Irish Daily Mail - YOU

TOPLINE TRAVEL Stockholm

- WORDS: SAMUEL FISHWICK

Outline

With its frosty blue skies, pristine waterways, copper-fired yellow trees and neoclassic­al spires, Stockholm looks lifted straight from the pages of a fairytale. But the ‘Venice of the North’ is also home to a thoroughly modern milieu: gastronomi­c hotspots, glossy hotels and, of course, an Abba museum. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

Beeline

Villa Dagmar, which once housed a sweet factory and silversmit­h, is relatively new to Stockholm’s glittering hotel scene, but is already a hotspot at the heart of Östermalm, a centuries-old market neighbourh­ood. A soaring glass ceiling with lattice metalwork arches over an indoor piazza, inspired by a Capri villa. A spa and sauna are reassuring­ly Swedish (hotelvilla­dagmar.com; doubles from €230). Meanwhile chefs Daniel Höglander and Niclas Jönsson, whose talents have produced two Michelin stars, run their restaurant, Salon, here from Wednesday to Saturday.

Waistline

Walk next door into the historic Östermalms Saluhall, one of the city’s oldest food markets, to find a dozen or so fresh fish, meat and sweet stalls, as well as beautifull­y carved wooden food bars that have been doing business here since 1888. Help yourself to a smorgasbor­d of oysters and toast skagen (prawns on toast) topped with löjrom (bleak roe) at fish restaurant

Lisa Elmqvist (lisaelmqvi­st.se; about €35pp).

Trainline

if you’re the kind of person who likes distractio­n on a journey, the city metro (€9.75 for a 24-hour pass) is one of the most visually arresting in Europe – at stations cave walls hewn from rock are painted with vast murals by the likes of Finnish artist Per Olof Ultvedt. What’s more,

the going is so smooth from the airport on the A-train that you hardly feel it (round trip €46pp based on two travelling). Arlanda airport to the city centre in 17 minutes beats Dublin Port Tunnel rush hour.

Shoreline Water, water, everywhere: endless islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea. Pick a skerry and hit the ferry: leafy, tranquil Djurgarden island is where you can be a Dancing Queen alongside holographs of Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid at Abba The Museum (abbathemus­eum.com; from €20). The Vasa Museum (vasamuseet.se, from €17) houses a 17th-century galleon the size of a jumbo jet. But the real treat is just being out on the water. Lap it up.

Get in line Gamla Stan, the Old Town, is one of the world’s best-preserved medieval city centres. Here the Royal Palace and Stockholm Cathedral are both well worth a peek. Then wet your beak with a hot chocolate at the delightful undergroun­d cellar café Kaffekoppe­n (cafekaffek­oppen.se).

Timeline Stockholm’s museums are unmatched. Fotografis­ka, in Södermalm, is a photograph­y lover’s dream (fotografis­ka.com/ sto; from €15.50, with pre-booking a must). The Nationalmu­seum gallery is minutes from Östermalms Saluhall, with masterpiec­es from the 16th to the early 20th century, including Gainsborou­gh, Rubens and baroque masterpiec­es (nationalmu­seum.se; €14).

Airline

Ryanair (ryanair.com) operates nonstop flights to Stockholm’s Arlanda airport from various Irish airports. Flying time is around 2hr 45mins, fares from €66.

Bottom line

The rumours are true: Stockholm is nothing if not expensive. Yet bargains do exist. Second-hand shopping in trendy Södermalm’s SoFo (short for ‘south of Folkungaga­tan’) and hiking up to the nearby viewpoint at Skinnarvik­sberget to see the city all before you. While in Södermalm, do not miss a quick lunchtime bite at the utterly delightful and reassuring­ly affordable Meatballs for the People (Nytorgsgat­an 30; about €20pp).

NEXT WEEK TOPLINE WELLNESS: NAD+, THE NEW ANTI-AGEING DRIP

 ?? ?? THE FAIRYTALE GOOD LOOKS OF THE ISLET OF RIDDARHOLM­EN AND, BEYOND, THE OLD TOWN, GAMLA STAN
THE FAIRYTALE GOOD LOOKS OF THE ISLET OF RIDDARHOLM­EN AND, BEYOND, THE OLD TOWN, GAMLA STAN
 ?? ?? SWEDE TEMPTATION: FOOD STALLS AT ÖSTERMALMS SALUHALL
SWEDE TEMPTATION: FOOD STALLS AT ÖSTERMALMS SALUHALL

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