city information

The Baltic has not always been a peaceful place. Stockholm was built to defend Sweden’s inland towns from attack from the sea and also to be easily defensible itself.

At the start of the 17th century, Denmark tried to attack Stockholm and so did Russia a century later. They failed. From the open sea through the achipelago to Stockholm is a long and winding channel, commanded by Vaxholm Castle.

Unfortunately for the view, today’s shipping lanes bypass the castle completely, passing through another channel 6 km (4 miles) to its east.

THE APPROACH
Stockholm has the finest and most dramatic approach of any Baltic port. Of the two main channels, the northern one towards the Åland islands is the longer. It is used by the largest cruise ships and also by the ferries plying between Finland and Sweden.

The southern passage is used by smaller vessels as well as the ferries to Riga, Latvia. In fact ferries to Finland are manoeuvrable enough to take the shorter southern passage, but they all travel via the Åland Islands for tax reasons.

Even though Åland, like the rest of Finland, is a member of the EU, it is exempt from EU tax regulations. Ferry passengers travelling between Åland and other EU countries, and even between Åland and mainland Finland, are allowed to make duty-free purchases.

The ferries between Stockholm and Finland stop in Åland for 20 minutes in the middle of the night, which is enough to make their on-board shops duty-free throughout the journey.

The northern passage from Kapellskär on the Baltic coast to Stockholm is nearly 90 kilometres (well over 50 miles) and takes about 4 hours to navigate. The southern passage is 75 km (45 miles) long.

Both offer spectacular views of islands and forests, and a peek at country villas to die for (if you don’t mind enormous ships going past your window every day of the year).

THE CENTRE
Stockholm is one of the most beautiful cities of northern Europe. The old town, Gamla Stan, is just to the south of the modern centre. 30% of the area within the city boundaries is water and another 30% is made up of parks and green areas.

International tourism statistics are famously unscientific but Stockholm certainly attracts more foreign visitors every year than the number of its resident population, 800 000 people.

PASSPORTS, VISAS
As a member of the EU, Sweden does not require visas from citizens of other EU countries.

Sweden is also a member of Schengen area of the EU, where visa policies are unified. Citizens of Australia, Japan, North and Central America and most of South America can enter the Schengen area for 90 days without a visa. Visitors from most other countries require a visa.

The same Schengen visa allows the holder to enter any Schengen country. The Schengen area consists of most EU members and the EEA (Norway and Iceland) but not Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the UK.

Citizens of Schengen countries do not even need passports to visit other Schengen countries but, in order to exercise this right, they must be able to establish their identity and citizenship, and a passport does this. By showing one they can prove they don’t need to.

LANGUAGES
Almost all Swedes speak English, most of them very well. Older people may speak some German. Very few can manage French or Spanish and hardly anyone speaks Russian.

PUBLIC ORDER, CRIME
The streets of Stockholm are famously clean and the crime rate is low. Crimes of violence against tourists are negligible. As elsewhere in the Baltic, the large number of summer visitors includes a few unsavoury types but these are mostly pickpockets and shoplifters.

Unlike the Finns, Swedish drivers are fairly courteous and they stop when traffic lights change to red, instead of speeding up.

FOOD & WATER
Street food is hygienic and tap water tastes good. Even the sea in the centre of Stockholm is clean and the fish it contains can safely be eaten.

MONEY
Sweden is not in the euro zone and has its own unit of currency, the krona or crown. This is not the same as the Norwegian krone or the Danish krone. There are about eight Swedish crowns to a dollar and ten to a euro.

A few shops will accept dollars or euros and travel cards can be purchased by credit cards. For other things the visitor will need to change money, or to withdraw a sum from an ATM Bankomat, using a credit card.

The Viking and Silja terminals for ferry passengers have currency exchange offices and ATMs.

When there are cruise ships in port, the tourist information offices at the cruise terminals will change money. For ATM's, tourists at the cruise terminals can visit the nearby ferry terminals.

Other cruise berths are closer to the city centre, which has plenty of ATMs, although there are not so many in the old town, Gamla Stan.

PRICES
Older people often have strong misconceptions about Sweden’s price level. Today, Stockholm shops, services and admission charges are often the same price or cheaper than in Copenhagen or Helsinki. This was true even before the international value of the Swedish crown began declining.

Swedish prices contain 25% value-added tax, which can be refunded to non-EU residents.

The list prices of hotels are expensive and the tax they contain is not refundable. However, booked in advance on line, rooms are considerably cheaper. A recent boom in hotel building may bring down prices even more.

SHOPS, RESTAURANTS, MUSEUMS
Shops are allowed to open 7 days a week and, in the central area of Stockholm, most do. Opening hours are generally 10:00 to19:00 (7 pm). In malls shops are usually open to 20:00 (8 pm).

