GAMLA STAN
The Old Town is a warren of historical sights, boutiques and cafes, dominated by the great Royal Palace, much of which is open to the public.

DJURGÅRDEN
Easily reached by ferry, the Royal Park is home to the Vasa Museum, a unique 17th warship, and Skansen, presenting Sweden's rural past.

THE MODERN CENTRE
Take your pick from Östermalm Food Hall, or fine shopping on Hamngatan. Round off the tour at an open-air cafe in the tiny King's Garden.

main sights

No other Baltic city except St Petersburg offers as much for visitors to see and, in terms of sophistication, Stockholm is number one.

The map covers the centre and the old town and shows a round tour that can be completed in a few hours, taking in a few of the main sites.

The circuit begins at the Opera 1 which is where shuttle buses from the cruise terminals usually drop their passengers. The original Opera House was commissioned by King Gustav III, a great patron of the arts, who was later assassinated in its foyer.

Subsequent royalty was understandably less keen on opera, and the building was closed and later demolished. The new Royal Theatre, known to the locals simply as Operan, dates from 1899.

Far older is the red building with the copper roof behind it, St Jacob’s Church 2 . There was already a church here in the 14th century and construction of the present building started in 1588.

Bits have been added ever since, which is why it is such a mix of architectural styles - late gothic, renaissance and baroque.

GAMLA STAN - THE OLD TOWN
We now go south across one of the bridges towards the Old Town via the small island of Helgeandsholmen, where the Parliament Building 3 stands.

Holmen means a small island and Helgeands is a corruption of the words for Holy Spirit. It was named after a charitable institution here in the 14th century, which cared for the sick and elderly. Parliament moved to the island much later. Its building was completed at the start of the 20th century.

Overshadowing parliament is the enormous Royal Palace 4 . With more than 600 rooms it is one of the largest in the world. Quite a lot of its different sections are open to the public. Entrance fees are separate or can be paid in one combined ticket.

Public areas of the Royal Palace
Treasury	Crowns, swords, other regalia
Tre Knonor museum	The history of the site
Museum of Antiquities	Collected by Gustav III in Italy
Royal Chapel	Interior architecture
Royal gift shop	Up-market bric-a-brac
Palace Apartments	Guided tours when not in use

The palace stands on the site of a fortress, built in the 13th century, that grew to become Stockholm. The first fortress and later palace burnt down at the end of the 17th century and the present building dates from the 18th.

It’s not as lavish as the palaces of St Petersburg, where the aristocracy was far more dedicated to conspicuous consumption. Swedes expect their royalty to do something useful.

Behind the Palace is Stortorget 5 meaning Great Square. It’s actually fairly small but, as the oldest in Stockholm, it must have seemed large at one time.

Swedish schoolchildren know it as the scene of the Stockholm Bloodbath. This unforgettable name refers to the killings, in 1520, of some 80 members of Stockholm’s nobility and clergy, who favoured independence.

The three days of executions were instigated by the leaders of Denmark and Sweden, which were then united. The bloodbath entirely failed in its purpose and led to the permanent separation of the two countries.

The Stock Exchange building on the Great Square dates from late 18th century and now houses the Swedish Academy, the Nobel Museum, and the Nobel Library. The well in the middle was built at the same time.

Nearby is Storkyrkan (The Great Church), the oldest in Gamla Stan. Kings are buried not here but half a kilometre (500 yards) away at Riddarholmen – Knight Island. Riddarholmen church is marked 6 on the map.

Just below the Great Square is Västerlånggatan – Long West Street, which is lined with cafes, souvenir shops and boutiques, and leads towards the south corner of Gamla Stan.

If you’re coming from the front of the Palace, Österlånggatan – Long East Street is similar but calmer, with fewer tourist traps, and leads to the same area. The two streets are marked in red on the map.

From the quay at the southeast corner of the Old Town Island, ferries leave for Djurgården, our next destination. The trip across the harbour takes only about eight minutes. But for a last spectacular view of the Old Town, check out the Catherine Lift 7 first.

DJURGÅRDEN - THE ROYAL PARK
The ferry to Djurgården arrives as an amusement park 8 but the nearby open-air museum of Skansen is more likely to interest visitors. Djurgården means Game Park but the royal hunting grounds are long gone and now the island is a recreational area.

When Skansen 9 was founded in the 19th century, the idea of preserving rural buildings and lifestyles was entirely original. The site covers 30 hectares (75 acres) and includes a full replica of a typical 19th-century town. Its tanners, shoemakers, silversmiths, bakers and glass-blowers show pre-industrial Sweden in a nutshell.

Skansen’s small zoo contains Scandinavian animals and there is even a funicular railway. The area contains so much to see and do that the visitor probably should make a choice between it and the other great historical site on Djurgården, the Vasa Museum 10 .

The Vasa was intended to be a mighty ship in the navy of King Gustav Adolf but she had too many heavy guns on her upper gun deck and she capsized on her very first voyage across Stockholm harbour in 1628.

She remained in the mud of the harbour before being discovered again 333 years later. After treatment to preserve her timbers the Vasa was put on display in a purpose-built museum in 1990. This is the world’s only preserved 17th century ship and she is beautiful.

There are museums all across Djurgården. As its great facade indicates, the nearby Nordic Museum 11 can’t be fitted in an express tour like this. However it’s worth stepping briefly inside to see the enormous main hall that reaches right to its roof and its colossal sculpture of King Gustav Vasa. This is more like a cathedral than a museum.

ÖSTERMALM & THE CENTRE
Next we’ll catch the old museum tram that stops outside the museum. Its route runs along the shore boulevard back into the city centre.

The track and rolling stock are owned by the city but most of the personnel are voluntary, unpaid enthusiasts. This is the last tram line operating in the city, although there are three light rail lines in the suburbs. Get off the tram at the third stop, Nybroplan 12 , and check how much time you have left.

Less than 500 metres (yards) up Nybrogatan is Östermalm Square and its Food Hall 13 , a great place for late lunch or a snack. In almost the opposite direction in Hamngatan and its department stores. At this point you are unlikely to have time for both the food hall and the shops.

At Östermalm Food Hall there’s the extra possibility of trying out the underground metro railway by travelling one stop to T-centralen 14 .

From Hamngatan it is a short distance back to the Opera House, where our circuit began. The nicest route is via Kungsträdgården 15 or King’s Garden, a tiny park 350 metres (yards) long and just 70 metres wide. It is one of the city's favourite meeting places, with plenty of little cafes and open air concerts.