Best Things to Do in Stockholm

Stockholm is at its best when you combine its world-unique indoor museums with walks along high island cliffs and commuter ferry hops across the harbour. Start with these ten signature experiences.

1. Marvel at the 1628 warship inside the Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet). Stand inches from the world's only preserved 17th-century 64-gun ship, which sank in Stockholm harbour on its maiden voyage and was raised 333 years later with 98 percent of its original carved oak hull intact.
2. Wander the medieval alleys of Gamla Stan and Stortorget. Squeeze down 90-centimetre-wide Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, see the 15th-century wooden statue of St George and the Dragon inside Storkyrkan, and watch the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace.
3. Tour the Blue and Golden Halls of Stockholm City Hall (Stadshuset). Join a guided tour of the 1923 National Romantic masterpiece where the Nobel Prize banquet takes place, gleaming with 18 million gold mosaic tiles, and climb its 106-metre three-crowned tower in summer.
4. Walk the clifftop path of Monteliusvägen on Södermalm. This 500-metre wooden-railed footpath perched high above Lake Mälaren delivers the finest free panorama over City Hall and the spires of Riddarholmen.
5. Explore Swedish rural history at Skansen Open-Air Museum. Founded in 1891 on the hills of Djurgården, Skansen brings together 150 historic farmsteads, stave churches and workshops from across Sweden alongside Nordic wildlife including moose, lynx and brown bears.
6. Ride the escalators through the Stockholm Metro Art Gallery. Descend into exposed granite bedrock stations painted like subterranean caverns at T-Centralen, Solna Centrum, Stadion and Kungsträdgården.
7. Sail out into the Stockholm Archipelago. Board a classic white steamer or Waxholmsbolaget ferry from Strömkajen or Nybroplan to the wooden fortress town of Vaxholm or nearby Fjäderholmarna.
8. Visit Fotografiska and the independent shops of SoFo. Combine world-leading contemporary photography inside a 1906 Art Nouveau customs house on Södermalm's quay with a late afternoon stroll South of Folkungagatan.
9. Cross the bridge to Skeppsholmen and Moderna Museet. Admire the gilded crown on Skeppsholmsbron on your way to Sweden's premier museum of 20th-century and contemporary art.
10. Pause for a proper Swedish fika and Östermalms Saluhall. Order a warm cardamom bun and filter coffee, then browse the 1888 red-brick food hall in Östermalm.