HOUSE OF CULTURE
A tranquil haven from ancient monuments and modern shops.
THE METRO
Art on the way to work.
SÖDERMALM
is to Stockholm what Greenwich Village is to New York City or Notting Hill to London.
KAKNÄS TOWER
for the best views in town.
other places
CITY HALL
The hall of the city council is a must-see. 
The only reason it is not on the previous page of main sights is that it doesn’t conveniently fit on a round tour of the harbour.
Its spire, with three golden crowns, is the best-known symbol of Sweden’s capital. This fame is quite an achievement for a hall that was not opened until 1923.
| Stockholm City Hall |
|---|
Nobel Banquet Menu 2008 La sole aux fruit de mer suédois, fenouil à l’aneth Le filet de veau accompagné des légumes de saison Poire Belle Hélène Wines: Coffee, Remy Martin VSOP, Cointreau, |
If you are inspired, you can even get married here, but not on the spur of the moment. They need 2-3 weeks for the paperwork.
It was designed by Ragnar Östberg, an architect of Sweden's National Romantic era.
If you haven't heard of him, it's nothing to be ashamed of, because his other buildings aren’t particularly original or interesting. But some people say that this building is one of the greatest of the 20th century.
It is made of eight million bricks – Östberg liked bricks – but behind its monolithic facade is a wonderful inner yard. The halls within are also magnificent.
Each year the Nobel prize winners and over a thousand other guests meet here for the Nobel Banquet, one of the grandest dinners in the world. They dine in its Blue Hall (which is not blue) and afterwards dance in its Golden Hall (which is).
Entrance to the yard is free but you can’t enter the building unless you are on a guided tour. Also worth visiting is its souvenir shop, which contains much more than the usual bric-a-brac.
There are fine views of Stockholm from its tall tower and also its quay. The nicest way to arrive is by boat.
Coming from Nybroplan in the centre, bus 62 will take you there.
If you are already at the central railway station you are only ten minutes’ walk away. The route is well signposted. Anyway it’s hard to miss a massive brick tower more than 100 metres high.
HOUSE OF CULTURE
A town as old, wealthy and dignified as Stockholm is packed with fine buildings, churches and museums. For most visitors the antidote to history is shopping. When you have had enough of both, there is Kulturhuset, the House of Culture.
It is on Sergels torg, the square named after an 18th century sculptor, Johan Sergel. This is now the modern centre of the city, built mostly in the 1970s. There's a large traffic roundabout with a fountain in the middle. In the middle of that is a glass obelisk, ugly by day but strangely appealing at night. 
| House of Culture |
| Kulturhuset, Sergels torg |
| Nearest metro station: T-Centralen |
Flanking the square is the long, shallow House of Culture , which hosts art exhibitions and performances, the City Theatre, a library, restaurants, bookshops and an Internet cafe.
It’s a splendid place to relax for an hour or two while the rest of your party shop till they drop in the department stores of Hamngatan and Klarabergsgatan or in the Gallerian mall, all nearby.
The facade of Kulturhuset is no work of art but of course you can’t see it from the inside.
THE METRO
In the metro railway system of central Stockholm, about half the stations are underground. Its oldest parts date from the 1950s and its decorated stations are billed as "the world’s longest art exhibition".
The slogan is misleading; Stockholm’s tunnelbana is nowhere near as ornate as the metros of Moscow or even St Petersburg. 
It’s on a more human scale, and not designed to prove anything apart from the fact that rapid transport needn’t be ugly.
| Stockholm Metro |
| Download a guide to its art |
The station at Kungsträdgården, in the city centre, is an exciting blue cave containing artefacts from Makalös, a great mansion that existed on the site above until it was destroyed by fire in 1925.
The walls at Östermalmstorg have austere monochrome drawings. At the University of Technology (Tekniska Högskolan), the decorations celebrate Copernicus, Kepler, da Vinci and Newton. Rissne station, in the suburbs, has a timeline of human history.
SÖDERMALM
For an evocative stroll through city streets, head south from the centre, beyond the Old Town (Gamla stan).
Södermalm (“South Heath”) is an old working class area although today parts of it are as expensive as the upperclass Norrmalm (“North Heath”).
Cliffs and high land make it such an interesting area to walk. The sheer rock face rises from Slussen – the Sluice – that separates Lake Mälaren from the Baltic Sea in Stockholm harbour. Fortunately there is a great pedestrian elevator, the Catherine Lift, to get you to the top without scrambling.
To the west, on St Paul’s Street, is the Maria Magdalena Church, dating back to the 14th century and rebuilt in the 16th and 17th. Near here, closer to the cliff's edge, is Monteliusvägen, a footpath offering fine views.
On the east side of Södermalm is SoFo (South of Folkungagatan). It's a contrived name but the district contains the clothes shops, design boutiques, cafés and restaurants that you would expect.
| Kaknästornet |
| Address: Mörka kroken 3, Ladugårdsgärdet |
| Bus 69 from Sergels Torg |
Stockholm is a city of fine views and visitors find themselves constantly climbing stairs, cliffs and steeples.
For the ultimate panorama, visit the 155-meter television tower, clearly visible from the Värtahamnen and Frihamnen port area. Kaknäs Tower is one of the tallest constructions in Sweden.
To the west is the city. To the east, the archipelago stretches to the horizon. There is a small fee to ascend to its viewing gallery but the view from the restaurant is free.
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