City Rating: Stockholm
Population: 940’000
Date of visit: April 2016
Attractions & sights: 3/5
Nightlife: 4/5
Safety: 4/5
Infrastructure: 5/5
Low budget factor: 1/5
Total: 👍👍👍👍/5
The city in a nutshell:
Sweden’s capital is one of the prettiest cities in Europe built on several islands. It has a lovely old town, good nightlife and beautiful people. All the Nordic capital are nice cities in my opinion but Stockholm is the best among them. Unfortunately, all that comes with a hefty price tag, as Stockholm is one of Europe’s most expensive cities.
Where to stay:
Staying in the city centre can cost a fortune, so I recommend staying a bit outside. Our hotel was a 15-20 minute walk from Gamla Stan (or a 5 minute taxi ride) and the price was about the half of the hotels more central.
The Good:
Stockholm has it all: good people, great restaurants, interesting things to do and see and a fantastic nightlife scene. It is a beautiful city with outstanding Nordic architecture and one of Europe’s must visit cities. The most beautiful part is without a doubt Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s old town, but the whole area in the city centre located near to the water is pretty.
Stockholm is also a city full of museums. If you’re interested in Viking history (or in Abba :)), you will be happy in Sweden’s capital. The most spectacular museum is the Vasa museum, where you can see an almost intact warship from the 17th century.
Another plus is the city’s nightlife. Plenty of bars and nightclubs make you spoilt for choice, although the nightlife has also some negative aspects… see below.
The Bad & The Ugly:
Stockholm is an expensive city – probably the third most expensive city I’ve been to in Europe after Oslo and Zurich. Not only the hotels but also the food and drinks are expensive.
The bad thing about Stockholm’s nightlife is the strict door policy. Getting into bars and especially night clubs is not easy and it’s highly recommended that you get yourself on the guest list of the place you want to go (just send them an e-mail in advance).
The beauty of the city stands and falls with the weather. We had weather-wise one terrible and one fantastic day. The city looked grey and dull on the rainy day but colourful and bustling on the sunny day. Obviously, that goes for almost every city, but I never saw such a strong contrast between a good and a rainy day as I did in Stockholm.
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