A weekend is enough time to see basic elements of a city but it is not enough to fully explore the unique activities that Stockholm has to offer. If I were to visit again, I would take the time to explore the following activities.
Stay in one of Stockholm’s floating hotels. This is a city that worships water and it’s no surprise, Stockholm has water everywhere. It’s only natural that some enterprising people would convert their boats into hostels, hotels and restaurants. I both walked and bused past armies of boat hotels while going between the Stadsmuseum and the Royal Palace. This article in the Dallas News [link removed] gives a bit more flavour to the boat hotel business in Stockholm.
Do a rooftop tour of Stockholm. I’ve done more than my fair share of sewer and underground tours in cities, but never a rooftop tour (sometimes referred to as roof hiking). Unfortunately, I missed the tour season by a few weeks (it runs from April to October). Upplevmer seems to be the only company in Stockholm that runs rooftop tours in English.
Take an icebreaker tour of Stockholm. Again, my timing was terrible… I missed the rooftop season and the icebreaker tour season (to further add to this poor timing, boat tour companies were on strike the weekend I was in town). Either way, when the water freezes around the city, icebreakers head out and make the waterways passable for other boats. I don’t have a company to recommend, but there is a video of a tug boat breaking the ice.
Swim the city. How often do you get to be in a city that has waterways clean enough (and safe enough) to swim in? Ummmmm… never. I spent 25-years of my life in a swimming pool so swimming from place to place in Stockholm sounds like fun. I just wonder what gear is out there for keeping clothes, wallet, and camera dry. Here’s the Guardian’s swimming tour of the city.
Do an ABBA tour of the city. Surprisingly, ABBA touring is new to Stockholm. The most popular ABBA walking tour runs from the Stadmuseum daily. And, the newest addition to the city (2013) is the ABBA Museum. Here is the Guardian’s review of the ABBA Museum.
Visit Yasuragi Hasseludden. Sweden is known for it’s spas and spa culture… but these Japanese baths came highly recommended. I feel relaxed just looking at their website.
The gallery contains photos that didn’t make it to other posts. Explore Sweden with me.
