Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Ben Aitken

Stockholm: a midsummer’s dream on a shoestring

‘After a spin on the number 80 ferry, I’ve formed the opinion that Stockholm must be the only city in the world where the average commuter wishes their journey were longer’.
‘After a spin on the number 80 ferry, I’ve formed the opinion that Stockholm must be the only city in the world where the average commuter wishes their journey were longer’. Photograph: Chad Ehlers/Alamy

Last summer I took a cruise of the Baltic. I wanted to know if a millennial could cruise independently and still have a laugh. (They can. Just.) I was writing a book about fun at the time, and fancied that two weeks of shuffleboard and Nordic stop-offs might prove a decent source of the f-stuff. And so it proved. Though I could have done with more than an hour in Stockholm.

Which is why I’m back in Sweden’s capital: to get a better look at the place, while spending as little as possible. I get off to a flyer (economically speaking) by proceeding to my accommodation on foot. The route I take from the central station to the island of Södermalm is a circuitous one – and fruitful therefore.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.