On water
With Stockholm being built on 14 islands, taking a boat sightseeing tour is a corking way of seeing its sights. There are various leisurely boat trips you can take from Stadshusbron, just outside Stadhuset (City Hall), or from Nybrokajen in the Östermalm district. These include the Historical Canal Tour, the Royal Palace Tour, Under the Bridges of Stockholm Tour and the Hop-on, Hop-off boat. On the various guided boat trips, the sights you get to see include; the City Hall, the Royal Palace, the Vasa Museum building, the island of Djurgården and Gamla Stan (Old Town).
In the air
SkyView is a brand-new attraction that takes you to the top of Globen (the Ericsson Globe), in the Södermalm area of Stockholm. A spherical glass gondola attached to rails on the superstructure of this ‘golf-ball’ like building takes you the 130 metres up the building. The trip takes 20 minutes and there are two gondolas side-by-side, each carrying 16 people. You get views of the entire city as well as some of the Stockholm archipelago. See if you can spot your hotel!
Stockholm is one of the few cities in Europe where you can fly over the city centre in a hot air balloon. Between May and September you see hundreds of colourful hot air balloons over the city. Early morning or evening are the best times to take what will be an unforgettable hot air balloon trip over gorgeous Stockholm.
Street level
Stockholm is a ‘walking city’ because it is compact and just about anything you’d want to see is within walking distance. Talking about things to see, do not miss the incredible Vasa Museum at Djurgården that houses the Vasa Ship that sank in Stockholm in 1628 on her maiden voyage. While you’re there you may want to see the Nordiska Museet, or Skansen, the world’s largest open-air museum. Back in the city, visit Stadshuset (City Hall) for the views from its tower and don’t miss the ‘Blå hallen’ or ‘Gylenne salen’ rooms.
If you’re into the Millennium Trilogy of books by Stieg Larsson then look no further than the ‘Millennium tour’, run by the Stockholm City Museum on Södermalm. The 90-minute walking tour is in English and French and its highlights include Götgatan, where the trilogy’s main character Mikael Blomkvist’s office is, as well as ‘Kvarnen’ - a real-life drinking hall frequented by Lisbeth Salander in the books.