Colourful Stockholm in July

According to my pre-trip research the average July temperature in Stockholm was 18C. Well, that would be fine if it stayed dry, I thought. As it turned out we stuck sunshine gold the 4 days my friend and I were in Stockholm in the first week in July. We had blue sky and warm sunshine all the time we were there! Hence it was impossible not to go overboard when taking photos, as can be seen here.

With the passage of time the name of the places became a little hazy, but thanks to the photos and the diary I kept, the wonderful sights that I saw remain as vivid as ever.

Where to stay?

When planning where to stay there were two factors to consider.

(1) the 4* hotels in Gamla Stan (the beautiful old town) that we were interested in were rather expensive.

Solution came in the form of Best Western Plus Time Hotel. It was not in the city centre but it was still conveniently located with good bus connections. And it cost 1/3 less than hotels in the same category in Gamla Stan.

The nearest metro station Odenplan was quite a way from the hotel but No 2 bus to Sofia took us to the heart of the old city and No 2 to Norrhull took us back to the hotel. The stops were just 500 metres or so from the hotel! Sorted!

(2) our return flight to London leaves at 7.30, which means we had to be at the airport by at least 6.00.

Solution: we moved to Clarion Airport Hotel for the last night in Stockholm! Its location inside SkyCity just 5 minutes’ walk to Terminal 5 was ideal for a stress-free early start for our 7.30 flight. What’s more we could go to Terminal 5 the evening before to check in and print out our boarding passes and luggage tags!

It was a pleasure to stay at Clarion Airport Hotel! For a hotel right inside the airport it’s surprisingly quiet! The best part is that breakfast with ample choices was served from 5.00 a.m! The hotel was not cheap, but it was great value for money to avoid early morning stress!!

Transport and sightseeing costs

The homework that I did when planning the trip paid off! On arrival my friend and I each bought a 48-hour Stockholm pass 72-hour travel card. return tickets for Arlanda Express – the total cost of SEK 1325 each. That took care of all our sightseeing and transport costs, except for the visit to the Town hall Tower (SEK 25).

With the Stockholm Pass we took a hop-on hop off boat trip, a hop-on hop-off bus ride with all the interesting places on its route , a boat trip to Drottningholm Palace and the “under the bridges cruise” which took 2 hours and 15 minutes

Gamla Stan Harbour

Under a deep blue sky decorated with fluffy clouds and in bright sunshine it was such a pleasure walking around Gamla Stan Harbour which begged to have its photos taken, and I happily obliged on different days!!

Stockholm palace

The City Hall Tower

We booked a slot to go up to the tower at 14. 30 (SEK 25) when the lighting under a bright blue sky was just about perfect! The lift took us half way up and we walked up the steps to the top. The views from the top of the tower were spectacular under Real poster stuff!!

The City Hall and Garden

The Tower was not particularly attractive in itself, but the views from the City Hall garden rivalled those from the top of the tower!

Parliament of Stockholm

Drottningholm Palace

We were just in time for the last trip to Drottningholm Palace at 15.00 for the crossing 50 minutes! As we had to catch the last ferry back at 17.00. It was still a pleasure to have a walk around the grounds in bright sunshine with few people around.