Going ashore
The old and new collide in Stockholm’s old town,Gamla Stan.Credit:iStock
If you’re here for a single cruise day,you’d best focus on certain areas. First-timers will want to see Gamla Stan,the island old town with its royal palace,Great Church,Nobel Prize Museum and cobbled streets. Riddarholm Church is the resting place of Sweden’s monarchs.
Its plain tombs are outdone by flamboyant coats-of-arms on the walls. Then head to City Hall,an odd blend of Italianate and Byzantine styles,for wonderful views from its tower.
Don’t miss
Djurgarden has another host of concentrated sights,including the amusing ABBA Museum and fascinating Vasa Museum,which preserves a 1628 warship and its artefacts. More overlooked is Waldemarsudde,the lovely villa of Prince Eugen,a leading 20th-century landscape painter. More time-consuming (you’ll need half a day) is Skansen Open-Air Museum,which brings together 150 historical buildings from across Sweden.
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Get active
Stockholm is cycle and kayak friendly and has miles of waterfront promenades and expansive parks. Royal National City Park is a vast sprawl that encompasses meadows and forest where you might spot deer and badgers as you walk or run. The hardy can consider a swim from its rocky shoreline,although water temperatures aren’t for the fainthearted.
Retail therapy
Norrmalm is the location for major Swedish department stores,while Ostermalm has interior decoration and Scandi-design boutiques. Chic glassware,wooden items in pine and birch,stainless-steel kitchen utensils,and knitted sweaters and mittens with Nordic patterns make for great souvenirs,as do painted handicrafts from the provinces. Across the harbour,Sodermalm has more alternative fashions in funky design galleries.
Further afield
You’ll have quite the variety of shore-excursion choices,among them visits to the historic town of Sigtuna on Lake Malaren,and the royal family’s summer residence Drottningholm,a yellow baroque palace surrounded by expansive landscaped gardens. (You can easily visit the latter on public transport,too.) Stockholm’s archipelago or Skerries can be explored by yacht or boat,although you’ll get a good view of them anyway as you cruise out of Stockholm.