City/Norrmalm Stockholm – All our local tips

To take a tourist bus to see Stockholm is very expensive. I don’t know if it is worth it, you do get the guiding through headphones or a real life guide and the bus will take you to the most interesting places in the city. But there are other options.

One of the most fun things I like to do when I visit a new city is taking the local bus to wherever it is that I’m going. It’s cheaper than the tourist bus and you usually get to see a lot of the most see-worthy things in the city you visit.

The easiest way to see the city of Stockholm is taking the blue buses, no 1, 2, 3 or 4. They cover most of the city centre and you can use your sl-card on all the buses. A Stockholm guide is not included, but if you’re not too shy you can always ask one of the local passengers if you see something interesting.

During peak hours the buses run about every five minutes and if one comes that is too crowded you just wait for the next one.

Number 1 runs from Stora Essingen to Frihamnen and covers Kungsholmen through City and Östermalm.
Number 2 runs from Sofia on Södermalm to Norrtull via Norrmalm and Vasastan. Number 3 takes you from Södersjukhuset to Karolinska sjukhuset via Kungsholmen.
Number 4 will take you on a trip from Gullmarsplan to Radiohuset and show you parts of Södermalm, Kungsholmen and Vasastan.

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Blue buses | Relaxing | 24-hour access-card SEK 100
All around the city centre | City/Norrmalm
About every 5-10 minutes 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. The program for autumn is packed with interesting performances, check it out! Dorte Olesen and Cullbergbaletten should not be missed!

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 last year, 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)

Saturday night is Soul night!

The atmosphere at Fasching’s Club Soul stands out from most clubs in Stockholm. It’s like going back in time entering a beautiful old theatre where the floor is smacked with dancing people. Yeah, people dance like crazy here.

People are not here to get drunk or to flirt (okay maybe some, but it’s not as obvious as at other places), they’re all here to dance their shoes off and that’s very liberating.

Fasching has different clubs but is mainly known for their Jazz concerts. So if you’re into Jazz, this is certainly your spot!

If you’re into Hiphop you should check out their club Spiderdogs, said to be Stockholm’s best hiphop club right now! Spiderdogs is on once every month, check their website for dates. Some crazy dancing as well!

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Fasching’s Club Soul | Bars, Music | Entrance & wardrobe SEK 120.00
Kungsgatan 63 | City/Norrmalm | +4670783049
Sat 23:30 – 04:00

After the fire that consumed the restaurant about one year ago, Grill is back in business and with more faces than before.

Grill belongs to the F12 group of fine restaurants and opposite to most of the others, minimalism doesn’t rule here. This is the first thing one notices when getting into Grill. There are 10 different divisions with a decoration ranging from the hunting cabin to the Mary Poppins’ style and to my favorite, the brothel. And all of them look nothing short of stunning.

But when I mentioned that Grill has different faces I also mean more than the amazing interior design. At lunch time one can usually taste great traditional Swedish food with a twist. And my thoughts about traditional food is that they are a good base for really good food, as long as you either spice things up or use high quality ingredients. Grill manages to deliver both!

At dinner time the menus are divided in a combination of flavors from all over the world, which are cooked over open fire. And if you feel like hanging around for a while after the dinner, just hit the South Beach style bar for some of the best drinks in town.

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Grill | Bars, Restaurants (Crossover) | Lunch SEK 110.00
Drottninggatan 89 | City/Norrmalm | +468314530
Mon – Fri 11:15 – 14:00 & 17:00 – 01:00, Sat 16:00 – 01:00, Sun 15:00 – 22:00

A very short career of shoplifting started in Hötorgshallen. Story has it that a small pink tea box was found in my pram after my first visit to this amazing food market.

Today Hötorgshallen is my favourite place to go for groceries – they have everything you need for a good dinner, including a great cheese shop, fishmongers, butchers and a few excellent delicatessens with specialties from South America and the Middle East and not to forget, even a Systembolaget wine shop.

If you get tired of shopping then grab a kebab or have a coffee at Piccolino and spend some time people watching.

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Hötorgshallen | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Free
Hötorget | City/Norrmalm
Mon – Thu 10:00 – 18:00, Fri 10:00 – 18:30, Sat 10:00 – 16:00

Knast is raw! Anyone fits in this bar: the young hip Stockholm crowd, Billy Idol impressions, business people, artists, hetero-, homo-, or bisexual, young and old; everyone is sharing the same space, having a great time.

Knast is a small alternative bar that hosts various clubs. Even though you can fall into a special organized party (check Facebook for events there), the typical music comes from the 80s. In fact that influence is easily noticed when passing the arcade cabinets (5kr to play) in the way to the bar that holds a giant graffiti from the science-fiction movie Tron on one wall, just above the red sofas.

The bar is popular from Wednesday to Saturday, but Friday is probably the best night to go there as it hosts club Blondie. Then it is usually packed, the beer is cheap and everyone is starting their weekend partying having lots of fun.

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Knast | Bars | Beer SEK 37.00
Upplandsgatan 7 | City/Norrmalm
Mon – Sat 17:00 – 01:00

You feel like doing something, seeing something, feel a bit cultural? Kulturhuset is the place to get inspired or just to wander around. There’s always something going on for everyone!

This place really makes me happy, the exhibitions are cheap or for free and they always have interesting activities going on. They have several exhibitions, theatres, a cinema, cafés, music performances, an impressive library with lots of art-books and newspapers from all over the world, an unique library for comics, a large imaginative place for children, a creative place for teenagers called LAVA, they arrange meetings with writers and much more…

This is a big bubbling place that wants everyone to get inspired, to think for themselves and to share their big and small thoughts with each other; or just to sit down, play some chess and drink coffee.

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Kulturhuset | Art & culture, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Music, Theaters
Sergels torg | City/Norrmalm | +46850831508
check the website for opening times

I love this museum. Situated on my favourite island and neighbour 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.

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 60.00
Skeppsholmen | City/Norrmalm | +46851955200
Tue 10:00 – 20:00, Wed – Sun 10:00 – 18:00

Don’t be fooled by the name. Monks is no café, but the only brewery in Stockholm city. Yeah, you guessed it – this is a place for beer lovers.

You can visit the brewery, they even organise courses to teach you more. But most people just come to the bar/restaurant to enjoy one of the already made beverages. Monks don’t only sell their own brand, in total they have more than 1400 different types of beer.

The “Monks” part of the name comes from the inspiration and knowledge gathered from the history of the European convents. They say themselves that they serve traditional food, that they have every trappiste beer there is and that they also keep many cloister beers and wines with traditions from convents. If you are a novice but want to learn more, try their beer tasting evenings.

Now, the only catch is that really good quality beer is not cheap. Their own Monks Orange Ale cost 77 SEK for 33 cl and many more than that (be sure to ask before you order if money is an issue).

Most of these beers should be enjoyed more like a good wine than like something you gulp down while watching sports on tv. But if you are from Holland or Belgium it might be stupid to buy the beer from your own country here. Try one of the Swedish ones instead, they are hard to find abroad. Ask the staff for recommendations.

The main dishes are 150-230 SEK.

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Monks Café | Bars, Restaurants (European) | Monks Bavarian Pils 40 cl SEK 47
Wallingatan 38 | City/Norrmalm | +468230030
Mon – Thu 16:00 – 23:00, Fri – Sat 15:00 – 01:00, Sun 17:00 – 23:00

Pleasant is a small place with dimmed lighting and an interesting interior that is best described as a hybrid of the Amazon and Star Trek.

It is pretty much a local bar, frequented mostly by people who live or work nearby. It is one of those really good places that aren’t listed in DN PåStan.

If you want to pop in for a drink in the early evening or go for a snack after work this is a good option in an area that doesn’t have too many bars.

The prices at Pleasant are modest, service is friendly and the food is really good; the Szechuan style chicken drumsticks are lush.

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Pleasant | Bars, Restaurants (Intern.) | Food from SEK 70.00
Kammakargatan 9 | City/Norrmalm
Mon – Thu 11:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sun 11:00 – 03:00

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 & 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 colourful 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

If I plan for a day in a café I head to my own “hoods” Södermalm. There is just no other area with such big variety, decent prices and cosy atmosphere in coffee places. But when I have errands to do in the central part of the city and need a break in between, it is handy to know of a good place around there. And believe me, they are not many or easy to find.

Sure, if you don’t mind already brewed coffee standing on a heater or that the only options for tea come in a bag and is spelled Earl Grey or Lemon, then you are set here as well. But I’m spoilt and ask for a bit more and “kaffe med mjölk” on big shopping street Drottninggatan close to metro Hötorget lives up to my needs in a café.

The decorations are cool and sober, with comfy padded sofas and chairs and big windows to better se the hustle and bustle outside. They serve a good caffe latte and equally well made chai tea. And if you feel hungry you could do a lot worse then ordering one of their pastas. They also have a glass counter filled with goodies for those with a sweet tooth.

All and all, if I am in this part of town and I need a coffee break of fifteen minutes or a couple of hours, this is the place I would head to – without a doubt.

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sthlm: kaffe med mjölk | Coffee & tea | Pasta dish from SEK 82
Drottninggatan 73 c | City/Norrmalm | +468225666
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 21:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 19:00