Need help touring stockholm

Hi.. I have been planning our port days for our baltic cruise. Booked tours for st. Petesburg and wamemuende but my husband just told me he wants no more tours and the least amount of museums possible.. :confused:I don't want to end up lost and just wandering around in Stockholm. Anyone have some suggestions on where we could go and how to get there? We can walk for days..He has no problem with that but he likes more walking around sightseeing than big crowds and museums. I would appreciate some help..

You might consider boarding a water taxi and seeing the city first from the viewpoint of the harbor. You'll get an overview of this city that is built on the water. For merely exploring on foot, the old town with its narrow lanes and cobbled streets is worth a couple of hours. There are numerous cafes and great photo opportunities.

Stockholm has a lot of green space and parks. You can just enjoy strolling through the parks like the Swedes do on a sunny day. Buy some picnic fixings at a little market and have lunch with a harbor or park view. Stockholm is a beautiful city and a relaxing day exploring on foot would be a lovely way to experience it.

We were just in Stockholm last week and decided not to book a tour for the city. Everything we wanted to see was within walking distance from where the ship's shuttle dropped us off. We took a 10-15 minute walk to the Vasa Museum (not a art museum so bear with me). The Vasa was an ill-fated 17th century warship that they dredged from the sea floor. Very cool. Then we walked back past the shuttle drop off area and went into the Old Town -- Gamla Stan. We did a self-guided walking tour that was in Rick Steve's "Scandinavia" book. We copied the pages on the tour so we wouldn't have to carry the book...

Great ideas! Should we take the green bus from cruise or just figure it out when we arrive? I already purchased rick's book :)

Hi.. I have been planning our port days for our baltic cruise. Booked tours for st. Petesburg and wamemuende but my husband just told me he wants no more tours and the least amount of museums possible.. :confused:I don't want to end up lost and just wandering around in Stockholm. Anyone have some suggestions on where we could go and how to get there? We can walk for days..He has no problem with that but he likes more walking around sightseeing than big crowds and museums. I would appreciate some help..

Let me tell you a quick story. Myself and my DW are NOT museum people. Yes, we have been to many, but like your husband, we would rather tour and see things than visit a 'stuffy' museum. Our plan, on visiting Stockholm, was to hit the Vasa Museum ASAP, take a few pix and move on to Gamla Stan. That plan went right out the window when we entered this amazing place. We were told to watch the movie and after we did, we were hooked on this fascinating place. We joined a tour, we wandered on our own, and we ended up spending about 2 hours here and have some of the best memories of our entire cruise. The Vasa Museum is just a fascinating place, unlike anything else you will ever see, and I can almost guarantee your husband will be fascinated with it. The entire story of the Vasa, how it was found, raised and how they built the museum around this ship.

Do NOT miss this place. It is the MUST SEE thing in Stockholm.

Cheers

Len

Vasa Museum is fantastic and just a little bit up from it is the Abba Museum, which I loved, though I realise it is a personal taste.

Good to know. Thanks! What is the best way to get to the museum?

Good to know. Thanks! What is the best way to get to the museum?

The Abba Museum? Follow the tram tracks away from the Vasa stop - it's the next stop, but a pleasant short walk - about 400-500 metres at most.

When I was there, there was a small group of children and young adults with Downs Syndrome also visiting. One of the attractions is a 'room' where you can put yourself into the 'Dancing Queen' video. Well there they all were, dancing away, knowing all the words, giving it loads. It was very humbling.

It's very much a 'fan only' thing, but I liked it.

Ok. Got it, so another question. Do we need to exchange money before we arrive for the metro? Can we walk from the port to the metro station? I also hear there is a pass that includes transportation and some museum entrance... What is our best bet?

You can get a 24 hour Stockholm card that covers transport and 80 museums - it's 525SEK. How good value it is depends on what you want to do and how many places you might visit in the day.

I'm also not sure it covers the Abba Museum, but someone may correct me on that. They don't take cash in the Abba Museum, only credit cards.

