s holograms. I also sat in the original helicopter from the cover of the album Arrival.

Skansen and Isbladskärret lake on the island of Djurgården

Skansen is like a time machine that takes you back into Sweden’s past. It has more than 150 historic buildings from every corner of Sweden, representing different periods and regions: houses, workshops and other typical buildings. You can watch craftspeople at work and get to know traditional Swedish crafts such as pottery, weaving and blacksmithing.

If the weather is on your side, though, I’d take boat 80 to the Blockhusudden stop on the island of Djurgården. The metro ticket is valid on the boats too. Djurgården is one of the most popular islands in the city, with a mix of nature and culture. It’s home to several major sights, including Skansen, the open-air museum that shows how Swedes lived in different periods of their history.

My favourite was the walk around Isbladskärret lake, whose name means ‘ice marsh’. What pleasantly surprised me was that Stockholm’s botanic garden is open all year round. Stockholmers make the most of the nature and the lakes around the city in every season.

Bergianska trädgården botanic garden and its greenhouse restaurant

The Bergianska trädgården botanic garden is a lovely place in the north of Stockholm and one of the largest botanic gardens in Sweden. It’s home to a huge collection of plants from all over the world. Its several greenhouses cater for plants with different climate needs, and you’ll see exotic plants, orchids, cacti and other unusual species.

Besides the plants, the garden is good for walks around natural lakes and rivers. It’s an ideal place to unwind in pleasant natural surroundings. And yes, it’s open in winter too, which came as a nice surprise.

• Tip from Milan I’d drop in for coffee and cake at the former greenhouse that has been turned into a restaurant. The Old Orangery, or Gamla Orangeriet Bergianska in Swedish, is a really original place for lunch. I like the way people in the north reuse old buildings and adapt them so they work for today’s generations.

SkyView: Stockholm from 85 metres up

SkyView gives you a bird’s-eye view of the city. You step into a kind of capsule that slowly climbs the outer shell of the Globe Arena (now the Avicii Arena). From 85 metres above the ground (about 130 metres above sea level), you look out over the city and its surroundings.

• Tip from Milan You can buy tickets online in advance or on the spot, but on site it’s card only. I’d check the weather first: when I went, it was closed because of the wind.

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Saunas and spas in Stockholm: where to go

Sickla floating sauna

If you need proof that Swedes love winter, there’s the Sickla floating sauna, a sauna built on the water. Swedes love their saunas, and no wonder, when winter temperatures here can drop below minus 20°C. All you do is book it (you’ll find the contact details on their website, sicklasauna.se) and turn up. After a hot fifteen minutes, you lower yourself into the water through a hole in the ice. One thing to note: the sauna’s opening hours are quite limited, so plan ahead.

Centralbadet

Centralbadet is a historic bathhouse in central Stockholm. It’s one of the best-known and most luxurious bathhouses in Sweden. Besides relaxing spa services, baths, saunas and other treatments, it offers sport and fitness activities.

Centralbadet isn’t just a place to relax and look after your body. Its beautiful architecture reflects the style of the early 20th century. The interior is decorated with mosaics, marble and mirrors, which adds to its historic, luxurious feel.

Note: Centralbadet has been closed for a major renovation since 2 March 2026 and should reopen in spring 2027. Until then, treatments take place in temporary premises at Engelbrektsgatan 5. It’s worth checking the latest on the Centralbadet website before you go.

More places worth visiting in Stockholm

If you want to see everything, a weekend in Stockholm isn’t enough. Personally, I’d split the city into a winter trip and a summer trip. Here are a few more places that were on my list, but I didn’t get to them. At least I have a reason to come back.

• Tyresta National Park (Tyresta nationalpark) is about an hour by bus from the city centre. It has beautiful lakes and looks like a great day trip from the city into nature.
• Sigtuna: I’m sorry I didn’t make it there. It’s the oldest town in Sweden, just a short way from Stockholm.
• Fjäderholmarna, Vaxholm and Sandhamn are more of Stockholm’s islands worth a visit. Apparently they have good seafood restaurants.
• Fotografiska is a museum of photography.

Happy travels!