Luxury things to do in Stockholm
Frantzén, Ekstedt's open fire and Celeste, with Gamla stan and Södermalm by day.
This is Stockholm at its most serious: tasting-menu kitchens, wood-fire tasting menus, brasserie lunches that the whole city talks about, and nightcaps in rooms that still know how to pour a proper drink. It suits anyone who books restaurants the way others book flights, well in advance and with real intent.
Day 1: Sergels Torg to Frantzén
The day opens in Vasastan with coffee and a pastry, moves through a creative tasting-menu lunch and a long afternoon in Kungsträdgården, and ends at Frantzén.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
Kulturhuset
Stockholm's celebrated cultural house on Sergels Torg, galleries, exhibitions and a panoramic rooftop view of the city.
Map - 12:30 PM
ADAM ALBIN
Adam Dahlberg and Albin Wessman's creative tasting menu; sit at the counter and watch it built.
Map - 2:30 PM
Kungsträdgården
Kungsträdgården, Stockholm's most famous park, lined with cherry trees and statues, ideal for a post-lunch afternoon stroll.
Map - 7:30 PM
Frantzén
Björn Frantzén's townhouse: snacks in the top-floor lounge, then the kitchen counter for a Nordic-Japanese menu.
Map - 10:00 PM
Bar Abrovinsch
A small Kungsholmen bar with a European-leaning list of wines and cocktails; sit at the counter.
Map
Day 2: Östermalm and Ekstedt's fire
A morning in Sweden's Gold Room leads to a grand brasserie lunch at Riche, a walk through Humlegården, and dinner at Ekstedt where everything is cooked over open flame.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
Historiska museet
Historiska museet, Sweden's national history museum with a legendary Gold Room.
Map - 12:30 PM
- 2:30 PM
- 7:30 PM
Ekstedt
Everything cooked over birch fire, in a firepit or a wood oven, with no gas or electricity in the kitchen.
Map - 9:30 PM
Tudor Arms
Tudor Arms, a proper English pub for a nightcap close by, wrapping up before midnight.
Map
Day 3: Gamla Stan, then Celeste
Start in the medieval lanes of Gamla Stan, cross to Södermalm for the domed Katarina kyrka in the afternoon, and close the trip at Celeste.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
Gamla stan
Wander the medieval lanes, royal palace square, and cobblestone alleys, the heart of old Stockholm.
Map - 12:30 PM
Lilla Gästabud
Swedish classics in a Gamla Stan dining room; the right place for meatballs, herring and a cold beer.
Map - 2:30 PM
Katarina kyrka
Södermalm's yellow baroque church under a huge white dome, rebuilt after fires in 1723 and 1990; free to enter.
Map - 7:30 PM
Celeste
A modern tasting menu on Södermalm cooked in an open kitchen; let it run its full course.
Map - 9:30 PM
Riche Fenix
A Södermalm cocktail bar a short walk from dinner; classics made properly and a late kitchen.
Map
Where to stay
Ett Hem
Ett Hem is a converted Östermalm townhouse with just 12 rooms: the closest Stockholm gets to staying in a very well-funded private home, perfectly placed for Days 1 and 2.
Stockholm Stadshotell
Stockholm Stadshotell brings proper grand-hotel scale and a $$$$ price tag that matches the tone of the whole trip.
Make Stockholm your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- ABBA The Museum: weeks ahead
- Archipelago kayaking from Vaxholm: weeks ahead
- Bro Hof Slott Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Natural ice skating tours: weeks ahead
- Hotel Rival: weeks ahead
- Ett Hem: months ahead
Skip these
- The Nobel Prize Museum as a headline sight: small and priced like a major museum. Do City Hall instead.
- Västerlånggatan's restaurant row in Gamla Stan charges Old Town rents for tourist grade food.
- Unmetered rank taxis can legally charge several times the majors' rates; check the yellow comparison price label or use Taxi Stockholm, Taxi Kurir, Uber or Bolt.
- The ICEBAR is a timed, one drink novelty, not a Stockholm bar experience; the real bars are in Södermalm and Vasastan.
The full Stockholm travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around