Stockholm City Guide | Things to Do for Design Lovers
Hi guys,
Welcome back to Soft Visuals blog!
Stockholm is a wonderful city, with stylish people, innovative infrastructure, and beautiful landscapes. It is a great place for tourism, especially for those who love design and style. With green spaces, Stockholm is one of Europe’s most beautiful and sustainable cities. The ideal time of the year in my opinion for Stockholm is definitely spring and summer when the city comes alive.
We moved with my girlfriend and two cats to Stockholm in 2022. Before that, I had already lived in Denmark for several years, and therefore I was already familiar with the Scandinavian culture. Probably that's why so much for me coziness, comfort, and a sense of calm. The city has a lot to offer if you haven't already been. but when you arrive, remember that in Scandinavia the most crucial thing is to look at the little details and enjoy the moment.
Hotels
Miss Clara Hotel
By Nobis Hotel
Ett Hem Hotel
At Six Hotel
MISS CLARA HOTEL
Miss Clara is the Nobis group’s new first-class hotel, located at Sveavägen 48 in Stockholm - one of the most bustling urban addresses in Stockholm. It’s a place where everything happens, with historical (Old Town), cultural (The Royal Palace), and entertainment (Oscar’s Square) attractions all within walking distance. It´s a perfect option for shopping enthusiasts as well as those who want to discover the city from unique perspectives.
Images from Miss Clara website
BLIQUE BY NOBIS
Blique by Nobis hotel is a luxury boutique hotel located in Stockholm, Sweden. Designed by British brand Nobis, the hotel offers stunning views of the city from its terrace, as well as a contemporary art gallery displaying works from Louise Bourgeois to Andy Warhol.
With an avant-garde interior that mixes classic elements with contemporary Scandinavian design and an organic interior garden, Blique by Nobis is the perfect place for a long-awaited vacation or weekend getaway.
ETT HEM HOTEL
Ett Hem is located on the beautiful island of Djurgården, close to many cultural attractions. If you are looking for something more personal than a luxury hotel, Ett Hem offers 3 beautiful private houses that have been created for people who want to feel at home in Stockholm.
Photography by Magnus Marding
AT SIX HOTEL
With interiors imagined by Universal Design Studio, and arts curated by Sune Nordgren, At Six Hotel is located in a vibrant neighborhood of Stockholm. At Six top floors offer panoramic views, while our suites feature terraces for enjoying the city’s beauty. And did we mention high-quality food options?
There are two bars, restaurants, and lounges to choose from. The hotel also offers fitness classes, a fitness center, and a yoga studio complete with hammocks so you can take a break from your workout mid-session if you need to relax.
Images from At Six Hotel website
Cafes & Restaurants
USINE RESTAURANT
Enjoy food & drink at the heart of Stockholm’s vibrant Södermalm neighborhood. A stunning interior design with all the right touches - concrete floors and black accents.
A 2000 square meter former sausage factory in the heart of Stockholm's lively Södermalm neighborhood has undergone an extensive renovation. The restaurant Usine is a unique and versatile facility, with a large kitchen and charming high ceilings.
Images by Mikael Axelsson
NATIONAL MUSEUM RESTAURANT
If traveling in Stockholm, I recommend the National Museum Restaurant. It is located inside the National Museum at Tegelbacken 6, on Strandvägen, overlooking the water and Nybroviken. They offer traditional Swedish cuisine, as well as other types of food from all over the world.
Photography by Pia Ulin
CHIOI RESTAURANT
If you are in Stockholm, I recommend visiting CHiÔi Restaurant – a cozy urban restaurant in the center of the city. They offer an Asian fusion menu and has an amazing Grilled Eggplant baked with vegan mince and topped with peanuts - a favorite among vegans.
Photography by Norlux
TAK RESTAURANT
TAK Restaurant has the most spectacular views of any restaurant in Stockholm. Come here and be amazed by their local dishes and the quality of their ingredients. Their dishes are prepared with care so that you can enjoy the best experience.
Photography from TAK website
Museums
LILJEVALCHS KONSTHALL
The Liljevalchs Konsthall is an art gallery located on the Djurgården island in Stockholm, Sweden. Designed by architect Carl Bergsten (1879–1935) and had a modern concrete extension. The architects for the new part were Jan Asplund, Ragnar Östberg, and Herman Engström.
The extension has been built with round glasses that are reminiscent of the bottom of the kind of bottle bottoms that stand on a small garland of round glass dots. In the facade, these small dots catch the light and send it on in different directions, so that the building sparkles a little. During the day, there is working a cafe, a restaurant, and an amazing shop.
Image from Liljevalchs website
Images by Arina Voy
MILLESGARDEN
Millesgården, created by sculptor Carl Milles and his wife painter Olga Milles in 1908, is today a well-renowned museum with an artist's home and garden. The collection includes sculptures and paintings as well as designs for stage, ballet, costumes, and musical instruments.
ARTIPELAG MUSEUM
Artipelag is the biggest art museum in Stockholm and the only one built on an archipelago. The museum was opened in June 2012 and was designed by the late architect Johan Nyrén. It consists of seven wooden pavilions connected by a network of walkways and has been described as "a giant jigsaw puzzle"
Images from Arch Daily
FOTOGRAFISKA
If you are in Stockholm, I recommend visiting Fotografiska - it's an awesome museum with lots of interesting exhibitions and the best part is, their restaurant with the city view is just great. But, remember, can only visit this restaurant with a Fotografiska ticket. I think all tourists should visit Fotografiska and highly recommend their plant-based "meat" balls.
Image from Svenska Dagbladet website
CARL ELDHS ATELJE MUSEUM
Carl Eldh's studio was located on the island of Vallåkra in the beautiful Lake Malarhusen. It is now open to the public as a museum, and houses the largest collection of his works. Eldh was one of Sweden's most important sculptors during 20th century, whose legacy continues to live on in his studio today
Image from Kulturista
MODERNA MUSEET + ARK DES
Moderna Museet is a modern art museum with classic and contemporary art from all over the world. You can see there works of famous artists like Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, and Meret Oppenheim. Moderna Museet has a modern museum shop on the ground floor - the perfect place to buy nice Scandinavian design souvenirs, inspiring books, or posters.
If you are an architecture fan - I recommend visiting ArkDes. This active collecting institution specializes in Swedish modern and contemporary architecture and conserves catalogs, and exhibits, and collects around 4 million objects.
Image by Johan Dehlin from Visit Stockholm website
If you will visit Moderna Museet in summer, I recommend going to their cafe which is located outside of the building. This place is very nice because it has a great view and is surrounded by trees.
Image by Arina Voy
NATIONAL MUSEUM
The National Museum of Fine Arts houses the largest and most comprehensive national collection of Swedish visual art. The collection encompasses paintings, sculptures, drawings, and graphic art from the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century and applied art and design up to today. It was founded in 1792 and houses over 1,250,000 objects, including paintings by Rembrandt, Renoir, and Picasso - as well as works by many other renowned artists.
Stockholm Shopping
Tambur
Granit
Sostrene Grene
Design House Stockholm
Hemtex
Iris Hantverk
Lagerhaus
Designtorget
Arket
H&M Home
Zara Home
Muuto
Sostrene Grene
Papercut
Stopp Press
Cervera
Rusta
Fotografiska Shop
Liljevalchs Konsthall Shop
Brandstationen
By Binett
Meri Meri
2 Little Spoons
The Modern Sthlm
Bolon
DBKD
Svensk Tenn
Austere
Kasthall
Atp Atelier
Interior Showrooms
A.S.HELSINGO
A.S.Helsingo is a Swedish brand offering high-quality kitchens, storage units, and interior paints. The brand combines high-quality materials, meticulous design and skillful craftsmanship with IKEA’s cabinet frames to give you the freedom to create a unique home that feels like you — at an affordable price.
Images from A.S Helsingo website
HOUSE OF GARSNAS
The House of Garsnas provides a new visitor attraction on Skeppsholmen. By visiting the showroom you can see and feel the world of Gärsnäs furniture – a light touch and innovative design – that for decades has been the first choice of many architects. Garsnas has always known that its furniture is also excellently suited to private homes, but never quite had the right premises to show it off properly.
Images by Arina Voy
Stockholm Nature
TANTO STRANDBAD
Tanto Strandbad on Södermalm is one of Stockholm's youngest but most popular city baths, with a sandy beach, cliffs, jumping tower, and climbing wall.
LANDSORT ISLAND
~3 hours from the city center by public transport
I have the blog post about our trip to Landsort. Landsort is a Swedish village with a lighthouse on the island of Oja. The village has about 30 permanent residents. The tower was built in 1689 and an upper conical iron section was added in 1870. Since early times, open fires have been burning at this place, serving as beacons. Landsort is the southernmost point of the Stockholm archipelago.
Images by Arina Voy
Modern Architecture
79 & PARK
79&Park is a porous residential building of 3.6m x 3.6m modules organized around an open green courtyard. The building’s tallest corner is lifted up to 35m in order to maximize the inflow of natural daylight as well as views towards Gärdet and the Frihamnen port for most of its units. The modules cascade down to the building’s lowest profile at just 7m, gradually extending the wooden development into the park. 79&Park appears like a gentle hillside, seamlessly blending into the nature around it.
The organic expression and cedar cladding continue into the green courtyard, where residents and visitors are met by different-sized plateaus that create small activity pockets and spaces for amenities: a shared outdoor area with lush bushes, flowers, and trees, a dog daycare, a preschool and ample racks for bicycle parking.
Images from Arch Daily
STORA SJÖFALLET BY ARKJOLIARK
Environmentally classified and high-class homes in houses made of prefabricated concrete elements. Stora Sjöfallet stands for the unexpectedly brilliant!
The housing project Stora Sjöfallet is located by the waters of Husarviken and the greenery of Norra Djurgården. The structure is simple and clear – horizontal and vertical concrete elements form the framework for 30 apartments of various sizes. Large glass sections, from floor to ceiling, make the structure of the house visible and blur the boundary between one's own home and nature outside.
The concrete is raw and untreated. The wooden frames of the glass partitions and the surrounding greenery stand as a warm contrast. The properties of the concrete and the prerequisites for element construction have guided the design process. The result is a clean and consistently executed project, from the whole to the detail.
Location:
Husarviksgatan 16
Norra Djurgårdsstaden, Stockholm
Construction years:
2014-2016
Photography by Joliark
TAPPEN
The project comprises 44 dwellings organized within two volumes. A driving force in the design process has been the preservation of a pure and simple material expression. Rigorously composed meetings between wood, concrete, and steel ensure the maintenance of a sense of the whole.
Architects:
Joliark
Address:
Mariehäll, Bromma,
Stockholm, Sweden
Photography by ArchDaily.
Panoramic City Views
Fotografiska Restaurant
Skinnarviksberget
Observatorielunden
Vårbergstoppen Viewing Platform
Tak Restaurant
Moderna Museet Cafe
Hope that you enjoyed this guide!
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @arina.voy
See you next time,
Arina
