A Trip Around the Baltic: Stockholm, Sweden

Hello! It's Gabe here again, this week we are making a stop in Stockholm, Sweden as a part of our "Trip Around the Baltic" series.

TOP: The Gamla Stan
BOTTOM LEFT: The Vasa
BOTTOM RIGHT: Reconstructed log cabin from the countryside, seen at Skansen

Stockholm Overview

Stockholm is the capital city of Sweden, and is situated on the Eastern coast of Sweden, with a gorgeous archipelago separating the city center from the Baltic Sea. The city itself is comprised of a series of various islands, meaning that there are a great deal of bridges in the city. Stockholm is a fantastic city, so let's dive in!

Stockholm Must-Do

In Stockholm, there are various sights and attractions that many would consider "must do"; so in this section I will cover some of the most popular sights. One of the most popular sights for visitors to Stockholm is the Gamla Stan, or the old town. The Gamla Stan is very interesting to simply walk around, or view some of the sights that are situated in that area such as the Royal Palace with its very nice museums, the Nobel Museum, and the Storkyrkan - which is a famous gothic style church which contains the oldest known image of Stockholm. Another famous sight in Stockholm is the Vasa museum, which houses the Vasa ship, which is famous for sinking in the harbor on its maiden voyage. The ship has been wonderfully preserved for visitors, and makes for some time well spent viewing the ship from various levels in the very modern museum. The Vasa museum is located on the Djurgarden island, which houses many other museums and attractions - including the famed ABBA museum, which I hope to visit next time I'm in Stockholm. These are just some of the most popular attractions and sights in Stockholm, and if you choose to use this section as a guide of what to see and do in Stockholm, you will not be disappointed!

More Off the Radar Stockholm

The archipelago as seen upon sail away from Stockholm aboard Disney Magic

Stockholm is also home to many lesser known sights and activities for visitors, many of which are well worth the visit! One of these more off the radar locations is Skansen, which is an open-air Swedish history museum with a zoo consisting of Nordic animals. At Skansen, there are many reconstructed buildings which have been transplanted from the Swedish countryside, as seen in the image at the top of the post. The zoo at Skansen is also very nice with some interesting animals including wolverines, reindeer, seals, bears, and European bison. Another lesser known Stockholm attraction is the beautiful archipelago just outside the city. Cruises that call on Stockholm proper will sail through this archipelago upon arrival and departure from port, and is just breathtaking as the vessels slip between small islands, and narrow passageways; do not however that many ships do not venture through the archipelago, but instead dock at a coastal town such as Nyanshamn, which does not afford the same experience. If you are not visiting Stockholm by cruise then you can take part in a boat tour that ventures through the archipelago, or hop on a ferry in Stockholm to Turku in Finland, or Mariehamn in Sweden, both of these destinations involve sailing all the way through the archipelago to reach the Baltic sea, so you will get a very complete experience of the archipelago. 

I hope everyone enjoyed out look at wonderful Stockholm, Sweden! As always, leave a comment below if you've been to Stockholm or now want to pay a visit! Join us next week for a visit to Helsinki, Finland.