Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-08 · by Ingrid K. Williams The New York Times
After this year’s scorching summer, travellers eyeing a European vacation are looking north to Scandinavia, where few cities appeal more than Stockholm.
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cities → scorch → Stockholm
The Swedish capital, with its temperate Nordic climate, encompasses 14 inner-city islands, with water (and cool breezes) everywhere you turn.
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you → encompass → water
The redevelopment of Slussen, a transit hub that links the Old Town and the ever-trendy island of Sodermalm, is nearing completion.
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that → link → completion
The result is an inviting district with scenic waterfront pavilions and promenades, outdoor restaurants and lively rooftop bars with views over the glittering water and islands plied by sightseeing boats and ferries.
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result → glitter → boats
Drink in rooftop views
Wander Sodermalm’s waterfront promenade to Katarinahissen, a 125-foot-tall steel elevator that whisks passengers up to a viewing platform (free).
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that → drink → platform
This newly renovated landmark, which dates to 1883, reopened in 2023.
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which → renovate → 2023
Ride up to admire the view, then cross the footbridge that connects to Gondolen, a classic restaurant and bar overlooking the Old Town’s spires and the monumental red-brick City Hall.
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that → ride → spires
Dive into seafood
Slussen, the redeveloped waterfront area that’s now packed with new restaurants from some of the city’s top chefs, proved to be the hottest place to dine this summer.
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that → dive → chefs
See Old Town at night
It can be challenging to appreciate the beauty of Gamla Stan, the medieval Old Town, during the day, when cruise-ship crowds clog the cobbled lanes.
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crowds → see → lanes
But come evening, locals reclaim the narrow pedestrian alleys lined with colourful 17th- and 18th-century houses.
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locals → reclaim → houses
Or continue over to Fotografiska, a waterfront photography museum that’s open late every day with glittering nighttime views back onto Gamla Stan (admission, 225 kronor).
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that → continue → Stan
Inside, temporary exhibitions include works by the contemporary Swedish artist Lotta Antonsson (through Nov. 29).
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exhibitions → include → Nov.
SATURDAY
Find art in nature
Start the day on Djurgarden, a vast, park-like island that was once the royal hunting grounds.
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that → find → Djurgarden
Head deep into the parkland, where blond horses and curly-haired sheep graze among the birches and poplars, to find the latest addition to the Princess Estelle Sculpture Park (free).
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horses → head → Park
Named after the eldest daughter of Sweden’s crown princess, the park each year commissions a new installation and now comprises seven works.
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park → name → works
On a mossy hilltop outcropping in the woods, “Aurora Borealis Star Dome” is a 16-foot-tall structure by Spanish sculptor Cristina Iglesias with coloured glass panels meant to evoke the northern lights.
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Dome → mean → lights
Most visitors stick to the big attractions clustered along Djurgarden’s western edge, including the open-air Skansen museum, Grona Lund amusement park, the fan-favourite Abba Museum and the Vasa Museum, with its 17th-century warship.
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visitors → stick → warship
But fewer find their way to Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, a former royal residence turned art museum on the southern waterfront with a beautiful garden.
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fewer → find → garden
Notable paintings from the prince’s vast collection, including his own dreamy landscapes of early-1900s Stockholm, are presented alongside temporary exhibitions, including an upcoming collection of colourful paintings from 1930s Gothenburg (Oct. 3 through Feb. 27; admission, 170 kronor).
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paintings → include → Feb.
Those with more time can hop on a bus to Thielska Galleriet, a grand residence on the easternmost tip of this 689-acre island that now exhibits works from Scandinavian masters including Edvard Munch and Carl Larsson (160 kronor).
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that → hop → Munch
There’s always something new to admire at Svenskt Tenn, a timeless interior design store and gallery founded in 1924 that disproves any lingering stereotypes about Scandinavian minimalism.
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that → ’ → minimalism
Then browse the latest fashions at the Acne Studios flagship shop, in a former bank building that was famously robbed in the 1970s — the origin of the term “Stockholm syndrome.”
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that → browse → term
Dine in a new hot spot
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Dine → dine → spot
For dinner, head south to Slakthusomradet, the former meat-packing district that has recently evolved into a culinary hot spot.
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that → head → spot
In 2023, Bar Montan was one of the first restaurants to open in the rough industrial warehouses, serving natural wines and small plates like wild-garlic tagliatelle with stracciatella and lardo (235 kronor).
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Montan → open → stracciatella
The next year, renowned chef duo Adam Dahlberg and Albin Wessman opened Solen, a Mediterranean-inflected restaurant with wood-fired pizzas and shareable platters of sea bass a la plancha (395 kronor).
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duo → open → plancha
Matateljen moved in last summer with innovative, Nordic-focused four-course menus (795 kronor) — think Arctic char crudo and forest berries with bay-leaf mousse.
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Matateljen → move → mousse
Lean into the music
After dinner, follow audiophiles to Hosoi, a nearby restaurant and bar with a hidden back-room listening lounge.
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Lean → lean → lounge
The cavernous space, outfitted with plush couches, is a cosy, laid-back spot to listen to vinyl ranging from Japanese ambient to Ethiopian jazz or to catch a show from experimental international acts like pop project Discovery Zone.
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space → outfit → Zone
Whatever time you arrive at Lillebrors Bageri, expect a line (it moves quickly) and the heady scent of cinnamon and cardamom wafting down the street.
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it → arrive → street
This popular bakery is a local favourite for fika — the sociable Swedish custom of pairing coffee with something sweet to eat.
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bakery → pair → something
The soft kardemummabullar (cardamom buns), still warm from the oven, are hands-down the best in town, but the seasonal specials, including strawberry-cream-filled buns and blueberry-vanilla wienerbrod (a “Danish” to Americans) are also exceptional.
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specials → include → Americans
This tiny bakery is takeout only, but there’s seating on the street outside.
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bakery → ’ → street
Cruise around for less
There’s no need to splurge on an expensive boat tour when a regular 75-minute transit ticket (43 kronor) is valid on commuter ferries to more than 40 docks throughout the inner part of Stockholm’s vast, 650-square-mile archipelago.
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ticket → cruise → archipelago
The same ticket can be used on boats operated by Waxholmsbolaget all the way to Vaxholm, a picturesque archipelago town with pastel wooden villas and a 19th-century island fortress.
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ticket → use → villas
From the Nybroplan quay, take ferry line No. 80 to Frosvik, where you can hike through the Bogesundslandet nature preserve and pick chanterelles in the forest.
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you → take → forest
Hop off after about 20 minutes at Saltsjoqvarn, to explore Hospitalet, an 18th-century former psychiatric institution that reopened last year as a gallery for contemporary art (free).
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that → hop → art
The Aporia
