Tourist Information about Stockholm
Welcome to Stockholm, the Royal Capital of Sweden. Discover a city like no other - a city built on 14 islands, where you are never far from the water. Well-preserved medieval buildings stand alongside modern architecture. Stockholm is also home of the Nobel Prize. And just outside the city, the archipelago of 24 000 islands is waiting to be explored.
Stockholm is a city of contrasts - water and islands, history and innovation, small town and big city, short winter days and long, light summer nights - with a dazzling array of impressions. Thanks to the city's compact size, you can see and do most things in a short space of time - which makes it a perfect destination for city breaks or longer stays, all the year round.
Discover a city of contrasts. Go back 750 years in time and feel the medieval atmosphere of the Old Town "Gamla Stan" as you wander through the narrow streets. Stockholm has got history - but also the latest in fashion and IT. The trendy Stockholmers are often used as a test market by international companies, as they are quick to pick up on the latest trends. This is most obvious on the island of Södermalm, a hotbed of fashion, young culture and entertainment.
Stockholm is one third water, one third green belt and one third city. The island of Djurgården, the world's first National City Park, is only a short walk from the pulse of the inner city. Stockholmers and visitors alike come here to relax in the leafy shade and rest their eyes on green.
In Sweden, the seasons are another contrast. Light summer nights when the sun barely dips below the horizon and short, snowy winter days. Because the city changes with every season and there is always something special to do, Stockholm is worth visiting at any time of year.
Do you feel like doing something a little out-of-the-ordinary? Something you can tell the folks back home about? Go fishing in the Stockholm Sound, rent roller blades on Djurgården, or set out on a quick sightseeing tour of the archipelago in a rigid inflatable boat. Anyone who's been to a large European city knows that you're likely to do more than your share of walking there, and Stockholm is no different. It's an ideal place to explore on foot. The central part is relatively small, and things are easy to find.
The City of Museums The Museum City of Stockholm parades around 100 museums. From large well known museums like the National Museum, The Museum of History. The Swedish Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art to smaller cultural pearls like the Museum of the History of Wines and Spirits, the Hallwyl Palace, the Museum of the Post Office and Ulriksdal's Orangery. The museums attract with both permanent and temporary exhibitions.
Believed to have been founded some time during the 13th cen-tury, Stockholm quickly became a trading centre of the first importance. When Gustav Vasa entered Stockholm in 1523, he laid the foundation for a powerful nation state encompassing all of Sweden.
Over the centuries, the Swedish royal families have often chosen to reside in Stockholm, and the city has been the seat of most national institutions since the 13th century. Carl XVI Gustaf and his family lived in the royal palace in central Stockholm until 1982. Today, the royal family lives in Drottningholm.
