Stureplan is meant to be very posh, and Riche is supposed to be in the middle of it but this spot still manages to stand out of the pack. It has a restaurant, a bar next to it and Lilla baren. The first two are usually inhabited by business people that drop by Riche for dinner and/or an after work drink.

Lilla baren typically hosts the alternative crowd. In fact, there are quite frequently art exhibitions that take place at Lilla Baren. The DJ’s usually play alternative music accompanied by visual effects or even the image of a movie.

The space on itself gives the feeling of being inside a Parisian bistro with lots of mirrors and white romantic details and at the bar one can get superb drinks and very interesting food. The best days to go to this spot are probably between Tuesday and Thursday as it usually gets way too crowded on Fridays and Saturdays.

Overall Riche is a sophisticated place that I love going to because of the combination of interesting and easy to talk people.

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Riche | Art & culture, Bars, Music | Beer SEK 62.00
Birger Jarlsgatan 4 | Östermalm | +46854503560
Mon 11:30 – 00:00, Tue – Fri 11:30 – 02:00, Sat 12:00 – 02:00

In each major area or hub of Stockholm city, you’ll be able to find different indoor ‘markets’ where you can go to buy high quality meats. fresh produce, dried herbs and etc. Perhaps the most famous of them and quite popular for the tourists and locals alike is Ostermalmshallen. However, in this post I’ll be talking about the lesser known, ever-busy Hotorgshallen located right in the city center.

Everytime my sister and I shop on Drottningatan we make it a point to stop here (like many of the other shoppers) to recharge and get our dose of vitamins and minerals with the huge variety of dried fruits, nuts and berries which are free to sample and try. We used to be quite shy but now its a fight with the other curious and hungry shoppers to get the last dried Incaberry.

Along with the meat and seafood vendors you can find different restaurants, fine chocolates as well as a Finnish food store all in Hotorgshallen. It’s definitely one of the most diverse halls in Stockholm city. What’s special about Hotorgshallen and all other ‘halls’ in Stockholm is that every vendor has very high standards for the freshness and quality of what they sell or serve, so you are sure to be getting the very best without having to pay a very high price!

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Hötorgshallen | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Restaurants (Fresh)
Hötorgshallen, 11157 | City/Norrmalm
Mon – Thu 10:00 – 18:00, Fri 10:00 – 18:30, Sat 10:00 – 16:00

You might be so lucky that your planned Stockholm weekend coincides with our Midsummer holiday. What happens is that we gather up, friends and family celebrating the summer and most of all, the long days in opposite to our winters. We eat, we drink, we dance…

There is some musts for the celebrating in order to do it traditionally, here are some basics:

- Spend it in the archipelago

- Wear a garland of flowers

- Dress up sheer

- Eat our traditional smorgasbord along with as many as possible, age not a obstacle

- Have traditional schnapps

- Dance along around the maypole

- Other musts are our delicate strawberries

Get on a boat, hang in the archipelago for a few hours and take part of all this, just be sure to be out one time since the boats are gonna be extremely crowded!

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Midsummer | Art & culture, Music, Festivals & events | Free
Strömkajen | City/Norrmalm | +468100222
June 22, 2012

In Stockholm we have a famous area named Djurgården, this has been an area for recreations forever and still is. Joggers, lovers, families, friends and so on hang out there. On Djurgården there is a lovely park named Skansen which I’m sure you have already heard about so I’ll just leave it at that.

One thing that I’m sure you have not yet heard about is a tiny island that’s right outside of Djurgården and connected with it via a small bridge. The island is named Beckholmen and until today it has mainly been a shipbuilding yard. Now there are great plans for this area and I predict that it’s soon going to be a true hotspot. One of Sweden’s most well known ‘fine dining’ restaurants is about to open up there along with others. Also I heard that any day now, the ABBA exhibition that has been on a word tour will settle down nearby. Yet again, remember where you heard it first!

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Beckholmen | Art & culture, Relaxing
Beckholmen | Östermalm
24 hours daily

If your Stockholm weekend is already scheduled but you still can’t get rid of that feeling that you have not experienced it all. Well I have a option for you. As the entire city is built on 13 islands that are all connected with bridges there is one island with restaurants, cafes and shopping. To get there you’ll have to take a boat and in summertime the boats departs every hour. The boat trip takes no longer then 30 minutes and once you’re on the island named Fjäderholmarna you can hang around, sunbathe and watch the busy harbor and all the boat traffic in the surrounding waters. On the island there are also many different arts and handcraft shops if you’re into that.

If your time is short, just go there and calm down after a warm and crowded day in the city. When I’m there, I almost compulsively follow the same routine. I step off the boat, buy a toast with our traditional pickled herring and a beer. After finishing that I take a walk across the island to the other side. Here the wind is more fresh and I find myself in a secluded place where I just hang for a while, watching the sea, all the boats and activity. As its starts to become late in the afternoon it’s perfect to take the next boat back to mainland. After that you can head home, take a shower and then you are totally ready to hit the town again!

