Don't let the cold keep you at bay

Stockholm, Sweden, has treasures to discover in any season.

By Anne Spiselman, Special to the Times
Published January 13, 2008

When I visited Stockholm, Sweden, for the first time in November, locals kept telling me I had to come back in summer. But the truth is, this "Venice of the North," spread across 14 islands, has charms for all seasons. Longer days and warmer temperatures are advantages from spring through fall, but winter brings evocatively bleak weather, and major attractions are less crowded.

The only place that's not so much fun when it's cold is Skansen, Stockholm's most popular tourist destination. The open-air museum with 150 farmhouses and other buildings brought from throughout Sweden goes into partial hibernation, and most of the arts and crafts demonstrations, restaurants and cafes shut down.

On page 8L are 10 things to see and do anytime. For more information, go to the Stockholm Tourist Board's Web site, www.stockholmtown.com (click the British flag at top right for the English translation). Be sure to read about the Stockholm Card, which offers free or reduced-price admission to most museums, free rides on public transportation and a free boat tour.

The Royal Canal Tour

Departing from Stromkajen hourly, glassed-in boat tours last 50 minutes and provide a helpful introduction to sites you'll want to visit later, like the Vasa Museum and City Hall. In summer, you can also take a free ferry to Djurgarden, an island that is home to several museums.

The Vasa Museum

One of the museums on Djurgarden and the city's second top tourist draw, this striking six-story museum is literally built around the royal warship Vasa, which sank in the harbor on its first voyage in 1628 and was raised in 1961. You can see the world's only preserved 17th century ship from virtually every angle (though you can't go on it), as well as exhibits about life on and off the vessel.

If you have time, go across the street to the Nordic Museum, a Victorian fantasy chock-full of historical costumes, table settings, dollhouse cabinets, folk arts and more.

Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde

After a stop at the Vasa Museum, hop on the No.47 bus and take it to the end of the line (about 10 minutes), then walk to the right. You'll find the 1903-05 mansion that once belonged to Prins Eugen (1865-1947), a noted painter, collector and patron of Swedish artists. Perched on a hill with glorious views, it combines displays of the prince's furnishings, paintings and belongings with galleries for temporary exhibits. The homey kitchen is now a cafe.

Rosendals Tradgard

If you go left instead of right at the end of the No.47 line, you'll come to the Rosendal Garden on the grounds of a small, Empire-style summer palace built between 1823 and 1827 for King Karl XIV Johan. Now a commercial organic garden, the Rosendal Garden offers exhibitions, lectures, courses and tours, as well as plants and produce, teas, pickles, preserves and baked goods. One of the greenhouses is home to a cafe featuring only organic produce, and the city's best bread is baked in a wood-burning oven in back.

Ostermalms Saluhall

This 19th century market hall on Ostermalms, or East Island, is the ideal place to learn about Scandinavian food specialties. Look for Lisa Elmqvist for more than a dozen herring preparations, gravad lax and other kinds of salmon, shrimp various ways and raw seafood. Check out Fagel & Vilt for raw, smoked and cured wild game (yes, they sell reindeer), and at M. Seger Eftr., it's okay to ask for samples of Swedish cheeses (try vaster botten, a mellow, sweet-tart cow's milk variety from the eponymous region). And it would be hard to leave without buying an open-face sandwich piled high with shrimp from NYBroe Smorrebrod.

Gamla Stan

The Old Town, on the little island where Stockholm started, is great for walking with its narrow cobblestone streets and alleys, even if the shops and restaurants tend to be touristy. You can tour parts of the Royal Palace and check out Storkyrkan (the Great Church), the German Church or the Church of the Nobility, where royalty are buried (closed in winter). If it's warm, relax at an outdoor cafe; if it's chilly, duck into cozy Chokladkoppen on the surprisingly small main square for a steaming bowl of hot chocolate.

Stadshuset (City Hall)

Built in 1923 and famous as the site of the Nobel Banquet, this lively hodgepodge of architectural styles can only be toured with a guide and is well worth a visit. Among the highlights is the City Council Chamber with its painted ceiling and the Golden Hall, where the walls are covered with more than 18-million glass and gold mosaic pieces depicting Swedish history and heroes.

National Museum of Fine Arts

The country's largest art museum is one of about 100 museums in Stockholm. Many big names are represented from Rembrandt to Renoir, plus the Dutch Old Masters. Some 18th century French works are also on view. Perhaps best, though, is the huge applied arts and design collection, which spans six centuries and ranges from tapestries, ceramics and silver to industrial objects.

Mathias Dahlgren at the Grand Hotel

A block from the National Museum, one of Sweden's top chefs has been working his magic since May at two adjacent restaurants cannily designed by Ilse Crawford. The intimate, candlelit Matsalen (the Dining Room) has an a la carte menu, but it's best to go for the multicourse dinner. The lively and less pricey Matbaren (the Food Bar), with its open kitchen and horseshoe-shaped bar, offers a changing lineup of small plates.

If you want a traditional Swedish smorgasbord, the Grand Hotel's Veranda is the only restaurant in town that serves it nightly year-round. Worth going back just for the herring and salmon.

Kungliga Operan (Royal Opera House)

Built in 1898, the latest home of the Royal Swedish Opera and Royal Swedish Ballet is a neoclassical showpiece with a grand staircase, gilded reception rooms, ornate chandeliers and red velvet drapes, seats and boxes.

Attend an opera (think of the great Swedish sopranos starting with Jenny Lind) or ballet, and you'll feel like you're in a fairy tale, particularly if a member of the royal family is in the house.

In summer, performances are few, but guided tours are given in English on weekday afternoons.

Anne Spiselman is a freelance writer based in Chicago.

IF YOU GO

Visiting Stockholm

SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) flies nonstop to Stockholm from New York/Newark Airport and Chicago's O'Hare International. A check on Expedia.com shows SAS flights for late January to early February from Tampa, with a stop in Chicago, are about $600 one-way. In June, the cost jumps to slightly more than $1,000.

The 376-room Grand Hotel (www.grandhotel.se), a member of Leading Hotels of the World, is the best hotel in Sweden in my opinion. Rooms and suites vary in size and furnishings, but those in the newest building tend to be bigger. Prices start at 3900 Swedish kroner (about $607 U.S.). The hotel is within a few blocks of many of the attractions mentioned in the story.

Other convenient options include a number of small hotels in Gamla Stan listed at www.stockholmtown.com (click the British flag at upper right for the English translation).

Anne Spiselman

[Last modified January 9, 2008, 14:28:21]