Vibrant and modern, Stockholm wants to attract visitors beyond Nordic clichés

Much has already been said about the dark and long winters, the happy summers full of celebrations, the people who are always well dressed and the cordial civility they pass by. It has also been written about the relationship with Abba, the fact that it was the seat of the Nobel Prize and the Viking heritage that shaped its history. But Stockholm is increasingly willing to show itself beyond the clichés about itself.

Sweden’s main city and proudly recognized as the “capital of Scandinavia”, it is a metropolis that has managed to modernize without forgetting to exalt its own traditions.

And among restaurants with local and sustainable cuisine, eco-friendly design stores, bars with minimalist cocktails and hotels that are also leisure spaces, it wants to attract a visitor willing to explore beyond the surface.

Colonized since the Ice Age and located on the passage between one of the largest lakes in the country and the Baltic Sea, the Swedish capital is imposing itself as the most contemporary of Nordic cities.

It’s bigger and more cosmopolitan than Copenhagen, more vibrant than Helsinki and more multifaceted than Oslo. It is a Scandinavian and more civilized New York, where the financial and business world coexists with a lifestyle that is sometimes rural: there are the grocery stores of a lifetime, the crowded cafes in the middle of parks and medieval buildings.

And there are many attractions to discover all this diversity. In the case of museums, for example, there are few capitals with such a vast offer.

Between one exclusively dedicated to Abba and another on Nordic heritage, there is even a museum dedicated to spirits, with a room that reproduces the physical sensation of a hangover in the body.

But none are as original and interesting as the Vasa Museum. It is a space entirely designed to display a ship from 1628 recovered from the sea after being shipwrecked for 333 years.

With 98% of the original structure recovered, the world’s best-preserved 17th-century warship sits at the center of the four-story building, so it can be seen from all perspectives.

Its sheer size is impressive —it is 69 meters and 1,200 tons— and all the exhibits created around it to reproduce the lifestyle on the high seas on a warship, from the food storage conditions to the facilities.

Almost all of the city’s museums are located on the island of Djurgården, many within walking distance of each other, which makes visiting them easier for tourists.

Just cross the bridge towards Östermalm, however, and you’ll find yourself in one of the myriad of cafes and restaurants that are helping to shape the local food scene.

This is the case of Coco & Carmen, opened two years ago, with eccentric decor (on one side there are deer antlers and on the other, collages of Walt Disney drawings) and a focus on local products.

Diners are welcomed with a shot of vodka produced in the city and a handful of caviar. On the menu, beef tartare, seasonal potatoes with romesco sauce and rhubarb ice cream with basil granita.

Chef Dario Balan is one of the new talents that are giving strength to Nordic cuisine by prioritizing local ingredients, from fish to vegetables, passing through the many red fruits that are spread throughout the country’s forests, whose territory is covered by 69% of them.

In cocktail making, this national pride has also been more present: at Röda Huset, the cocktails created use native plants, such as lestras, and other traditional ones such as rhubarb and beetroot, in addition to local distillates, such as aquavit and schnapps.

“We are from a generation that went to the world and learned to value what we have in our backyard. With the projection of Nordic cuisine, we realized that we have very rich products and an interesting gastronomy in the eyes of the world”, says Hampus Thunholm, its owner, bartender voted the best in Sweden in 2019 and 2020.

The Röda Huset is located in the city’s bustling financial district, Sergelgatan, where many businesses are popping up, from galleries to bars and restaurants, bringing a new influx of tourists.

It is there that the Downtown Camper was built, one of the new hotels of the Scandic group, with an eye on young people who have crowded the city, for work or pleasure. More than a hotel to sleep in, it’s one of those “living” spaces that has become more common around here.

There’s a terrace with a cocktail bar, a cafeteria and work tables at the bottom, and even a lounge with a hammock for resting or reading, all very millennial.

“Curious that, after the pandemic, we see more people combining business and leisure (or bleisure, as we call it) now. Stockholm is an excellent destination in this regard”, says Elin Ahlström, the hotel’s marketing manager.

For her, the city’s greatest asset is that urban life and calm nature are very intertwined. “The ocean is so present in the heart of the city it’s a real blessing,” she says.

In fact, one of the best ways to experience Stockholm is by boat: the city spans 14 of the 24,000 islands that form the local archipelago of its island geography. No wonder it is known as “city that floats”.

Since there are no taxes on boats, almost every family has a vessel to call their own — and on warmer days, traffic on the canals that connect the islands in the Baltic Sea is constant.

On land, there are more than 38 local parks between Gamla Stan, the heart of the capital with its medieval buildings, and Södermalm (the largest of the 14 islands), also passing through Östermalm, the modern district, with the stunning Karlaplan square, built in honor of to the honor of kings.

Stockholm is to be explored little by little, discovered at every corner, with time and curiosity, looking at its contemporary side and at its historical and rich heritage.

The minimalist design shops of the famous Götgatan street, the preserved city of Birka, a commercial center from the Viking era, the alleys described by the writer Stieg Larsson in the “Millenium” trilogy (later reproduced even by David Fincher in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo “).

There are, after all, many cities to discover in one.