Your guide to Stockholm’s best neighborhoods

15.08.2024 - 00:17 / lonelyplanet.com

Aug 14, 2024 • 5 min read

Even though its core is scattered across some 14 islands, Stockholm is a compact, accessible city – and it’s easy to wander between its distinctive neighborhoods even on a short trip.

But since you won’t want to be on the move all the time, use our guide to Stockholm’s best neighborhoods to work out where you’d most like to linger.

Best neighborhood for luxury

Though Swedes tend to be more understated than many Europeans, you can get a taste of opulence in Östermalm. Its hub, in around Stureplan square, brims with high-end designer fashion outlets, award-winning bistros and champagne-popping clubs.

Close by, moored yachts and outdoor bars line one side of waterfront Strandvägen, with elaborate 19th-century buildings on the other. Most are apartment blocks containing some of the priciest pieces of real estate in the city; others are occupied by hotels, restaurants, interior design stores and foreign embassies.

Best neighborhood for family outings

Once a royal hunting ground, Djurgården is a verdant pleasure district as beloved by Stockholmers as it is by tourists. The largely pedestrianized island offers ample spaces in which to picnic, walk or cycle. Many of Stockholm’s most popular family attractions are also based here, from Gröna Lund amusement park and its high-speed rollercoasters, to the open-air museum Skansen, which is home to brown bears, wolves and moose as well as (human) historical reenactors.

Dedicated to Sweden’s most successful music export ever, ABBA the Museum is another (campy) highlight. On the other side of the island, the greenhouses and flower beds of Rosendals Trädgård, a popular biodynamic farm and restaurant, draw crowds on the weekend. This is a particularly gorgeous spot in the fall, when the landscape bursts into a color palette of rich autumnal tones.

Best neighborhood for history

While a contemporary buzz infuses every neighborhood of Stockholm, the city’s historic center, Gamla Stan, offers an unmissable opportunity to soak up its impressive past. Dating back more than 750 years, the meandering cobbled streets here are steeped in history, having witnessed witnessed everything from medieval markets and bloody battles to labor demonstrations in the 20th century.

Taking in Gamla Stan’s brightly colored facades, scattered statues, royal buildings and well-organized museums is likely to be on most visitors’ must-do lists. Yet while the district’s charm is undeniable, it’s rarely frequented by locals. Don’t miss it – then be sure to venture further afield to get a true sense of how Stockholmers live.

Best neighborhood for local secrets

To the southwest of Stockholm, this sprawling city borough is home to fashion-forward students studying at the Konstfack