Julie

We are planning a 2.5 week trip to the Scandinavian countries. All the guidebook say Stockholm is the nicest of teh capitals, and so we planned in 4 days in just that one city. Does anyone have any ideas on what to do with our time there? Any daytrips you can recommend? Or anything in the city that is not to be missed?
I would really appreciate any advice! Thank you!

Gregory

Hi,

One sight not to be missed is the Vassa Ship museum with the restored mediaeval ship and other sights.
There is also the Kanassas TV tower which offers fine views of Stockholm.
You can alos take a boat trip into the islands of the Stockholm archipelago

Barry

A trip up the lake is a wonderful way to spend the day ... visiting some of the old Viking sites and archeological digs. Tickets are available at the boat docks right down by the Rathaus for a number of different itineraries....

Also the train ride over to Malmo is another great day trip...

pat

Agree with both posts. We spent less time in Stockholm than we would have liked, only 2 days because there was so much to see in Denmark and we were visiting friends in Finland. I understand that it is the prettiest as well although we had TONS to do in Copenhagen.
In Stockholm We also enjoyed the Nordic museum (Has an ABBA exhibit downstairs if interested) next door to the VASa (NOT to be missed), as well as a visit to SKansen, which is an open air market. We missed hte gamla stem area which is in all the guidebooks.We bought a Stockholm pass thru our hotel and it included admits to all as well as all transportation which was easy. It is a beautiful and the most diverse country of the scandinavia/nordic ones that we visited. Enjoy!! I also suggest you do a search here as many have written about this area.

ellie

We very much enjoyed an excursion out to Drottingholm to tour the summer palace and chinese pavilion. You can reach it by boat during the summer months. We got there easily via subway and bus in late september. Please note that the palace, etc is closed to the public during much of the fall/winter (not sure of the exact dates). We stayed right in Gamla Stan and found that simply wandering around its alleyways and squares was interesting and fun.

Sandra

We took a cruise out into the archipelago. We went all the way to Sandhamm, but you don't have to go that far. Stockholm is really gorgeous from the water. The day we went, there was fog in the morning, and it was cool on deck. The islands were very mysterious as they emerged from the mist. But on our way back, the sun came out and it was like a whole different trip! Stockholm is one of my favorite cities in the world. You'll love it.

Viking

Where in Stocholm is the Kanassas TV tower???

s.fowler

One happy memory of my too brief visit to Stockholm was the Carl Milles Garden which has a lot of his sculptures in it. My spelling may be off -- or my memory for that matter -- hahaha!!

Joe

Stockholm is delightful, though I wouldn't short change Oslo or Copenhagen. You will want to spend a day wandering the Gamla Stan (the old town), seeing the changing of the gaurd (different than any you have seen), checking the shops (mostly tourist stuff) and the cafe scene. The Royal Palace is OK, but the Armoury is exceptional, especially the medieval section. Get a Walking Map at the tourist office which will take you to the points of interest with explanations. You might want to take your archipelago trip at the end of this day. The lighting at late afternoon is better for views into the city. There are a number of different cruises offered at the front end of Gamla Stan on the waterside (of course).

Another day for the Vasa Exhibit, the 16th century ship in amazing shape, and Skansen, actually, an open air folk museum, not a market. If you walk along Strand Vagen toward Djurgarden (where the Vasa and Skansen are housed), you will stroll along an estuary where every imaginable kind of sailing vessel is berthed. Very interesting. Plan to stay at Skansen into the evening. Have a smorgasbord dinner and take in the shows, fiddleing, folk dancing, live bands, etc.
The Nordic Museum is worthwhile (as pointed out above). You would have to return to Djurgarden to take it in for a half day. Gives you a good look at how Swedes have lived over the last 500 years.
If you are into sculpture, the Carl Millesgarden Museum, home and garden is interesting. The location on a cliff overlooking Stockholm is stunning. You can get there by bus.
Drottningholm, Sweden,s Versilles, is the 17th century summer palace and interesting to see, but the real attraction is the Baroque Theatre in very good repair adjacent to the Palace. Take a guided tour. You can get to Drottningholm by boat.
If you are up for a couple of nights stay outside of Stockholm, take the fast ferry (2 1/2 hours) to the medieval, walled village of Visby on Gotland Island. This is just a delightful location with beautiful, narrow, cobblestoned lanes, every conceivable kind of shop, great restaurants and cafes, a really fun harbor scene and wonderful vistas of the sea. There is much to see and do in Visby and biking the Island is great fun as well.
One of the most beautiful castles in Europe, Kalmar Slott, is an easy ferry trip from Visby (1 1/2 hours). This puts you back on the mainland with easy access to the "glass country", Simrishamn (wonderful little seaside village) and on into Copenhagen, none of which you asked about. So, I will quit here. Scandinavia is a wonderful vacation destination. Have fun.

john

Underline the Vasa ship; you'll never see anything like this again. For a summer visit, Stockholm has an outdoor amusement park named Tivoli, not quite like the Copenhagen Tivoli but still a lot of fun. Years ago I happened upon an outdoor concert of the Eagles at Stockholm's Tivoli and saw what must have been half of the teenagers of Sweden there. Stockholm's old town has some really great jazz cafes. I don't recall the name of the museum but one of them had exhibits showing the invasions of the Swedish army through Germany a few centuries ago; that was surprising given that Sweden is regarded as a neutralist pacifist country.
On one of my visits to Stockholm I trained north to Uppsala (40 minutes) and had a fascinating day with a local woman I met on the train; she insisted on showing me around her home town. There are some interesting viking burial mounds in Uppsala, a university city going back to medieval times.
If you like table and decorative glassware stop in Boda and Orrefors, near Vaxjo, on your way between Stockholm and Copenhagen. You can visit the factory, watch them blow the art, and buy "seconds" at bargain prices in the factory shops.
www.enjoy-europe.com

Ben Haines

If I remember aright, Uppsala has two monuments to the Enlightenment. One is a complete eighteenth century anatomy theatre, where dissections were performed before banks of medical students. The other is the house and garden of Linnaeus, the man who first brought the families of plants into order.

Ben Haines, London

Joe

Since Uppsala was introduced, you must know that the Cathedral is awesome. If you are not going to Copenhagen, then certainly go to Tivoli in Stockholm. But, if you will make Copenhagen, wait for Tivoli there.

Julie

Thank you so much to all who responded. It's really very helpful.

nancy

I was only in Stockholm for a couple of days and loved the Vasa Museum and walking around Gamla Stan (old town). But, my favorite quickie trip to Scandanavia was Denmark. The pedestrian street was fun (Tivoli Gardens wasn't open in February) and we had a great dinner at a former monastery I'd read about (can't remember the name of it). Also went to Helsinki (overnight ferry) for a day and picked up a tour - absolutely wonderful - even got to walk on the frozen Baltic! Loved it. I would recommend at least the overnight ferry to Helsinki and spend an extra day if you can.

FSE

Was there on business. Tour the "Old Town", eat dinner at the "Den Gyldene Freden" and go for drinks and dancing at the "Opera House". Have fun!

bullock

How do you get to the archipelago? Can you get there from Stockholm?

indytravel

The best way is to take a Silja or Viking cruise ship from Stockholm out through the archipelago on your way to Finland. Turku was a great little city and a lot cheaper than Stockholm.