A totally different experience to most of the Swedish highlights is the mighty city of Stockholm. The famous capital of Sweden has a lot of water, which is a very cool sight. The city consists of many islands, where Gamla Stan is the most famous one. The city has a very unique vibe with around 1.6 million inhabitants. If you visit one city in Sweden, make sure it will be Stockholm. Keep reading if you want to know what to do in Stockholm.

Tourist occurrence: Very high

How to get here: It has a good international airport, so from many places, you can head to the Swedish capital. 

How much time needed: 2-3 days

1. See the changing of the guard at The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace itself is very cool to walk around, as the building is gorgeous. I did not see the inside, but you can. Every day at 12.15 (Sunday at 13.15) the guards change positions, and that is good to see. There is also music. It can be very crowded, which makes the experience less interesting.

Price: Free for the changing of the guards, but to enter the building it is 240SEK

Tourist occurrence: Very High

How much time needed: 1 hour

2. Watch the Riksdagshuset

Another fantastic building at the water is the Riksdagshuset, which is the Parliament Building of Sweden. The building is very impressive with many pillars. You can walk around the building or attend a debate (which is not interesting for tourists). For me the highlight is seeing it from the other side of the water. 

Price: Free for walking around

Tourist occurrence: Medium

How much time needed: 10 minutes

3. Walk along the water

When you visit the capital of Sweden, you cannot miss the fact that Stockholm has water, a lot of water. The city is built on a lot of islands, so water is present, and it is great to walk past the water and enjoy the views that it comes with. You can also do boat tours, but I preferred the walking.

How much time needed: Throughout your stay in Stockholm, you will have several times to walk past water.

4. Have some relaxing time at Kungsträdgården

One of my favourite things to do was sitting at Kungsträdgården, which is quite a quiet oasis in a busy city. The small park in the city centre has some lovely flowers and trees. There is a cafe, which is a perfect place to have a fika, a beer or coffee. It is a lovely place to think about the other sights you will do in Stockholm.

Price: Free 

Tourist occurrence: Medium

How much time needed: 1 hour including a drink or fika.

5. Be amazed by Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan is the most popular sight of the city. It holds the most gorgeous building, narrow alleyways, cool squares and the Royal Palace, so it is a place not to skip when in Stockholm. It is actually an island to discover. Personally I mostly enjoy taking the smaller alleys, trying to avoid other tourists (which is very tough), and just walking around, going from one side to the other. 

Price: Free 

Tourist occurrence: Very high

How much time needed: 3 hours or so

6. Head to the Vasa Museum

First of all, I did not enter the museum, so I cannot give a clear opinion. The museum shows a larger ship of the seventeenth century called the Vasa, and it is one of the best maintained in the world. There is a movie shown as well. The museum should be interesting, especially if you are interested in boats of history. From the outside, the building is pretty cool already.

Price: 195 SEK

Tourist occurrence: High

How much time needed: 1.5-2 hours

7. Visit the ABBA Museum

Waterloo, Money Money, Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, and Lay All Your Love On Me are all famous songs of ABBA. The Swedish band consisting of Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Benny, and Björn is still famous for their music all around the world. In Stockholm they have their own museum you can visit to understand these winners of the Eurovision Song Festival of 1974. 

Price: Maximum of 329 SEK 

Tourist occurrence: High

How much time needed: 1.5-2 hours

8. Walk around Djurgården

Djurgården is one of the coolest parts of the city of Stockholm. The island lies to the east of the capital of Sweden, and it has many things to see, such as the Vasa Museum and the ABBA Museum. Walking there is cool, and you can enjoy some more quiet areas and touristy parts as well. 

Price: Free

Tourist occurrence: Medium

How much time needed: Can be all day, depending on the amount of museums you wan to visit. 

9. Have a stroll through the less famous parts of Stockholm

Stockholm is a great city to explore by foot, and you will enjoy the city, passing the important sights, as I told you before. However, it is always lovely walking through less famous parts to get a surprise. Why not walk for 20 minutes to the right and see where it goes? Stockholm is beautiful and interesting in other parts as well.

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How much time needed: As long as you want

10. Enjoy some craft beer

When you look at more of my pages, you know I enjoy a good craft beer or two. Stockholm is an upcoming destination for craft beer, and there are some good, creative breweries. We were going to a certain craft beer bar, and we passed two other while walking there, so yes, you can have good taste in Stockholm!

Things I have not done, but could be cool

Although I was not very long in Stockholm, I think I saw the most important sight. Of course, there are always more things to do, like doing a boat tour, visiting the impressive metro station, and Fotografiska. 

Final Thoughts

Stockholm is a very cool visit. Visit the city, and I especially enjoy the different islands and the amount of water, which is amazing. There are many sights to see very close to each other, which is a fantastic thing to know. To be honest, Stockholm is not my favourite city in the world, but it is lovely to visit. I would prefer to head into the amazing nature when in Sweden.

If you want to know more about Sweden, check out the following: