STOCKHOLM

SKI HOLIDAYS

The Swedes are among the most enthusiastic skiers in the world and the country has already produced many world champions. Sweden boasts around 200 ski regions, from the south (even within the city of Stockholm) all the way to above the Arctic Circle. Most ski resorts are equipped to accommodate skiers, snowboarders and cross-country skiers. One thing is certain: there will be snow, lots and lots of snow.

SKI HOLIDAYS

Long evenings on a warm reindeer hide by the cracking fireplace and the magical Northern Lights shimmering in the polar night sky: the Swedish winter really does have its advantages. And another asset is that snow is one hundred percent guaranteed. The first snowflakes fall in October and by February, when the country enjoys its annual ‘Sportlov’ or winter holiday, the Swedes flock en masse to the slopes. The lucky residents of Stockholm don’t even have to leave town.

ARTS & CULTURE

What the ring of canals is for Amsterdam, Gamla Stan is for Stockholm: elegant and splendid, with colourful merchant’s homes, lovely squares and a majestic royal palace. Looking out from the rooftop, it is easy to see why Amsterdam is no match for Stockholm as the ‘Venice of the North’: this is genuinely a city on the water.

FAMILY FUN

Djurgården island once served as the hunting grounds of the Swedish kings. Today, the island is still owned by the king, but he has been considerate enough to convert it into a national recreational island with a number of top attractions, from the Gröna Lund amusement park to the Skansen open-air museum and Astrid Lindgren’s Junibacken (‘Pippi Longstocking Land’).

FAMILY FUN

A relaxing boat ride from Stockholm takes you to the best preserved Viking town in Scandinavia, located on the little island of Björkö in Lake Mälaren. Part of what makes Birka so fascinating are the ruins and vast cemetery, not to mention the countless activities for children, from archery to sailing in a Viking boat.

ARTS & CULTURE

Stockholm has produced a number of famous sons and daughters, from filmmaker Ingmar Bergman to writer Astrid Lindgren and ABBA’s Benny Andersson. But Alfred Nobel, August Strindberg and Greta Garbo continue to be the most famous of all. They acquired their fame during their own genres and eras, but all left their mark on the Swedish capital – enough for an entertaining day of sightseeing.

ARTS & CULTURE

In Sweden, museums are anything but boring and stuffy. The Nobel Museum, for example, is small but delightful, and surprisingly high-tech. The Museum of Modern Art not only has Bacons and Warhols on display but also progressive video art; and the Vasa Museum uses modern techniques to portray life on a medieval Viking ship. These are 3 top Stockholm museums in a nutshell.