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Fjäderholmarna | Art & culture, Bars, Relaxing, Snacks
Fjäderholmarna | Östermalm
April 28 2012

If you’re into arts I actually recommend you go to visit Vaxholm. Vaxholm is a charming hub where almost every large boat passes. And yet it’s still connected with the mainland. Therefor it’s always easy to access all year round both from sea and land.

The most charming way to get to Vaxholm is by far with a boat (from Strömkajen) , the boat trip takes less then an hour and during summer there are boats departing almost every hour. Once in Vaxholm you have many things to choose from, like many small galleries and shops. One of my personal favorites is located in “Roddarhuset “. Here there is one exhibiton after another and they mainly present Swedish artists who work with different materials such as wood, glas, concrete and so on.

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Vaxholm | Art & culture
Roddarhuset | City/Norrmalm
Look at website for more information

Moderna is situated on my favourite island and neighbor with the also very nice Museum of Architecture. Moderna is the most visited art museum in Sweden. It’s big, light and has one of the most creative and fun art shops in town. Their collection of artwork is really nice and their temporary exhibitions are usually excellent, they have a couple of large ones every season. Right now there’s a bunch of interesting exhibitions, go see!

One of my favourite exhibitions at Moderna Museet was Max Ernst’s “Dream and Revolution”. So many different techniques, I stared at his pencil frottage for a long time. Beautiful!

Moderna has something for everyone. All exhibitions have guided tours, which are included in the admission, check their website! For the art in the museum’s collection you can borrow audio-guides for free.

If you’re younger than 30 and are planning on staying in Stockholm for a while, I recommend you to buy the “Friends of Moderna Museet” card for 250kr/year. You get invited to previews, get 20% discount in the art shop and free admission to several other museums like the Museum of Architecture and Magasin 3. It’s a bargain!

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Moderna Museet | Art & culture, Shopping, Snacks | Entrance SEK 100.00
Skeppsholmen | City/Norrmalm | +46851955200
Tue 10:00 – 20:00, Wed – Sun 10:00 – 18:00

I don’t know what happened but my favourite café isn’t my favourite anymore. I still come here and enjoy the furnishing and cosy atmosphere but the sandwiches aren’t like they once used to be.. It’s still cheap though and definitely worth going to, it hasn’t lost it charm.

The atmosphere is warm, relaxed and creative. It was really hip a couple of years ago but people keep coming. Downstairs you find more seats and if it’s nice weather they have a couple of attractive tables outside.

It’s been serving us cheap sandwiches since 1992. Every sandwich comes with a tasty little salad as well. Their Soya-latte is one of the best in town and their carrot cake is excellent. They have music and theatre performances downstairs every Wednesday and the art hanging on the walls is for sale.

Oh, if you like the chair you’re sitting on you can buy it as well, all furniture is for sale.

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String | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Music, Shopping, Snacks | Sandwich SEK 40.00
Nytorgsgatan 38 | Södermalm | +4687148514
Mon – Thu 09:00 – 20:00, Fri 09:00 – 19:00, Sat – Sun 10:30 – 19:00

The best way to experience a city is by walking!

Skeppsholmen is a small, beautiful island between Gamla Stan (Old Town) and Djurgården. It has many touristy views, perfect if you fancy taking pictures.

Start by taking Djurgårdsfärjan, the ferry-boat, from Slussen. It goes every 15 or 20 minute. If you have a subway card you get on for free! Don’t forget to tell them that you’re jumping off at Skeppsholmen. If you forget you’ll end up at Djurgården, which is a beautiful island as well, so no worries!

In addition to beautiful views you can also visit interesting spots like the Museum of Modern Art, the Architectural Museum, the East-Asian Museum, theatre Galeasen & Af Chapman, which is a youth hostel on water. Also, in the small park which is situated in the middle of everything, you can enjoy Niki De Saint Phalle‘s and JeanTinguely‘s sculptures from 1966.

From Skeppsholmsbron, the bridge that connects the island to the rest of the city, you have a great view over Slussen, Gamla Stan with the Royal Court and the buildings at Strandvägen.

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Skeppsholmen | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Skeppsholmen | City/Norrmalm
24 hours daily

Stockholm’s House of Dance is the place if you enjoy contemporary art forms and want to see something live. You can enjoy it (or hate it) without knowing a word of Swedish.

Dansens Hus has a bunch of interesting performances every season; at least 35 every year.

I guess I really started going to Dansens Hus after seeing Virpi Pahkinen dancing for free at Parkteatern a couple of years ago. She totally blew me away. I looked her up and discovered that she usually presented her work at Dansens Hus. I’ve been going there regularly since then.

Other performances at Dansens Hus that I’ve really enjoyed are by Dorte Olesen, Cullbergbaletten; and DV8. DV8 was truly outstanding a couple of years ago, got standing ovations and left the audience clapping for 10 minutes.

Dansens Hus was founded in 1991 and has two stages, the prices are low; especially if you’re a student or below 26. They also arrange lectures, workshops and show movies; often for free.

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Dansens Hus | Art & culture, Music, Theaters | Entrance student SEK 130.00
Barnhusgatan 14 | City/Norrmalm | +46850899090
Mon – Fri 14:00 – 18:00, Sat 14:00 – 19:00 (only in conjunction with performances)