Hey there, fellow travelers! Today, we visit Stockholm, Sweden! Sweden’s capital city is one of the coolest design cities and nightlife destinations in Europe. As you know, here at Wolters World, we like to prepare travelers with the good, and the bad, of visiting a new travel destination. So these are the five things you’ll love, and the five things you’ll hate, when you visit Stockholm.
Hate #1: Prices in Stockholm
Stockholm, like pretty much all of Scandinavia, is expensive. A meal, not including drinks, will cost around $25 to $30. Hotels, restaurants, shopping, and even taxis are very expensive. It’s about 20-30% more expensive than traveling in the United States. On the bright side, it is cheaper than Oslo. There are a few ways to save money, including taking advantage of lunch specials or buying groceries instead of eating out. Fortunately, a lot of the things to do in Stockholm are free, so that helps a bit, too.
Read: How to Cut Costs While You Travel
Hate #2: Stockholm Bus Tickets
Taking public transportation is a great way to save money while traveling, but getting a bus ticket in Stockholm is surprisingly complicated. You cannot buy a bus ticket on the bus or at the bus stop. First, you have to buy a card and then load it up with how much money you think you will need to have on the card. You can buy these at convenience stores and kiosks, but they’re not on every street corner. What is nice, though, is that the card works for buses, trains and some ferries.
Hate #3: Stockholm “Face Control”
Stockholm has a lively nightlife scene, and some pretty cool bars and restaurants. A lot of them have bouncers, and the bouncers have a lot of discretion as to who is let into the establishment. It seems to vary from day to day, even at the same club. So, to improve your chances, you really have to step up and dress the part. Swedes in Stockholm really get dressed up to go out, and you should too if you want to get into some of the hottest clubs.
Hate #4: Service in Stockholm
Service levels in Stockholm are all over the place. It can vary from good to totally indifferent. It’s not that the Swedes aren’t nice people, they just aren’t overly attentive. If you want good service and attention from your server, you have to ask for it. It might feel like you are being rude, but you really just need to be assertive and be direct in your requests.
Hate #5: Stockholm Weather
If you visit Stockholm in the winter, be prepared for cold weather and very dark days. Stockholm summers are amazing with tons of daylight, but winters are unpredictable. You can have cold, rain and wind, so you need warm clothes and lots of layers.
Love #1: Stockholm Sightseeing
The city of Stockholm is fantastic and you can’t help but fall in love with the Old Town and the Royal Palace and the Cathedrals and shops. The design and architecture in the city are amazing. And then there are the day trips from Stockholm. You can hop a ferry to other islands or just ride around on the water. Skansen is a really cool open-air museum, and there are tons of cool museums. There’s even an ABBA museum!
Love #2: Stockholm Outdoors
When the weather is nice, everyone in Stockholm heads outside. You can hit up sidewalk cafes and outdoor bars, or you can head to one of many parks in the city. The Royal Palace has beautiful gardens you can stroll through. There are tons of opportunities for swimming, kayaking, cycling, and hiking.
Love #3: Safety in Stockholm
Stockholm is extremely safe, even late at night. Sure, you may run into a few drunks on the weekends, but it’s nothing you should worry about. There may be a few areas to avoid, but they aren’t someplace you would find yourself, and most importantly, you won’t see the typical tourist scams you would see in places like Paris, Barcelona or Rome.
Love #4: Ease of Travel
Stockholm is just an easy city to visit. Nearly everyone here speaks perfect English so you don’t have to worry about interpreting a foreign language. Between being extremely safe and not worrying about speaking a foreign language, it’s just easy to be a traveler in Stockholm. It’s also very kid-friendly and has good accessibility for disabled travelers.
Read: Disabled Travel in Europe
Love #5: Going Out in Stockholm
Between cafes and bars and nightclubs, there are a lot of fun options for going out in Stockholm. The restaurants in Stockholm are fantastic; not necessarily Swedish food, but there’s a great international food scene here if you’re willing to pay for it. Whether you prefer clubs or pubs, the nightlife scene in Stockholm is something to experience.
Obviously, we love Stockholm and can’t recommend it highly enough! The “hates” are really just a few things to keep a head’s up on rather than a reason not to take a trip to Stockholm. Want to know more about traveling to Sweden? Check out some of our other blog posts: