Where to stay in Stockholm: The best places

Stockholm is located in the heart of Sweden, between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea, and on fourteen islands.

Each of the islands and neighborhoods that make up the city have their own essence and are an exceptional example of the fusion between nature and modernity, of the elegance, sophistication, harmony and beauty that characterizes the Swedish capital.

The old town of Stockholm, Gamla Stan , is one of the most charming in Europe.It is a maze of cobbled streets, decorated with colorful houses, among which are the Stortorget Square, the Royal Palace, Stockholm Cathedral, the National Museum and countless palaces of the eighteenth century.

Its neighbourhoods complete the cosmopolitan essence of this Nordic city. our favourites include Östermalm , which exudes elegance, ostentation and beauty and houses some of the city’s most exclusive shops, and Södermalm , where SoFo is located.

The typical dishes, such as köttbullar, smörgåsbord or kåldolmar, are a true gastronomic revolution and a heavenly pleasure for any palate.

The Swedish capital is one of the most expensive in Europe If you book well in advance, you will have the possibility to access hotels with a very acceptable quality-price ratio and suitable to your needs.

The Old Town and the city centre not only have a reduced accommodation offer , but they are also the most expensive areas of the Swedish capital.

– Accommodation in Stockholm

The best areas to stay in Stockholm

Any of the areas below is an option for to stay in Stockholm .More if you consider that the city is perfectly well connected by public transport and you will find it quick and easy to move from one neighbourhood to another.

1.Gamla Stan: sleeping in the historic center of the Swedish capital

Gamla Stan is the old town of the Swedish capital.It is full of cobbled streets with beautiful medieval palaces s and is home to some of the city’s main attractions, such as Stortorget Square, the Royal Palace, the City Hall, Riddarholmen Church or the narrowest street in town, Mårten Trotzigs Gränd.

Although this area is the most expensive option , it is undoubtedly the most comfortable to sleep in Stockholm, as it has excellent connections to public transport and is close to the city centre, major restaurants and shopping streets.

The old city of Stockholm can not boast of being very extensive, so the accommodation offer is reduced and with very high prices If you are looking to save, this area is not the one you are looking for. Here, most hotels exceed the 150 euros per night

– Accommodation in Gamla Stan

2.Norrmalm: a modern and central Stockholm neighbourhood

Norrmalm is right in the city centre, east of Gamla Stan This neighbourhood represents the most modern part of Stockholm.It is full of office buildings with Art Nouveau facades, shopping centres, designer shops, banks, department stores, cinemas and restaurants, as well as the Opera House and Hötorget Square, which houses two local markets with typical Swedish products.

is the best connected area in the city, as it houses the T-Centralen metro station and the train station, from where you can go to any other part of the city, to other cities, to Arlanda airport or to the port, from where the ships depart to the island of Djurgarden and Södermalm.

The hotel offer in Norrmalm is wide and varied , which makes the prices a little cheaper than in the old city.it is undoubtedly one of the best options to stay in Stockholm.if you make your reservation a little in advance, you will find hotels for about 100 euros per night .

– Accommodation in Norrmalm

3.Södermalm: the trendy hipster district

It is situated south of Gamla Stan and the centre of Stockholm and has become fashionable because of the bohemian and modern atmosphere of its streets, full of international and vegetarian restaurants and bars where you can enjoy fika, the traditional Swedish lunch with a sweet cake.

A good part of its fame is due to the SoFo , the most alternative and coolest area , where the most hipsters meet .There are many cafés, alternative bars, art galleries, shops selling organic and vintage products and it is the exceptional ambassador of modern culture in Stockholm.

Södermalm is connected to Gamla Stan by the Slussen interchange, which connects the main bus, metro and train lines.If you are far-sighted and book in advance, you may well find options for under 90 .

– Accommodation in Sodermalm

4.Vasastan: Holmian tranquillity and authenticity

A little further west of Stockholm’s city centre is this quiet neighbourhood.It’s residential, safe and quiet and receives very few tourists The local restaurants, small retro shops and traditional shops predominate and the Vasaparken park is the big green lung of this neighborhood, where you can enjoy a nice walk in summer or ice skating in winter.

It is well connected to the centre by the metro , which takes very little time to get there, however, if you decide to go walking , you will not spend more than half an hour to go to the monumental centre .If you are farsighted, you can find it for less than 100

– Vasastan

5.Kungsholmen: tricky and relaxing

To the west of Stockholm’s busiest area, just where Lake Mälaren begins, is this island.9 has very elegant residential areas , with apartment blocks, opulent residences and some government buildings, such as the City Hall and its popular tower.

Here you will find Kronobergsparken, one of the largest parks in the city, and Rålambshovspark, the busiest beach area during the summer season, making it a very interesting area to stay in Stockholm at this time of year.

Kungsholmen has good communications with the rest of the districts of Stockholm, thanks to the underground lines and bus, although if you like walk , you can go downtown walking .

The supply of accommodation is very broad and with prices considerably cheaper than in the more central districts.Sleeping in a 3 star hotel will cost you around 60 euros per night .

– Accommodation at Kungsholmen

6.Djurgarden: between museums and nature

This island is located east of central Stockholm and can boast one of the country’s most unique urban nature parks.It has very little population and few buildings, but it receives many visitors because it houses some of the most popular museums , such as the Vasa, the North, ABBA or Skansen, and the amusement park Gröna Lund Tivoli.It is also full of green spaces , which are very popular in summer, making it one of the most popular for family travellers

It is very well connected to the centre of Stockholm by ferry and tram , which run every few minutes. The accommodation on offer here is not very generous; neither are the prices .There are hardly any hotels and you cannot book a hotel for less than 120.

