On track for a deal
EUROSTAR has savings of up to 25 per cent on selected hotels in London, Paris, Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam and Rotterdam when booked with train travel.
The sale is on until February 21 and deals are valid for travel until April 30. Redeem offers when booking a hotel with train travel in either Standard or Standard Premier class. See eurostar.com or call 08432 186 186.
STOCKHOLM is a winter winner. The Swedish capital’s islands have swish malls and frozen lakes plus it’s where Greta Thunberg first kicked off. And this pricey city can be done on a budget.
Stockholm syndrome Shopping heart
Despite its capital status you will be struck by how peaceful and gentle central Stockholm is, and how approachable – and fluent in English – the locals are. This is, after all, the birthplace of Stockholm
Syndrome, when hostages feel sympathy for their captors. It first happened here in a bank robbery back in 1973.
Stockholm’s commercial centre is pedestrianised Drottninggatan, a short walk from the main railway station and metro terminal, Tunnelbana. It is a shopper’s paradise, with a mix of Swedish design shops and international brands and with windswept Sergel’s Torg at its centre.
Parallel streets to the west such as Regeringsgatan also have big department store NK plus the luxury mall of Galerian. Between the two sits Hotorget, or Haymarket, with a fruit and veg market and a delicatessen hall which showcases the best of Swedish food.
Free guided tours of downtown, and also of historic Gamla Stan, start from Sergel’s Torg every day at 10am. See freetourstockholm.com.
Historic centre Gamla Stan
South of downtown, a couple of bridges cross a narrow neck of water where Lake Malaren empties out into the brackish Baltic. Cross them, and you are into Gamla Stan, the old town, which dates back to the founding of the city in the 13th century. But most of the buildings, including palaces and churches, are baroque from the 17th or 18th century.
The first big construction is the Riksdag, the parliament, with a courtyard leading to small square – Mynttorget – where Greta Thunberg started her climate activism. Beyond, narrow lanes lead into a storybook world of cobbled streets, cafes and ochre-walled merchant’s houses, with Stortorget square at the centre, dominated by the Nobel Prize museum. It is free after 5pm on Fridays, see nobelprizemuseum.se.
Here the fika culture – getting together over a coffee and cake – is everywhere.
Head down to the waterfront branch of
Brod & Salt, which is part bakery, and watch the team make typical Swedish kanelbullar. They are seriously good cinnamon rolls. See brodsalt.se.
Float and skate On the waterfront
Now you are by the water you cannot help but notice all the classic and traditional boats, including MV Enkoping, the world’s oldest former steamship still in public service.
On a fine day it is worth walking along the promenade at Strandvagen, admiring the grand facades of hotels and banks on one side and the polished decks on the other.
It will remind you of that old joke: why do Swedes have barcodes on their ships? So they can scan der navy in. There are several options for trips out on the water, visit stromma.com for a look. But an inexpensive alternative is the Pendelbat commuter boat number 80 from Nybrokajen downtown to Nacka Strand. Stay on the boat and come back again – roughly an hour’s trip will set you back just £3.
If it is cold enough, which it usually is, some of Stockholm’s inland waterways freeze, and when that happens, Stockholm Adventures lead ice-skating trips out into the wilds, with durations from three hours to three days. See stockholmadventures.com.
Super trouper Abba museum
The large island of Djurgarden was once a royal hunting ground, and these days it is still primarily a place of recreation but with some very fancy villas along the shoreline.
The big Tivoli fairground on its city-facing corner is closed in winter, but just up the road is the Abba museum and its Pop House hotel. It is a must for anyone who likes a great tune and tight velvet trousers. See abbathemuseum.com.
The whole Abba story, from the moment when Benny from the Hep Stars met Bjorn of the Hootenanny Singers, is heartwarmingly wholesome. If you have an appetite for more