Generator, the ‘poshtel’ megabrand in Europe, launched their first Stockholm location in June and I was lucky enough to stay there last month, just weeks after it had opened. Spread over 11 floors, the building felt...
Stockholm city guide
for fabulous travellers
Soulful, gospel-inspired house music DJ, Petter Wallenberg– aka House of Wallenberg – is doing lots of fun queer stuff in the Swedish capital, including club Mums Mums.
Stockholm is a city of surprises: outdoorsy despite the cold climate; chilled despite being the capital; walkable even though it's spread over multiple islands; expensive but not nearly as pricey as other Nordic countries (Norway I am looking at you).
Stockholm City Centre (Innerstaden) is made up of seven areas: Norrmalm (the business district), Gamla Stan (old town, very touristy), Östermalm, Kungsholmen (both quite residential), Södermalm (cool bars and cafes), Djurgården (museums) and Vasastan (residential - bit posh perhaps? - with nice cafes and restaurants). Each area feels very different from the other but it would be perfectly possible to spend an entire weekend just on Södermalm. It's where all the main attractions are.
I visited Stockholm in the summer so I could avoid the risk of sub-zero temperatures but didn't expect it to be so gorgeously warm! Honestly, it was one of the best summer cities I have ever visited. So clean and lush, with great al fresco dining, parks and places to swim. I can't wait to go back!
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Check out these places in Stockholm
Brunch – Pom & Flora, Greasy Spoon, and Cafe Pascal.
Irregular parties – Danceoke, Kaffe, Kaka och Karaoke, Boi Boi Club, Moulin Noir, Slick and Mums Mums.
Venues – Celezte, Laika, Södra Teatern and Trädgården.
Pride – is held in late July/early August each year.
Hostels – Generator in the northern Norrmalm/Vasatan district.
Cinema – Bio Rio arthouse cinema.
Vinyl – Pet Sounds Records.
Museums – Abba, Biologiska Museet.
Budget eats – K25, Steam and Falafelbarren.
Sunny days – Tantolunden area for swimming and drinking in the city or Hagaparken if you fancy a little adventure.
YASH – I am totally besotted with the street art of Linus Lundin aka YASH.
Things to watch out for in Stockholm
Airports – Stockholm has 4 airports and some budget airlines fly to the ones nearly 90 minutes outside the city (Skavsta and Västerås), which cost twice for transfers. It may work out cheaper (and quicker) to fly to Arlanda or Bromma airports, which are 20 minutes from the city.
Card-only – many restaurants and bars are card-only. I would definitely recommend only taking 30-50% of your spending money in cash, as every brunch spot and all the outdoor bars I went to did not take cash payments.
Expensive city – speaking of money: like most Nordic cities, Stockholm is hella expensive. But if you head there expecting to spend a bomb, then you will handle it better. On average, I found the beer to be around £6-7 pint (or as my pal Lucy puts it, 'festival prices') and the food was around 1.5-2 times the price of food in London. Some places were surprisingly cheaper, so head there armed with some of the cheap eats on this guide and you should be ok.
Summer – as is typical of Europe, many cafes and restaurants are closed for the whole of July and part of August or have very reduced hours over summer. There were still plenty of places to eat and drink when I visited in July, but it is something to be aware of. That said, summer is incredible here! So gorgeous and amazing!