Restaurants hours often depend on whether the establishment serves lunches. Those that don’t open till afternoon are more likely to be open late. After midnight most are closed. Some close Sunday evenings, too.

Museums are generally closed on Mondays.

Public holidays	2009	2010
Epiphany	6 January	6 January
Easter	10–13 April	2–5 April
Labour Day	1 May	1 May
Ascension	21 May	13 May
Whit Sunday	31 May	23 May
National Day	6 June	6 June
Midsummer’s Day	20 June	19 June
All Saints’ Day	1 November	1 November

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
In addition to the periods around Christmas (24–26 December) and the New Year (31 December – 1 January), shops and other services will be affected by the following holidays in 2009 and 2010.

WALKING, BIKING
The centre of Stockholm is compact with many pedestrian paths and precincts.

From the start of April to the end of October, and between the hours of 6:00 and 18:00 (6 pm) bikes can be borrowed at a small fee from Stockholm City Bikes, a public-private partnership project of the city and an advertising company. They are known locally as Alvedon Bikes, because they all advertise a painkiller of that name.

First the renter must purchase a rental card from one of the offices of SL, Stockholm’s public transport company. A 3-day card costs 125 Swedish crowns, about 12 euros.

There are more than 50 places in the city where bikes can be picked up. They needn’t be returned to the same place. The main limitation is that they must be returned within 3 hours, but the renter can then immediately check out another.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The city transit company, SL, operates city buses and the underground metro, as well as surface trains to the suburbs.

Stockholm is divided into three zones and the price of a ticket depends on how many zones you cross but visitors are unlikely to stray outside Zone A, which covers the centre and the entire metro network.

Single bus tickets must be purchased in advance; drivers don't sell them.

A more useful ticket for short-stay visitors is a travel card, valid for a certain period of time from 24 hours to a year. Travel cards cover all three zones and also allow free travel on the museum tramline between Norrmalmstorg and Djugården, and on the Waxholmsbolaget ferries that cross the harbour from the Old Town to Djugården.

SL travel cards can be bought at SL offices at main metro stations or from SL agents, usually news stands, that display the SL logo. A 24-hour card costs 100 Swedish crowns, a 72-hour card 200. Public transport journey planner.

For museum lovers, the Stockholm Card, issued by the City of Stockholm, grants free admission to 75 museums and sights and free travel on the metro, buses and commuter trains. At 375 crowns for 24 hours, it is considerably more expensive than a 24-hour travel card, but you'll save money if you visit 4-5 museums.

Like the SL travel card, the Stockholm Card allows free use of the museum tram line. The Stockholm Card also lets you travel free on the ferry to Djurgåtan (but confusingly, not the same ferry line as the SL travel card).

Stockholm Cards can be prepurchased online and are mailed along with a guidebook. Allow two weeks for delivery.

TAXIS
Taxis are licensed in Stockholm but the prices that they can charge are not restricted in any way. The only requirement is that the prices must be clearly displayed so that the passenger can see it before he gets in.

Don't get in without looking at the tariff. And if you haven’t yet changed money, make sure your taxi will accept a credit card.

A trip from Frihamnen or Värtahamnen to the Old Town should cost 150-200 crowns. From Stadsgård to the Old Town shouldn’t exceed 150 crowns. There is no need to use the meter if the driver and passenger agree on a price in advance.

If the driver won’t accept a fixed price, you can choose another taxi. Customers are not obliged to pick the first taxi in line. The drive between the centre and the airport is always for a fixed price.

There are many taxi companies. The City of Stockholm recommends just four of them: Taxi 020, Taxi Kurir, Taxi Stockholm and Taxi Transfer. Stay alert. Some of the disreputable companies have picked names that are rather similar.

WHEELCHAIRS
Stockholm prides itself on being friendly to people with limited mobility. Even underground railway stations are accessible via ramps and lifts.

COMMUNICATIONS
This is the north of Europe, where practically everyone has a mobile phone, so there are very few public telephone booths.

However, there are many WiFi hot spots for those with laptop or netbook computers. The Kungsträdgården park is covered by a free one but some, such as at the central railway station, require payment by credit card.

WEATHER, DAYLIGHT
The warmest month is July, when the average daytime high is 22 Celsius ( 71 F). June and August highs are only a couple of degrees less. May and September are appreciably cooler at 15-16 Celsius (59-60 F).

Like Oslo and Helsinki, Stockholm experiences almost 19 hours of daylight per day in the middle of summer. The sky doesn’t really get dark at all. There are a few hours of twilight and then the sun comes up again.