• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

The Royal Palace rises over Stockholm's old town.   (Photo: Courtesy of Stockholm Visitors Board)

Spend a day exploring some of Stockholm’s fourteen unique islands. Start off with buttery pancakes topped with mixed berries ($21) at Café FOAM before taking a 25-minute ferry ride ($17 round trip) from Slussen to Fjäderholmarna to get a taste of slowed-down archipelago living and observe traditional artisans at work. Grab handmade pottery at Krukmakeri, wool scarves and lamb-skin vests from Ateljé2-Ullboden, and blow your own glass at Åtta Glas (from $220). For lunch, start with a savory sill and strömming (herring) plate ($23), followed by whatever the fish of the day is (market price) at Fjäderholmarnas Krog & Magasin. Head back to Slussen and hit the pavement on two wheels with a Stockholm City Bike ($25 for a three-day card; see website for card purchase locations and 90-plus bike pickup/drop-off locations). You can rent bikes for up to three hours at a time, and their design makes locking them up unnecessary. Ride over to lush Djurgården and spend an hour or two exploring its parks and gardens, especially Rosendal Trädgård, home to over 100 types of roses. Next, ride about three miles to Gamla stan to survey its labyrinth of cobblestone streets and see uniformed palace guards around the clock outside the Royal Palace. Drop off your bike and grab dinner at Den Gyldene Freden, owned by the Swedish Academy, which selects the Nobel Prize for literature; try its veal-and-wild-garlic sausage with veal tongue, green peas, pea sprouts, and caper sauce ($39). Afterward, walk a few streets over to stomp your feet to live blues and jazz music at Wirströms Irish Pub. If you’re in the mood for more nightlife, head over to Stureplan, a posh neighborhood on Östermalm, to rub shoulders with the an attractive, well-heeled crowd in late-night spots like Sturecompagniet, the city’s biggest nightclub.

Published on May 3, 2012 as a web exclusive.