Speed Tourism Stockholm: Seeing the Main Sights in a Day!

A UK Olympic Summer Month: Day 30
Speed Tourism Stockholm edition: Visiting as many of Stockholm’s main sites as I could in a day! This included Gamla Stan, Stortorget, Royal Palace, Royal Coin Cabinet, Vasamuseet, Skansen, and nightlife!

I awoke quite early and anxious to get out and explore! Jeanette and I started by quickly planning our day with a Stockholm tourist map.

Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan or Old Town was our first stop. We took the subway and picked up a snack for some energy.

Stortorget

We soon came upon the oldest square in Stockholm. This famous square in 1520 was the location of the Stockholm Bloodbath, which was when the Danish King Christian slaughtered almost 90 noblemen and civilians. Today instead of the sounds of death, tourists fill the square with the clicks from their DSLR cameras.

Stockholm Stock Exchange Building presides over the square and houses the Nobel Museum and the Nobel Library.

Storkyrkan – Stockholm Cathedral

This 13th century cathedral next the to square was also a popular tourist attraction.

St. George and the Dragon is by far the coolest statue I’ve seen in any church. It celebrates the Sture victory in the Battle of Brunkeberg.

The Royal Coin Cabinet

As an amateur numismatist, I was determined to see the coin museum. I was very excited, though for some reason Jeanette didn’t seem to have the same enthusiasm for coins. In fact, she waited in the seating area as I jutted off through the museum. Fortunately I sprinted through that museum in no time once I saw the main attractions.

The first coin in the world from 625 B.C. Lydia! Also on display were the world’s heaviest money (the Yap stone) and the world’s largest coin (a huge copper slab that definitely didn’t fit in your pocket).

Royal Palace

The Stockholm palace, completed in 1760, is the official residence of the Swedish Monarch though King Carl XVI Gustaf doesn’t live there. We happened to be there during the changing of the guard so all the tourists were herded like sheep to the railed off areas to clear the central courtyard.

With 1430 rooms, it is definitely a “grand” palace and one of the largest in the world!

Mounted Royal Guards (Högvakten) on the way to the palace!

Mynttorget, the public square named after the royal mint!

Photo op in front of the Parliament House which is on the small island Helgeandsholmen.

Jeanette and I were meeting her friends for lunch, so we walked back to take in some views of the city. We walked by a few museums and finally ended up in an old cottage area.

The Royal Dramatic Theatre, 1908, is known for its "spoken drama". — The Royal Dramatic Theatre, 1908, is known for its “spoken drama”.

We ate at Café Grande Rue which was hidden in a historic area with buildings from the 17th century and near the Historiska Museet.

Cafe Grande Rue — Toast Skagen, Walnut Salad, Lobster Soup, and Vasterbotten Cheese Pie! Hungry yet?

After lunch we took a stroll along Strandvagen street offering nice views of the river and city’s islands. Then we crossed the bridge onto another island, Djurgården.

Vasamuseet

First stop was a museum of the infamous ship Vasa. King Gustav II Adolf had this massive warship built with 64 cannons to show off Sweden’s military might. On the ship’s launch in 1628, it sailed 1300 meters before heeling over and taking on water through the lower gunports and sank. Defeated before even leaving harbor!

They eventually salvaged the ship in 1961 and its now preserved and on display in its full glory! It was definitely interesting to see something so well preserved after all this time.

Passed by the Nordiska Museet (Nordic Museum), but didn’t have time to go through. The building from 1907 is a good example of Renaissance architecture.

Skansen

The world’s first open-air museum was opened in 1891. Skansen display the history of Sweden through original buildings and actors portraying life of their time period. On 75 acres, it was a very large museum and we got lost several times causing us to backtrack a bit, losing valuable time. We also stopped at the gift shop to pick up some local sweets and trinkets.

Just hanging out with my new friend, a barefooted Swedish thread-maker from the 1800s.

Farmer busy at his trade. The red building is Seglora Church from 1730 moved to Skansen in 1916. It’s still used for weddings today!

They also had a zoo with a particularly fun goat petting area.

Umm sir, I think you forgot to mow your roof.

After Skansen, our legs were rubbery from walking, so we took a coffee break at Villa Godthem.

Villa Godthem The restaurant/café was right near the exit of Skansen. — The restaurant/café was right near the exit of Skansen.

Try to count how many birds there are in the picture. I tried feeding them, but they wouldn’t come too close... stupid snobby birds. — Try to count how many birds there are in the picture. I tried feeding them, but they wouldn’t come too close… stupid snobby birds.

We got back to Jeanette’s apartment to change and head out to dinner. We had a pre-dinner drink on her terrace which was very calming after the running around.

For dinner we met up with my friend Marcus and went to a place I read about, Nystekt Stromming on Sodermalmstorg. It actually was just a cart serving street food, but the traditional grilled herring on rye, with mustard, fresh dill and onion was delicious.

Though it doesn't look like anything special, the food was amazing! — Though it doesn’t look like anything special, the food was amazing!

We were just in time for the sunset so I ran for a vantage point for this shot. — We were just in time for the sunset so I ran to get a vantage point for this pink sky shot.

Nightlife

Next we were off to explore some bars of Stockholm. First we walked to the nearby Scandic Sjofartshotellet which had a great rooftop bar.

Good company, cold local beers, and fresh air :) — Good company, cold local beers, and fresh air 🙂

After a few drinks we moved to another bar Och Himlen Därtill with an excellent view of the city. The Ericsson Globe, the world’s largest spherical building, glowed brightly in the distance like the death star.

nightlife 1 — Nice cocktails at Och Himlen Därtill

Finally our last stop was Lilla Hotellbaren. The live band just finished as we came in, so we missed the show, but sat and chatted about Stockholm and life in the city.

It wasn’t that late, around 2 am or so, but we called it a night and headed back.

What an action packed day in Stockholm! It’s really interesting to see how well this modern city developed from its historic roots without upsetting its natural surroundings and environment. Most city dwellings around the world need to take a flight to go island hopping, Stockholmers just take the subway!

Stockholm is truly one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world.