The old city center of Stockholm is definitely my favourite part of the city! The old town, also called Gamla Stan is actually the very original centre of the city and comprises of the Stadsholmen island and the Riddarholmen, Strömsborg and Helgeandsholmen. Me and my friend arrived at the train station in the city in the newer part, and you can notice the difference in the ambience when you go more towards the older part of the city. It's really nice!! The architecture there in the old town is from the 17th and 18th century, with very cute tiny streets, those streets with the small round stones (which add to the ambience aha!), and the lovely squares with benches. The old town is full of cafes, restaurants and what I love the most is that the city is surrounded by water. It's really peaceful and you get some fresh air as well! Even though the city is quite big, you don't feel like it is very busy. I think that's because it's quite spacious and due to the water.
Something that was also very fun that we got to experience actually by accident. We were specifically looking for it. But you know, we didn't know that actually there was a royal guard ceremony at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. Um. And it was like it started around 12:15 PM. In the courtyard, basically it's on weekdays and. Around 1:15 PM on Sundays. And there was like a guard change. And it was very, yeah, it was very fun. They were all dressed, the man guys, world dressed in blue. It's like a small performance. So that was actually really nice.
There's also a very famous square in Stockholm that I would definitely recommend visiting. You instantly feel like you're scrolling through Google. It's like an iconic landmark and worth the visit and to take some photos as well. It's really colourful and very photogenic. It's nice to go for a stroll there and the Swedish people I find in general quite calm, that adds to the relaxed atmosphere there, despite it being quite crowded at times, mostly in weekends.
GOOD TO KNOW☺
- As you may know or have heard before, Scandinavia can be quite expensive. Therefore any ways to save up a bit of money are always welcome. One thing you can do is to find for example an airbnb which has a kitchen that you can use. Or if you prefer to meet new people why you travel, and you're a student just like me, than going to a hostel can be a nice and fun experience. The hostel I stayed in was the Archipelago hostel right in the city center, Gamla Stan. Be aware that not each hostel has a kitchen that you can use to cook in. For example, the hostel I stayed in was only for using the fridge to store food or use the microwave to warm up food. So make sure to check that out beforehand. If you can cook yourself than you can cook for a few days in advance, which can save you lots of money instead of having to eat out or buy at a bakery!
- Make sure to check out the weather or season of when planning on going to Stockholm. Maybe you're more into the summer weather or warmer weather in general, than going just before the peak/high season in the summer months is the perfect period to plan a visit to the city of water! I went end of April/beginning of May and it was already quite sunny and pleasant. We were really lucky with the weather! Another thing that was something I needed to get used to a bit, was that at 4 am it was already completely light outside aha!
- Fun fact: Stockholm is actually built on 14 islands!! That's quite cool and impressive right?! So if you really like water and you want a nice place to relax, then Stockholm is really nice because it's surrounded by water. You can go for a stroll along the canals in nice weather in either Spring or Summer and can enjoy the water as well when sitting along the shoreline on a bench on in the grass having a picnic.