One thing you will certainly not be disappointed in is the excellent quality of food and drink in Stockholm. Restaurants serve excellent dishes, and whether it is lunch or dinner, food does not have to be as expensive as you think. Mongolian barbecue or Chinese food can be had for a bargain. For the better restaurants, it is recommended to make reservations, because there tend to be waiting times. Also remember there is a Kr.5 wardrobe fee at most venues, so if the weather is nice you could best leave your coat in the hotel if you want to save some money. Some of the most popular places may also have a line before you can enter and there could be fees (aprox. Kr. 100) for getting in especially if there is a band playing. Sweden has a reputation for expensive alcohol; in practise prices are nowadays comparable to other European capitals.

Some of our favorites:

- East Bar: A sushi bar with fresh fish on Stureplan

- Sturehof: Swedish cuisine, large restaurant with terrace on Stureplan

- Buddha: This place once was called Biblos. It’s on Biblioteksgatan, and also has a disco with free entry in the basement.

- Berns: A very exclusive restaurant which serves only the best dishes

- Slingerbulten: Recommended for Swedish cuisine, in Gamla Stan

- Gyldene Freden: The summon for fancy Swedish cuisine, also in Gamla Stan

- Rich: We had our first dinner together here when I returned from Mexico

- TGIF: For your simple wholesome American foods, take the Jack Daniel steak. It also has a great American bar.

- Akkurat: Besides the fact it serves wholesome food, this is my favorite beer bar.

- Restaurangen: If you can find this place, it is well worth the nouvelle cuisine experience.

- Grodan: On Sveavägen, a fine restaurant with classic ambiance.

- Café Opera: One of the classiest places to dine, in the former opera building. One can also dance here later in the evenings, and one says especially Sundays are good because there is free entry and attracts a student crowd. As it happens, Katarina and I met in this place on a Thursday though, so I suppose Thursdays are even better.

One of the best links for finding restaurants and nightlife: www.stockholmtown.com

We can definitely recommend Café Opera, Sturekompagniet and Spy Bar, but there are also other great places to visit.

Have a look at www.worldsbestbars.com

Stockholm is spread across several islands, but feels compact enough to be able to reach most places by foot within 1 hour walking. For faster transportation, the subway or Tunnelbana is the preferred mode of transportation, as its fast and cheap. Taxis are another sure and common mode of transportation, and when shared not overly expensive. If you brought your own car: I’ve been told that it takes a while to find your way around the city, as you would in any place when you don’t know your way around yet.

Map of the subway: Tunnelbana

Gamla Stan

The ‘Old City’. If you do nothing else in Stockholm, at least have a walk through the winding narrow streets of the charming medieval city. You can find it on the island with the similar name, taking the Tunnelbana station ‘Gamla Stan’.

Stadhuset

The location of the yearly Nobel ceremony and banquet, full of impressive halls. The climb up the tower gives a stunning view over the Old City and the rest of Stockholm.

Historiska Museet

This museum has the largest collection of rune stones in the world. In its basement it holds a permanent Viking exhibition, but also a treasury of gold Viking artifacts in the Golden Room.

Medeltidsmuseet

If you can find its entrance, near Riddarholmen, this small museum is a rare find with an excellent exhibition of Stockholm during the middle ages.

Wasa Museet

Edwin: “I simply can’t get enough of this museum. Besides displaying the fully preserved ship itself, it also shows how it was raised, how it was constructed, how people lived in that century, and allows you to do your own investigation in its tragic end so you can draw your own conclusions to the mystery.”

Björkö - Birka

This island is only 1 ½ hours by ferry from Stockholm and is the site of the first city in Sweden. It has an excellent Viking museum, and a beautiful view over the lake and islands from the hill fortress.

Djurgården

A walking distance from Strandvägen, or by ferry from the Stadhus, this island has beautiful nature. Besides that, it also has an open air museum called Skansen and a Tivoli named Gröna Lund.

Monteliusvägen

Edwin: “If you can find this path, it is worth the walk, because it offers a beautiful view over the city. It is the road Katarina took to work when she lived in Södermalm, and I really enjoyed our promenades together.”

Katarina: “I am used to walking through the city, but Edwin usually prefers other means of transportation such as taxi’s. The first time I took him for a walk this way I wanted to show him this beautiful view over Stockholm. The problem was that it started to snow so heavily that we hardly could see our hands in front of us. It was a nice but wet walk.”