Tuesday, October 18, 2011

TRAVEL PLAN 3: Stockholm (Sweden)

You can find info in English about Sweden and Stockholm on the following pages: www.visitsweden.com/en  and  www.visitstockholm.com/en
This is a map of the Stockholm metro lines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stockholm_metrosystem_map.svg .

Sights

1.Gamla Stan

Facts and History: Gamla Stan is the „old town” of Stockholm, the biggest part of Gamla Stan is on the island Stadsholmen. This part of Stockholm dates back to the 13th century and you can find here exapmles for medieval alleyways and arhcaic architecture. North German architecture had a strong influence on the architercural style of the Gamla Stan. You find many main Stockholm-sights located in this part of the city.

One of them is Stortorget which is the centre of Gamla Stan. It is surrounded by old merchants`s houses like for example the Stockholm Stock Exchange Building. One curiosity about the historical role of the square: In 1520 Swedish noblemen were massacred here by the Danish King Christian II, known as the “Stockholm Bloodbath”.

Other sights in the Gamla Stan: the Stockholm Cathedral, the Nobel Museum, the Riddarholm Church, the Royal Palace (Kungliga slottet) and the House of Nobility (Riddarhuset). It is interesting that from the mid 19th to the mid 20th century Gamla Stan was considered as a slum and became a tourist attraction from the 1980s as its medieval architecture and charm has been valued by the later generations.

How to get here: Gamla stan metro stop (Green and Red lines)

2.Stadshuset

Facts and History: This is one of the most well known buildings in Stockholm and in Sweden and is hosting for e.g. the yearly Nobel Banquet. It is attracting around 400,000 visitors a year.

How to get here:  The City Hall is situated on the island Kungsholmen in the centre of Stockholm. Buses nr 3 and 62 stop right in front of the City Hall, bust stop “City Hall”. The closest metro station is Rådhuset (blue line). On foot it is a 8 minutes walk from the Central Station.
Opening hours: Guided tours only. June-Sept 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 daily, Oct-May 10:00, 12:00 daily. Tower July-Aug 10:00-17:00 daily- Sept 10:00-16:00 daily. Closed Oct-May
Entrance fee: 2011 Nov -2012 March: Adult SEK 60, Senior SEK 50, Student SEK 50, Children 12-17 years SEK 20

3. Stockholm Cathedral (Storkyrkan)

How to get here: in the Gamla Stan

Opening hours:  Sept 1-Dec 31 2011 Mon-Sun 09:00-16:00.

Entrance fee: Adults - 40 SEK/4 euro. Children under 18, residents of Gamla Stan, and all those who are looking to take part in a service or to pray - Free.

4. Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet)

How to get here: in Gamla Stan
Opening hours: 14 May–25 September: Daily 10:00–17:00 , 26 September–30 December: Tuesday–Sunday 12:00–16:00, 2 January–13 May: Tuesday–Sunday 12:00–16:00
Entrance fee to the Royal Palace: Adults SEK 100, Children 7–18 years old and students SEK 50, Free entrance for children under 7 years of age in the company of a guardian.


5. Nobel Museum

How to get here: is at Stortorget in Gamla Stan
Opening hours: Sept 15th–May 15th: Tue 11:00-20:00, Wed-Sun 11:00-17:00, Mon closed; May 15th-Sept 15th: every day 10:00-18:00, Tue 10:00-20:00
Entrance fee: Adults: SEK 70, Children: (–18 yrs) admission free, Senior Citizens: (+65 yrs): SEK 50,
Students: SEK 50, Groups (min. 15 people): SEK 60 per person, Special terms available for school classes. Rent an 
Audio Guide
: SEK 20

6. Vasa Museum

Facts and History: Vasa was an ship designed for sea battles. In the museum you can see the ship itself plus you get to know the interesting history of Vasa and the age when it was built.

