Things to Do in Stockholm

Activities in Stockholm

Discover the ‘Venice of the North’ leisurely and comfortably by opting for a Stockholm hop-on hop-off bus tour.  Downtown Stockholm is relatively small so you can cover almost all the main attractions with a 24-hour Stockholm bus tour. Alternatively, you can book a 72-hour hop-on hop-off Stockholm open-top bus tour ticket for exploring the Swedish capital in detail.

Your Stockholm double-decker bus tour ticket gives you the liberty to hop on and/or hop off as many times as you wish. The hop-on-hop-off Stockholm open-top bus takes you through more than 20 tourist hotspots in and around the capital city. It takes about 1.5-2 hours for the double-decker bus to cover the entire loop and you can hop off at any spot where the bus stops.

Once you’re done touring the attraction exhaustively you can hop onto another bus for continuing with your Stockholm city sightseeing. When you buy a 72-hour Stockholm bus tour ticket online, you become eligible to enjoy many benefits, including a whopping 50% discount.

Attractions/Sights to Explore with Hop-On Hop-Off Stockholm Bus Tour

1. Gamlastan (Old Stockholm)

Every well-known city has a glorious and eventful past that you can discover from close quarters by visiting the city’s old section(s). Stockholm’s past going back more than eight centuries can be discovered at Gamlastan comprising Stortorget (piazza), Stadsholmen Island, and the islets of Strömsborg, Helgeandsholmen, and Riddarholmen. Though the majority of the structures were constructed during the 18^th and 19^th centuries some of the edifices date back to the 1200s.

Walking through the labyrinthine cobbled alleys and lanes, the mystical townhouses and the maze of alleyways, you’ll feel like you’ve gone back in time. Hop off from the city sightseeing Stockholm bus at Stortorget, the old town’s main public square, and the chief marker for heading to the Royal Chapel and the Royal Palace.   

2. Djurgården

One of the most visited attractions in Sweden’s capital city, the Djurgården officially known as ‘Kungliga Djurgården’ is an island in downtown Stockholm. The royal park bang in the middle of the city is a calm oasis and home to several museums, galleries, historical monuments, and buildings. The al-fresco museum Skansen, ABBA museum, Vasa museum, and numerous other cultural hotspots are located in Djurgården.

Djurgården is one of the most popular amusement spots in the city drawing in more than 10 million visitors annually. Almost all Stockholm hop-on hop-off bus tours organized by travel & tourism companies include a stop at Djurgården.

3. Kungsträdgården

The Kungsträdgården is an urban park located in the heart of the city and is a very popular hangout for locals as well as tourists. You can take a long break in the park after you’re tired of touring the city, and enjoy the sights and sounds of the surrounding landscape. Quite a few of the top attractions in Stockholm lie around the park’s outer limits.

4. The Globen or the Ericsson Globe

Formerly known as the Ericsson Globe but popularly called Globen in local parlance, the domed structure is an indoor arena. The Globen stands for the sun in the Sweden Solar System-the largest scale model of the solar system in the world. The indoor arena also happens to be the world’s largest hemispherical structure and can accommodate up to 16,000 spectators for concerts and shows.

A uniquely designed glass dome-SkyView-built-in 2010 takes you to the summit of the Globen from where you can have a bird’s eye view of Stockholm.   

5. Vasa Museum

A maritime museum, the Vasa Museum situated in Djurgården houses the salvaged and renovated warship Vasa that sank in 1628. The warship with turrets for 64 guns went down during her very first voyage and was retrieved after 333 years. After the warship was recovered from the Stockholm harbour and salvaged in the year 1961 she was housed in an impermanent museum.

It was only after Vasa got her permanent home that the abode was opened to the public in 1990. The Vasa Museum is Scandinavia’s most visited maritime museum with approximately 1,495, 760 people visiting the attraction in 2017.

6. The Stockholm Stadshuset or the City Hall

The Stockholm City Hall locally known as Stadshuset or Stockholms stadshus is the administrative headquarters of the ‘city of Stockholm’. The nerve center of the municipality of Stockholm, the City Hall attracts not only the locals but also thousands of tourists regularly for its unique artworks and artifacts. The Swedish architect Ragnar Östberg designed the layout of the city hall and the town hall was thrown open to the public in 1923.

Apart from housing several municipal offices, ceremonial halls, and conference rooms, the Stockholm City Hall also serves as the venue for the Nobel Prize banquet.

7. Royal Palace

The Royal Palace also referred to as the Stockholm Palace serves as the chief royal palace and the official abode of Sweden’s monarch. The Stockholm Palace is located in the city’s old quarters on the island of Stadsholmen very close to the Swedish parliament-Riksdag. Constructed in baroque style, the palace contains over 600 rooms arranged on seven floors with the royal rooms facing the city.

Since the palace houses the Royal Court of Sweden and is used by the Swedish royal family, you’ll need permission to enter its premises. Furthermore, you’re only allowed to tour the palace under the supervision of a local guide.            

8. The Nobel Prize Museum

The Nobel Prize Museum is situated in Gamla Stan (old Stockholm) and is housed in a building that once served as the Stockholm stock exchange. The museum displays relics and artifacts donated by Nobel laureates and also offers information about Nobel Prizes and prizewinners. You can learn a lot about the ideas and inventions that transformed the world and made the world a better place to live.

Why Opt for Stockholm Open-Top Bus Tour?

• Free audio commentary in more than 12 languages
• The chance to avail early bird online discount
• Hop-on hop-off from/at more than 20 popular attractions
• Free Wi-Fi
• Choose from a 24-hour or 72-hour hop-on hop-off Stockholm bus tour with exclusive benefits
• Guided sightseeing at many attractions offering you complete information about the sites

Suggestions to Make Your Stockholm Bus Tour More Thrilling 

• Most of the restaurants, cafes, hotels and even the local attractions accept only bank cards for payments (so keep minimum cash with you)
• Arrange your trip anytime in June or July when most of the Swedes are on leave (you can have the whole of Stockholm to yourself)
• You can tour the Nobel Prize museum and the Nordic museum for free on Tuesday (5-8 pm) and Wednesday (5-8 pm) respectively
• Buy an SL card (SL is the public transport system of Stockholm) for traveling cheaply around the city
• Avoid taxis and cabs by all means as they’re criminally expensive

Best Time to Take Hop-On Hop-Off Stockholm Bus Tour

Stockholm can become extremely cold during the winter with temperatures plummeting from -3° C to -4°C. The weather is most pleasant during summer which lasts from June to August and is the perfect time to plan your Stockholm bus tour.