The most beautiful places in Sweden

Sweden is a country of rare beauty, even amid its starkest northern landscapes. Its cities and towns testify to 1000 years of urban life, but there are precious places offering glimpses into even older traditions of human settlement.

Stockholm

The capital on the water makes for one of Scandinavia’s spectacular sights. Stockholm’s old town, known in Swedish as Gamla Stan, juts out into the flow around Riddarfjärden, why why the medieval settlers felt it would be a secure place.

Stockholm today is fast, and growing even faster. But this does mean there are no remnants of its heritage to enjoy, no green spaces to admire and spend quality time in. Graceful Djurgården, with the world’s oldest open-air museum Skansen, or the old streets around Vita Bergen are examples of the best spaces Stockholm has to offer.

The other great attractions include Vasamuseet, where Sweden’s ill-fated 17th century flagship is preserved in one of the world’s great maritime museums. Statens Historiska Museum makes sense of Swedish history from long before the Viking Age. Stockholms Stadsmuseet, where visitors can get a city perspective, is free to enter. You can even follow the career of Abba, the worldwide pop success that now has its own museum.

Inner Stockholm is dominated by Kungliga slottet, the Baroque royal palace and its various museums. Visitors can also enjoy a trip out into the rocky archipelago of about 30,000 islands.