– Accommodation in Djugarden

7.Östermalm: sleeping between luxury and glamour

East of the heart of the Swedish capital is Östermalm.This is the most exclusive area , where you can find the most elegant neighbourhoods and shops in Stockholm , a paradise for shopping lovers, because it hosts select boutiques of haute couture designers, such as Louis Vuitton or Max Mara, and the most exclusive Nordic design shops, such as the arch-rivals Svenskt Tenn.

There are also numerous shopping centres, antique, craft and jewellery auction houses and the Saluhall, where you can buy Swedish delicatessen, as well as a lively nightlife , with an excellent range of restaurants, bars and clubs.

It houses the Swedish History Museum and is dotted with many green spaces, such as Humlegården.

is undoubtedly a top area to stay in Stockholm As you can imagine, the prices of hotels in the most exclusive area of the city are not the cheapest, but you can still be lucky enough to sleep in a modern hotel for around 90 euros.

– Accommodation in Ostermalm

Cheap accommodation in Stockholm

Stockholm is not a cheap city, however, if your budget is tight you can always look for other options such as hostels with shared rooms or simple pensions.

The location will determine the final price. To give you an idea, in the area of Vasastan a simple hotel will cost you around 75 , while in the centre it will cost around 90

The hostels are another affordable and very popular accommodation option here. They are very well equipped and offer many services.To give you an idea, the lowest price you can get in low season for a bed in a shared bedroom is 15 euros, although the normal price is from 20 euros .

– Cheap accommodation in Stockholm

Rental apartments in Stockholm

Given how expensive it is to sleep in Stockholm it is also interesting to consider private apartments as an option to lower costs or to be able to afford a more central area on the same budget.

What is the best area for your hotel in Stockholm?

As in most major European cities, the best area to stay in Stockholm is the historical centre of the city and its surrounding districts.Stockholm’s historical centre is known as the Gamla Stan , literally a city between bridges, and is one of the best preserved medieval old towns in Europe.

The problem in the area of Gamla Stan is the lack of accommodation and especially of high class hotels, so if we want to stay in four and five star hotels we will have to go north to the neighborhoods of Norrmalm and Östermalm , or south in the neighborhood of Södermalm .

Södermalm is one of the 14 islands that make up Stockholm and is recognized as the bohemian area of the city with many shops and original spaces.Östermal is the most exclusive area in the city and is home to the most luxurious fashion and decoration stores.

The map shows the best area to stay in Stockholm with a selection of the best hotels to sleep in.

If you are interested in knowing where to stay in Stockholm you may also be interested in knowing where to stay in Oslo, where to stay in Helsinki, where to stay in Reykjavik and where to stay in Moscow.

The centre of Stockholm, the best area to stay

The Gamla Stan , the historic centre of Stockholm, is easy to visit and can be explored on foot without using public transport.However, the city’s underground is worth a visit (guided tours are available), as it is one of the major tourist attractions for its original and beautifully decorated stations.

The old town, which is home to some 3,000 people, includes the island of Stadsholmen and the islets of Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen and Strömsborg.The ostentatious and elegant buildings that invade the cobblestone streets and avenues of central Stockholm make the Swedish capital one of the most stately in Europe and its architecture is quite reminiscent of that of northern Germany, a country that is very close geographically.

The Stortorget town square is the nerve centre of the old town and is located near the main attractions of the island.The baroque Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet) and its chapel (Storkyrkan), which hosted the wedding between Princess Victoria, heir to the Swedish throne, and her fiancé, Daniel Westling, in June 2010, are worth a visit.In addition, the changing of the guard takes place at the gates of the emblematic residence, which arouses great interest in visitors, and there are also usually parades on horseback.

The imposing town hall, inside which the annual banquet of the Nobel Prize winners takes place, is another place not to be missed.The old town is also an impressive meeting point with an abundance of cafes, restaurants (it has as many per person as Paris), museums such as the Post Office, and souvenir shops where tourists can buy some souvenirs of the beautiful Swedish capital.

Nor should you forget to visit the German Church of Stockholm (Tyska kyrkan), the Riddarholm (Riddarholmskyrkan), which is the burial church of the Swedish monarchy, and above all, the Stockholm Cathedral (Storkyrka), near which is the famous statue of St. George (Sankt Göran) crushing the dragon.

In order to visit all these spectacular buildings without your pocket being too much trouble, it is convenient to take out, at any tourist office in the city or through its website, the Stockholm Card, a very useful and profitable card that offers you free tickets to the main museums (the Swedish capital has around 150) and buildings of interest, as well as to public transport.

Hotels in the Stockholm City Centre

Accommodation in the neighbourhoods adjacent to Stockholm’s historic centre

As mentioned above, the city centre has few accommodations and those that do exist are rather modest, however, very close to the centre there are hotels that meet the expectations of tourists visiting Stockholm.It should be noted that hotel rates are considerably reduced in the summer and during the winter weekends, so it is worth taking advantage of them and travelling during this period.

Södermalm

The Södermalm district, located south of the Swedish capital and known as Söder, is the most bohemian part of the city and has many original shops and spaces, as well as a great cultural diversity and a very active nightlife that attracts many of the young people who live in Stockholm.

Located on an elevation above water level, Söder is a city in itself, and even has its own dialect. It is linked to the historic centre from the north by Slussen, a network of rails, tracks and locks to control the passage of boats between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea.A must see is the Katarina Elevator, 38 meters high, which can be accessed by elevator or on foot and offers spectacular panoramic views of the city, which has one third of its surface occupied by water and another by parks and green spaces, being one of the cleanest and most ecological of the Old Continent.

Hotels in Sodermalm