gruezi

Hi Fodorites,

My husband has invited me to tag along next weekend to Stockholm. I've had trouble getting a good English guidebook that narrows things down, and surprisingly there are not a ton of posts here on this city and most are from a few years ago.

We are interested in art, a boat ride, good dining.

I arrive very early Friday morning (from Zurich) and we leave Sunday night. So I have 3 full days and my husband will join me Friday afternoon onwards.

I am deciding between: Vasa, The National Museum, Nordiska Museet, Modern Museet, Prins Eugens, Thielska. They all sound so wonderful. I would prefer to see some Swedish artists - esp Carl Larsson - but also love most modern art.

Is the Millesgarden a summer venue or will we enjoy it in the winter?

We have heard the "Under the Bridges" boat ride is a good one. Any experiences with this or others in winter?

We are staying at the Grand Hotel which I hear is centrally located.

My husband esp. enjoys fine dining. We tried for Operakalleren but weren't able to get a reservation

Any restaurant suggestions would be wonderful.

Thanks in advance!

gruezi

nytraveler

I would suggest you as the concierge in your hotel to get you a reservations for Operakellern - s/he should have plenty of pull.

The hotel has a good central location and you should have good view of the water from any of the rooms

Don;t know why you're having trouble with guidebooks there are plenty. If your local book store doesn;t have just go to B&N or amazon to get one.

As for museums - we enjoyed the Vasa, Skansen and History Museums the most - as well as visiting the Royal Palace and exploring Gamla Stan.

dutyfree

The Vasa museum is amazing and a great place for "winter weather". Our family spent several hours there as there was much to explore.

The Absolut Ice Bar was a fun experience if you have never done it-very unusual but somewhat touristy.It is by reservation and lasts less than an hour.

The old section has some cute shops and great restaurants.The city will be different in the winter with the cold and alot of things will be shut down but as the poster above suggested-talk to the people at your hotel. There will be numerous brochures for you to look over at their desk. Have fun!

althom1122

Definitely agree not to miss the Vasa - unlike anything I've ever seen anywhere else and truly fascinating. We also really enjoyed the National Museum.

gruezi

Hi NYtraveler,

Thanks, for your input esp. on the museums. The concierge is trying on the restaurant.

Regarding the books. I live in Switzerland. We have only a few local English bookstores. I don't have time to wait for an international delivery from Amazon or B&N not to mention the cost for a 3 day trip...

gruezi

gruezi

Hi dutyfree and althom,

I so glad to have gotten good recs here on the Vasa. Just from reading about it in a book, I probably wouldn't have chosen it. Seems I am wrong and we will definitely go.

Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.

gruezi

dutyfree

Just to let you know that the Vassa has English only tours and video at certain hours(I want to say at 11am or 1130am for the mornings) so do check on that as it helps you to better understand the exhibits. Our family loves sailing,the ocean,etc. so we knew we would love the museum.

However, the moment I walked in and saw this massive ship it took my breath away much like seeing the Eiffel Tower,Big Ben and other famous monuments in travels.

We took the short ferry over from the old section which was nice and walked the short distance to the museum.I would highly recommend the lovely lunches served in the museum restaurant which overlooks the marina. The prices were very good and we thoroughly enjoyed the entrees that were offered. It was a nice break between floors of viewing.
Also, do try and do all the floors of the museum-the bottom floor with the actual skeletons and their stories were interesting.

gruezi

dutyfree,

Thanks for your post. I also love anything to do with water and the sea. (I am a bit disappointed to go to Stockholm in the winter, but I am hopeful to get there again when I can fully appreciate the boating atmosphere.)

I am so glad to hear all these comments about Vasa. I think it will be fun for my husband too. I plan to see an art museum without him Friday morning as he is not as enthusiastic about art as I am.

Thanks again and keep the comments coming!

gruezi

Marija

It's not the case that all rooms at the Grand have water views so you may want to make sure you get one with a view. The breakfasts at the Grand are wonderful. I agree about the Vasa.

danon

"Is the Millesgarden a summer venue or will we enjoy it in the winter?"

The sculptures are mostly outside, but I would visit it anyway.

Stockholm is beautiful!
I loved Gamla Stan , the water everywhere and golden sunset.
(It was summer when I visited)

You can see a lot in 3 days.

crefloors

The Grand Hotel is beautiful. The Vasa was one of the highlights of my visit. It was fascinating..even my museum hating brother was never bored.

Gamla Stan is very fun to stroll through. We stayed in Gamla Stan. The Palace is there and the Nobel Museum and also the Stockholm Cathedral. The Cathedral dates from the 13th century as I recall. The Nobel Museum is also really interesting. He was an amazing man.

spaarne

It's been decades since I saw the Vasa. It is an amazing ship. I enjoyed jazz at a cafe in Gamla Stam.

Looks like you won't have enough time but I would recommend taking the Silja line ferry over to Helsinki next time. It is an overnighter on a magnificent ship. Fantastic buffet dinner and plenty of entertainment. I did it again two years ago.

gruezi

Marija - Thanks, my husband said he requested a water view

danon - Thank you. We will bundle up and visit Millesgarden.

Hi Crefloors - The Noble Museum sounds fascinating and I do want to go there. I think perhaps I'll cut back on the other art museums and save that for another trip. Thanks.

spaarne - I'm already hoping we get to back in the summer!! This can be sort of a "scouting" trip for a longer stay.

Thanks everyone for your ideas!

gruezi

kja

Hi, gruezi -

> I would prefer to see some Swedish artists

Then you might enjoy Prins Eugens' Waldemarsudde - I did! He also painted some of the murals of Stockholm's very interesting City Hall.

Hope that helps!

gruezi

kja,

It does and thank you for your suggestion. I do need to narrow things down as we just have the 3 days.

Thanks!

gruezi

spaarne

If you get back in the summer, I recommend a visit to Kosta, Boda, and Orrefors. These are glassworks in mid south Sweden. Great deals on "seconds" and a visit to the factory.

Upsala is certainly worth a visit also.

tower

Hi Gruezi:

<<<Stockholm's very interesting City Hall.>>>

as kja mentions above, this is also a "must see"..quite unlike any city hall you've ever seen..it is just next to the Gamla Stan bridge..a short walk from the Grand Hotel...and yes, of course, The Vasa..magnificent sight to behold.

Unfortunately, the wonderful boat ride to Drottningholm Slot(Castle) would be on the schedule, but it is not opened after October....

A typical Swedish "food hall" can be visited for lunch..again, a nice walk from your hotel (which is a "grand one", by the way!)...the venerable hall ("Salu Hall&quot is on Nybrogatan in the Ostermalm district...I'd say a ten minute walk from The Grand...while there, one of the city's underground stations is also on this street...just go down under to take a look at the artful design...( a short one stop ride will reveal more of the designed underground).

If you enjoy "changing of the guard" one of the better ones, full of pomp, is at the Royal Palace within Gamla Stan...I recall at 11:00 am...

While you're out exploring during the day, when in Gamla Stan a very nice place for lunch is "Sally's" on the main Gamla Stan street..try the "Sally's Tower", a delicious high mound of shrimp, avocado and greens...around the corner is another good lunch spot, on Gasgand Street #4..superb salmon salads.

Of course, at night, the more elegant dining options are to be found on Berger Jarle and adjoining streets, cafe after cafe...lively night crowd. But, near the National Museum and your hotel is an interesting dining establishment called "Eriks" which we found to be quite excellent...it's on an old redecorated boat anchored there.

There was a very extensive Calder outdoor exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (Modern Museet on Skeppsholmen Island when we were there a few years ago...

Knowing you, Gruezi dear, you will get the most anyone possibly can out of your visit...enjoy!!

Stu T.

Grandma

I agree..... Vasa, City Hall, Gamla Stan. We first saw the Vasa in 1983 in a temporary facility. Twenty five years of restoration makes quite a difference! The history is fascinating. I think I read someplace that the Grand Hotel is known for its smorgasbord (spelling? and I'm 100% Swedish !?!) on weekends. There is a small rest. that's part of the Operakalleren operation that gets good reviews... the name escapes me at the moment.
You'll want to go back to Stockholm.... especially in the summer. Arriving by boat thru the archipelago is a beautiful experience.

Grandma

Bacfickan is the small rest. I was thinking of.

crefloors

If you eat at Sally's be careful if you have to go to the bathroom, OR lay off the wine or hot toddies.

I was in Stockholm three years ago, right after New Years. We decided to eat dinner at Sally's and my brother wanted someone to share a bottle of wine with him. I am a VERY cheap drunk. So, eventually I needed to go to the bathroom. My brother had gone and told me to be careful, it was a maze of doors to get in and out.

So, I head downstairs...lots of bathrooms are downstairs. I'm a bit dizzy..wine, cheap drunk, remember?..so I make my way downstairs and it's a bar area, except it's not being used. Chairs were upside down on the table tops and no one was around. I take a right at the bottom of the stairs as my brother had instructed and there were two doors. The one on the left had a male organ drawn on the door, with the cutest little round things.......not saying what was on the womens, but it was easy to figure out which was which.

So, in I go, do my thing, wash and dry my hands and turn the door knob and WHAT?!!!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!! The door is locked!!!!!! I jiggle the knob, pull on the door, try to look between the door and the jamb to see if I can see the bolt. I pull on it again and it won't budge.

So, there's no one down there, I'm thinking that this could be the most embarrassing thing ever in my life. Then I think, well maybe I'll just lie down for awhile..I mean my family certainly would miss me eventually, ya think?

Just when I thought all was lost, I decide to try the door again and "thank you jesus" it opened!!! Remember....maze of doors? I was trying to open the wrong door!!!!!!

I decided not to drink anymore, and want to warn any who dine at Sally's to be very careful if you use the loo.