Scandinavia for Easter

The Royal Castle and the Old Town - a walk from the Central Station over Norrbro bridge. To the right is the old Government House. The Stockholm's Middle Age Museum; it is newly built and exhibits a lot about medieval Stockholm.
The Old Town (Gamla Stan) is exactly what it sounds like, a very old town. We start our walk through the Old Town at Lejonbacken in front of the Royal Castle. Start walking to the left of the castle.
On Slottsbacken is the museum Livrustkammaren and on this street we find also the Royal Mint. The Old Town has many very narrow alleys. Now we walk down one of them, Källargränd, to the market Stortorget. The famous restaurant Stortorgskällaren is located here. You can have lunch in deep cellar caves dating back to around 1500. We now pass the cathedral, Storkyrkan. Inside the church you can see the wooden sculpture St. Göran och Draket (St George and the Dragon). Many medieval streets lead out from this marketplace—Köpmangatan, Svartmangatan, Skomakargatan and Lilla Solgränd.

When you go through the Old Town, observe its streetlights. They are replicas of the old models. We continue our walk south on Skomakargatan. Along the way, you will see doorways carved and sculpted from oak trees.

We now enter Tyska Brinken and Tyska Kyrkan (the German Church). Next you come to Västerlånggatan. It is absolutely full of small and large shops on both sides of the street. When Västerlånggatan ends in the south, you find Järntorget market. The name dates back to 1400, when iron (järn) was exported from this area.

Now you walk along Österlånggatan north until you come to Köpmantorget. The statue depicts the same scene as the one in Storkyrkan, St George and the dragon. Any of the narrow alleys to the right go down to Skeppsbron. Go down any of them to see a big white ship; that is the hostel Af Chapman where you can hire a room. There are many wonderful restaurants in the Old Town. You could try for instance Restaurant Diana on Brunnsgatan with its wonderful atmosphere.

If you now walk just a little north you will be back at the Royal Castle again, and our tour of the Old Town is finished.

Södermalm and Mariaberget We now take the subway (red line) to Mariatorget. When you come up through the exit to Mariatorget you will see Maria Magdalena church. The churchyard is a calm oasis in the city. You will see Hornsgatan now. It is long and goes between Slussen and Hornstull. You will see a variety of different shops. Now Hornsgatan and go up through Blecktornsgränd until we reach Bastugatan. It is like entering an ancient world. You will see small houses with gardens and a panoramic view of Stockholm that is breathtaking.
To see Stockholm from up here you must walk along to Ivar Los Park on Mariaberget. There is a walkway and benches to sit on while enjoying this spectacular viewpoint. Looking straight across the water you see the main Town Hall with its three crowns on top (Stockholms stadshus). A little to the right you see the Old Town with its alleys. Far away to the right you see Skansen and Gröna Lund. The water in front of you is Lake Mälaren, but at Slussen it changes from sweet water to the salt water of the Baltic Sea.

One very good thing to know is that all street numbers in Stockholm start at Slussen. So wherever you are in town, all streets are numbered away from Slussen.

Take a walk up to Mariahissen. You can have a cup of coffee here before going down the lift to Ryssgården. Located here is Stockholm's Stadsmuseum. Mariahissen is one of two lifts that take you up and down to Södermalm. The other one is Katarinahissen located on the other side of Slussen. Another time we will go there and look at the wonderful view.

The subway takes you back to Central Station anytime to finish your walk.