How to get here: The Vasa Museum is situated at Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It takes about 30 minutes to walk from Central Station and 10 minutes from the subway Karlaplan
Opening hours: every day 10:00-17:00, Wed 10:00-20:00
Entrance fee: Adults 110 SEK, Students 80 SEK (with valid student ID showing expiry date), Children and adolescents 0-18 years free of charge, Groups (of at least 10 persons) 80 SEK

7. Djurgården –island

It is a green island of Stockholm close to the city center and is beloved by Stockholmers and tourists. You can find here the city`s top museums and attractions, cafés, restaurants and nice walking paths.

How to get here: It is in the city centre and can be reached on foot, by the Ddjurgården ferry boat from Gamla Stan/Slussen, by tram from Norrmalmstorg or by bus

9. Östermalms Saluhall (market hall)

How to get here: T-bana Östermalmstorg/bus 1, 55, 56, 62.
Opening hours: Mo-Tue 09:00-20:00, Fri 9:30-18:30, Sat 9:30-16:00

10. Skansen

How to get here: By tram and bus: From Hamngatan in the very center of Stockholm the tram will take you to Skansen. Bus 44 runs the route Tekniska högskolan - Karlaplan - Skansen. By ferry: A ferry line goes regularly from Slussen/Söder/Gamla stan all year round, and in the summertime there is an additional ferry line from Södermalm and Saltsjökvarn to Djurgården that operates daily between August 5 - October 8.
Opening hours: in general between 10:00-16:00 in the winter, but check the up to date info here before visiting: http://www.skansen.se/en/priser?date_filter%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=2011-10-
Entrance fee: Main entrance: Adult SEK 70, Children SEK 30, Senior citizens and Groups SEK 60; Aquarium: Adult SEK 100, Children SEK 50

11. Castle Drottningholm

How to get here: Underground (T-bana) to Brommaplan, change to bus 301-323, alternatively 177 or 178 to Drottningholm.
Opening hours: September: Daily at 11:00–15:30, November–4 December: Saturday–Sunday at 12:00–15:30, Closed 12–30 December, 31 December–8 January: Daily at 12:00–15:30, 14 January–31 March: Saturday–Sunday at 12:00–15:30, April and October: Saturday–Sunday at 11:00–15:30, May–August: Daily at 10:00–16:30
Entrance fee to the Castle: Adults SEK 80, Children 7–18 years old and students SEK 40

For more royal infor visit the Swedish Royal courts` webpage: http://www.kungahuset.se/royalcourt/royalpalaces/

12. Monteliusvägen
It is a 500m walking path with a view of Lake Mälaren, City Hall, and Riddarholmen. Nice houses on one side of the road and beautiful view on the other. It can be slippery in the winter, because it has some areas of clay and wooden planks.
13. Södermalm district
History and Facts: Södermalm is a district in central Stockholm, it covers the island formerly called “Ålsön”. It connects to Gamla Stan to the north by Slussen.
How to get here: You can walk here from Gamla Stan

Alternative sightseeing
There is a bunch of interesting programs what you can do, when you are bored of the traditional sightseeing programs. For example you can visit the Sky View from which you can see Stockholm from above and have a drink meanwhile. Or you can take one of the tours offered by the Archipelago Foundation. Visiting the Skogskyrkogården might be an interesting program too. It is a „Forest cemetary” in the Enskede district and was designed by the Swedish architects Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz between 1917 and 1940.

Style tour Stockholm
I listed here some shops and their web pages from an article what I read some time ago in one of my favourite Finnish home design newspapers.  They were writing about the places what they recommend to see.
I like Swedish design, because it is “clean” and easily recognizable. Fresh clear colours, straight lines, minimalistic, but full of nice details. It is worth to get to know this part of the Swedish culture more, because it is not only white wooden floors and white sofas what Swedish design is about.
These were the tips:
llums Bolighus www.illumsbolighus.dk
Frank Form www.frankform.se
Snickarbacken 7
Spiti
Svenskt Tenn www.svenskttenn.se
Nordiska Galleriet  www.nordiskagalleriet.se
Svensk slöjd www.svenskslojd.se

Additional Museums and Cultural places:

Chinese Pavilion, Bergius Botanic Garden, Stockholm City Museum, Nordiska Museet, Vaxholms Fortress Museum, Museums on the Skeppsholmen island


Text © Mónika Csapó- All Rights Reserved

1 comment: