One Of The Most Welcoming Cities In The World – Discovering Stockholm

By Pamela Nandi | Jan 05, 2021

TIME OF VISIT: MAY

Welcome to one of Europe’s largest and most dynamic place – Stockholm. One of the world’s most beautiful capitals and largest city of Sweden, surrounded by 14 islands and more than 50 bridges located at the junction of Lake Malar and Salt Bay, an extensive Baltic Sea archipelago.

MY ARRIVAL: Boarded the cruise Viking Lines from the port of Helsinki, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden ( approx. duration of 15 hrs) by spending the overnight at cruise and arrived Stockholm next day morning to explore the beautiful city.

**Mesmerizing view on my way to Stockholm**

**Arrival at Stockholm Royal Seaport – one of the largest urban development areas in northen Europe**

**Cruise ships docked at Stockholm harbour**

**Scandanavia’s most stylish city – the urban appeal is balanced with its centuries-old buildings**

To explore Stockholm, I opted for the Stockholm Metro, the rapid transit system and Stockholm’s Public Transportation.

Commenced my tour from Stockholm’s most noted landmark – the world’s largest spherical building – Ericsson Globe, originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena and commonly Skyview situated in the southern part of Stockholm and known by locals as Globen (“The Globe”), which was opened on Feb, 1989.

MY ARRIVAL: Availed the Stockholm Metro. Boarded from the nearest metro station from the cruise terminal and disembarked at the station Globen. The SkyView is 5 minute walk from the metro station.

TIPS: Recommend SkyView – its an experience in itself. Tickets can be purchased at the counter.

**The** **Giant White Globe is a massive indoor arena that **has hosted all manner of world-class sports** and the largest event venue in northern Europe**

The SkyView consists of two glass gondolas, each of which offers space for 16 persons mounted to two rails on the facade of the Globe that rides along the outside of the Ericsson Globe and takes a duration of 20-minute ride up to the top of the Globe.

**Glass gondola is the world-class attraction**

**At the top of the Globe with city view at the backdrop**

**A fantastic view encompassing all of Stockholm over the southern suburb**

And now to explore some city highlights in Stockholm‘s city centre.

**Sergels Torg – a major public square constructed in the 1960s and named after 18th-century sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel**

**Archway – Swedish Parliament House, a delightful attraction to visit**, **is the seat of the parliament of Sweden, in the Gamla stan district of central Stockholm**

**The Royal Dramatic Theatre – Sweden’s national stage for “spoken drama”, founded in 1788 commonly known as Dramaten**

**If you are a shopping freak, visit Åhléns City – a chain of Swedish department stores**

The legendary landmarks like the Vasa Museum, the Stockholm Royal Palace and the Gamla Stan (old town) are scattered around the city,

Vasa Museum –

If you’re interested in Stockholm’s history or the rich cultural treasures of Sweden, then visit Scandinavia‘s most-visited museum – Vasa Museum. A maritime museum located on the island of Djurgården.

**The museum is built around the royal warship Vasa and perfectly preserved almost fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged after 333 years**

**The 64-gun warship Vasa that sank while leaving Stockholm harbour on her maiden voyage in 1628**

Headed to Stockholm’s Old Town (known as Gamla Stan in Swedish), one of Europe‘s largest and best-preserved medieval city centres with 17th- and 18th-century ochre-coloured buildings. A visit to the city would not be complete without spending some time in the bustling, compact island of Gamla Stan, where Stockholm got its start in 1522. It’s home to the medieval Storkyrkan cathedral and the Kungliga Slottet Royal Palace, (king’s official residence) and the Nobel Museum, which focuses on the Nobel Prize.

**Swedish capital’s charming Old Town – one of the foremost attractions in Stockholm**

TIPS: Another best and cheapest way to scan the skyline for magnificent monuments is to avail the ferries and sightseeing boats that shuttle passengers between the islands. You can remain on the boat for the entire loop or disembark at any sightseeing stops and listen to informative audio commentary about the Viking past and prosperous present of the capital.

Some landmarks during the boat ride –

National Museum – national gallery of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm that exhibits paintings, sculpture, drawings and prints ranging from the Renaissance until the turn of the century 1900

Nordiska Museet (The Nordic Museum) – Sweden’s largest museum of cultural history. A place of stories that exhibits about the story of Nordic lifestyle and traditions from the 16th century onward, through furniture and interiors, fashion and jewellery

The narrow, cobbled lanes of Stockholm lead to beautiful churches and other historic sights and a great way to spend the spare time.

Stockholm Cathedral – (Swedish: Storkyrkan meaning “the great church”), also called Stockholms domkyrka, is the oldest gothic church in Stockholm that lies in the centre of Stockholm in Gamla stan built in 1279

**Skeppsholmen Church – Parish church built on the island of the same name that provided religious services to the Swedish Navy until they left the island in 1969**

Stockholm, is a city of bridges, as it’s built on 14 islands. Some 57 bridges connect the city altogether. The Old Town in Stockholm is sometimes referred to as “the town between the bridges”.

**Norrbro (Swedish: “North Bridge”) is an arch bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm, the only remaining stone bridge in Stockholm opened in late 1807**

**Vasabron (Swedish: “The Vasa Bridge”) is a road bridge, deck arch bridge and steel bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm that was built-in 1878**

Stockholm City Hall –

A famous landmark in the city. Every year the great Nobel banquet takes place in the Blue Hall.

**Royal Bank of Scotland** **plc nordic formerly known as RBS**

Stockholm‘s one-stop excitement is the Gröna Lund Amusement Park, a wonderland of fun, music, games, tivoli and junk food for all ages, which is open from March/April to September.

**The joyful and magical world of Gröna Lund Amusement Park located on the seaward side of beautiful Djurgården Island**

Stockholm is home to some of the elegant luxury hotels that boast waterfront view and beautiful accommodations for travellers in the upscale neighbourhood of central Stockholm.