When you say port, is it out in Frihamnen or Gamla Stan? If it's Frihamnen you get the number 1 bus towards the city, but if your ship offers a shuttle, I would take that and it will bring you to ATMs and the Metro. I don't think there are ATMs in Frihamnen port itself, though there probably are nearby. I just don't know where.

If it's Gamla Stan you are docking in, yes you can walk everywhere.

Stockholm can definitely be done on your own and by walking. As mentioned above, depending on where your ship docks, you may need some public transport to get to the Vasa and/or old town (Gamla Stan). But once in the central part of the city, it is a great place to walk from site to site. I did it and enjoyed it a great deal. Just research what you'd like to see and plan your day and route on a map.

Hi.. I have been planning our port days for our baltic cruise. Booked tours for st. Petesburg and wamemuende but my husband just told me he wants no more tours and the least amount of museums possible.. :confused:I don't want to end up lost and just wandering around in Stockholm. Anyone have some suggestions on where we could go and how to get there? We can walk for days..He has no problem with that but he likes more walking around sightseeing than big crowds and museums. I would appreciate some help..

You have lots of advice in this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1017275 It's a long thread but I recommend you to read the entire thread.

Good to know. Thanks! What is the best way to get to the museum?

Are you referring to the Vasa Museum or the other one?. Y ou need some sort of transportation to get you to Vasa, depending on where your ship docks, as there are a few places for Stockholm, you can use public bus, or the HoHo bus or boat. If you want to go to Vasa, try and make that your first stop. It opens at 8:30AM now, and they only allow a certain number of people in at a time, so there could be lines to get in. If you make this your first stop, (as most do) they you will have no trouble getting in. Be sure to watch the movie, it sets the entire atmosphere for Vasa.

Cheers

Len

I have one last question. I am thinking of purchasing the hop on and off boat tickets so we can get to the vasa first , tour around and then walk around town but our ship arrives at 8 and all buses and boats say they start at 10... So if you are an early bird is this a good choice? Should we just go straight to vasa on another form of transportation but still do the boat after? Sorry about all the questions.. We will be traveling for a long period of time and I have soooo much to plan :confused:

I have one last question. I am thinking of purchasing the hop on and off boat tickets so we can get to the vasa first , tour around and then walk around town but our ship arrives at 8 and all buses and boats say they start at 10... So if you are an early bird is this a good choice? Should we just go straight to vasa on another form of transportation but still do the boat after? Sorry about all the questions.. We will be traveling for a long period of time and I have soooo much to plan :confused:

According to some reports, there are HoHo boats to meet you when your ship docks and they will go straight to Vasa.

This applies to Stadsgårdskajen berth S167 only.

If your ship docks elsewhere you will have to use another method of transportation to get to Vasa.

The HoHo boats runs clockwise which means that it will take maybe 30-40 minutes from Vasa to Old Town with the HoHo boats.

If you want to go by bus from Vasa, you can buy tickets at the kiosk next to Djurgårdsbron, walk across Djurgårdsbron and

go with bus #76 towards Norra Hammarbyhamnen to Slottsbacken (Royal Palace).

We docked at S167 and the first boat (the green boat company) did indeed go straight to Vasa and then to the old town (the lower stop, not the Royal Palace stop). Then, until 10:00, they ran one of their boats as a shuttle just back and forth from Vasa to the cruise dock, while their other boats did the clockwise loop.

I thought the hoho boat was a fantastic way to do Stockholm, and getting the first shuttle direct to Vasa was a nice treat so I am glad we got off the ship early. I understand they may not do it every day. We got there at opening time, and had the museum essentially to ourselves (maybe 40 or 50 were there) for the first 30 minutes. We left around 9:30, and there was a good sized line at the ticket booths.

The green and red boats were pretty competitive. We took green on a tip, and it seemed to offer more frequent boats but I wasn't paying too close attention. We ended our day with a couple of quick rides at the amusement park because it is the last stop before the cruise berth, and the boat ticket gave us free admission, another nice surprise. (You still pay for the rides though.)