A lot of people visit the Vasa Museum - housing the 17th-century Royal warship Vasa, which sank 1628 and was salvaged in 1961. Also worth a visit is nearby Skansen, the world´s oldest and largest open-air folk museum complete with its own zoo displaying animals found in Sweden . Adjacent to Skansen is the Gröna Lund amusement park. Millesgården, home of sculptor Carl Milles (1875-1955) and Waldemarsudde, home of Prince Eugen (1865-1947) - the "Painter Prince" - are other nearby attractions.

Getting There:
By train:
You will arrive at Central Station. All branches of the Tunnelbana, Stockholms underground system, meet at T-Centralen, the station directly below Central Station. Cityterminalen, nearby, handles all the bus services, both domestic and international, including the airport bus.

By ship:
The ferry terminals you will find in the northeast and southeast (Katarinavägen) of the inner city. Viking Line ferries arrive at Tegelvikshammen in Södermalm, a thirty minutes walk from the centre. It is connected by bus to Slussen and then by Tunnelbana to T-Centralen. Birka Cruises services dock in Södermalm, too, just up the quayside at Stadsgården. The Silja Terminal is in the northeastern reaches of the city, a short walk from Gärdet or Ropsten, from where you can take the Tunnelbana.

You can't say you've really seen Sweden if you didn't experience a fabulous cruise on the legendary Cota Canal. This enormous waterway expands for miles and miles and goes at least across ten lakes and one inland sea. Steam ships defeat this 'Blue Ribbon of Sweden' in order to give the visitors a good view of the surroundings, comprised of meadows, old villages, castles and convents. It's a charming way to get from Stockholm to Goteberg (and the other way around of course).

By airplane:
Arlanda airport is 45 km north of Stockholm. Buses run every 15 min to Cityterminalen (journey time 40 min). The direct rail link to Arlanda has just opened in 1999. Now it connects the airport with Central Station in just 20 minutes. Taxis take you down down for a fixed rate. The bus is the cheapest way to go down to the central station.

Bromma airport is closer to the city centre. This is a smaller airport and the facilities are not as abundant as at Arlanda. The airport buses also run from this airport to the central station.

Skavsta airport is situated approx 100 km south of Stockholm in the city of Nyköping. The airport buses will take you yo the central station in 1 hour 20 minutes.

Getting Around:
The nicest way to explore the centre of Stockholm is to walk. It taxes about 25 minutes to cross central Stockholm on foot. And above that walking is a good solution to orientate within Stockholm's initially confusing centre. For bigger distances you should use the means of the very comprehensive system of public transport.

Stockholm's Lokaltrafik (SL) operates a large system of buses and trains (including underground) reaching well out of the city centre. In the SL-Center inside T-Centralen you can get timetables, informations and a useful transport map (35kr). Opening Hours: Mon - Fri 6am - 11.15pm, Sat and Sun 7am - 11.15pm).

Quickest of the transport systems is the underground (T-bana or Tunnelbana), which is based on three main lines. Buses can be less direct due to the nature of Stockholm's islands and central pedestrianization. Ferries also link some of the central islands.

If you travel more than only a few lines, you should buy a pass or a strip of twenty transferable SL Rabatt Kuponger (ticket coupons) or day-ticket for one or more days.

Taxis can be hailed in the street or booked on Tel. 08 - 15 00 00 (then it costs 25kr extra to get you up).

Practical Information:
Tourist information: Here you will get all informations about the city you want and a decent city map as well (15 kr). The main office (open Mon - Fri from 9am to 6pm, Sat and Sun from 9am to 3pm) is on Hamngatan in Norrmalm, on the ground floor of Sverigehuset. Tel. 08 - 789 24 90

Stockholm Card: Very useful, gives unlimited travel on city transports (except airport and ferry buses), free museum entry and discounts on boat trips and tours (sold at the tourist offices). Prices: 199 kr for 24 hours, 398 kr for 48 hours, 498 kr for 72 hours.

Bank opening hours: Mon - Fri 9.30am to 3pm, on thursdays also 4pm - 5.30pm. Outside banking hours check the post offices or Växel/Currency Exchange offices. Bankomat machines give cash advances and accept all major credit cards.

Phone calls: For international phone calls you add 00 and the international prefix. Most public phones only accept phonecards and credit/debit cards. The smallest phonecard cost 30SEK so if you only need to call one time it is better to use your card. The international dialing to Sweden is +46 with the first 0 omitted.

Day Trips:
Due to the location in the water, there are a number of day-trips to chose from.
The archipelago is wast, and easy to access with Waxholmsbolaget.

Utö
A nice little island just a 40 minutes boat trip from the mainland (Årsta Brygga).
Excellent bathing possibilities, with both beach and cliffs. Good selection of restaurants, such as Utö Värdshus, Båtshaket and others.
url: www.utoturistbyra.se

Mariefred & Gripsholms slott
In the summertime a steamboat leaves from Stockholm to Mariefred in the morning and heads back in the afternoon (www.magasin1.net/mariefred/). You can go one way with the steamboat, and the other with an old locomotive with 600 mm narrow gauge that runs between Mariefred and Läggesta (www.oslj.nu/). Trains run frequently between Stockholm and Läggesta, and the trip takes less than an hour with SJ (www.sj.se)
url: www.mariefred.se

Eating Out:
The three main areas for decent eating, lunch or dinner, are Norrmalm, Gamla Stan and Södermalm. It is most expensive to eat in the old town (Gamla Stan), but set lunch deals make even that affordable. Drinking in bars is expensive (everybody knows), though less so in Stockholm. For self-catering, the Hötorgshallen in Hötorget is a cheap and varied indoor market, awash with small cafés and ethnic snacks.

Nightlife:
There is plenty to keep you busy at night in Stockholm but the drawback is again the price. Wednesday night is, beside the weekend, an active time with usually plenty going on and queues at the more popular places. At specifically live-music-venues you will pay an entrance fee of about 70kr. Popular venues in summertime are Kungsträdgarden and Skansen, where there is always something going on.

Bars and Cafes:
Cafées move out if possible in the summer. If you don't like to sit on the sidewalk it is possible to find a place in a garden or a park, Stockholm has plenty of open space.