A sense of cultivated refinement tends to accompany every part of this little European capital, all the way from the elegant palace and surrounding government buildings to the series of bespoke design hotels.
Stockholm, the elegant lady of northern Europe, has always pulled its nose up at its ‘Venice of the North’ inscription, opting to remain uncrowned by labels and tags of endearment. And it is clear when you walk around this Swedish heart – nothing ostentatious here will do. The city is spread across 14 islands at the mouth of the freshwater lake Mälaren, right by the Stockholm archipelago. The former Viking stomping ground has water and waterways in all possible configurations meandering throughout: from the Baltic Sea’s presence, to streams, bays all the way to lakes. All this makes for compelling walking across bridges big and small, in particular in and around the center of the city.
IF YOU’RE UP AND OUT
Old town, Gamla Stan, is on Stadsholmen Island and is where the Royal Palace discretely looks out onto the city. The island’s cobbled streets and narrow alleys certainly attract travelers seeking a glimpse at what remains from the 13th century and also the changing of the guards. But early mornings reveal the island’s German architecture and the buildings’ washed out colors all surrounded by just water, as a kind of quiet solitude.
Taking a bridge north from the old town leads onto the city center, Norrmalm, and to the east the wealthy area of the city Ostermalm and to the northwest Vasastan, the locals’ foodie neighborhood. The city center itself is the perfect representation of how Stockholm truly embraces modernity and contemporary society and its heritage of thousands of years all at exactly the same time. And so signature Swedish contemporary architecture and design meet in a city founded in roughly c. 1250.
Along the main road, Klarabergsgatan, running through the city rises the Klara Kirka, a redbrick church dating to the 16th century, and a moment further the concrete giant Kulturhuset, a house of culture, hosting exhibitions and performances. Walking a little further east is the shopping district with fabulous department stores, like the tasteful NK Stockholm, and tucked in between are an array of local artisans, revealing age old crafts from brass (like the brand Skultana) to wood work.
DISCOVER ART AND DESIGN
The lobbies at the Nobis Hotel and Lydmar Hotel also feed the area as the go-to location for business meetings in contemporary design settings. The old and the new all curl around the city’s official meeting point: Stureplan. Across yet another bridge is Skepssholmen, towards the south of the city center. Historically home to the military, with easy access to the Baltic Sea, today it is where the Museum of Modern Art, with pieces ranging from Picasso to Marcel Duchamp and the Swedish Museum of Architecture reside and attract kinsmen onto this tiny island. On the southern side between some old trees is Hotel Skeppsholmen, the primary brunch location in the city, positioned in a 1700s historical building with the more recently added highly contemporary design flair of Claesson Koivisto Rune.
MIX WITH THE LOCALS
Södermalm is the city’s playground. With the Stieg Larsson book ‘Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ fame the area sports various attractions ranging from theaters, to bars, to ancient graveyards. Walking around the island variety is what attracts, from the 1859 Södra Teatern that plays host to shows all year, to Abba famed Benny Anderson’s Hotel Rival for post-work drinks, to Drop Coffee that serve pour over cups made from Ethiopian and Kenyan beans.
The southern part of the island, SoFo (the area south of Folkungagatan) along with Götgatan, have become the more bohemian expression of Stockholm: vintage clothing stores and retro décor items are the items of the day with New York inspired contemporary cafes dotted around them. Stockholm is that place that offers a futuristic contemporary presence matched with the old world, and so the charm is distinct yet so perfectly elegant and pared down.