Stockholm

[Kombuchagirl]

Fancy a weekend in Stockholm in October.
Love ABBA, being outdoors, cycling, hiking. If anyone's been and has any recommendations, would love to hear them!

Been several times, I lovely city break. Relaxing, pretty and easy to navigate. I've not done the ABBA museum but I'm sure it's excellent. The Vasa museum is excellent as is Skansen which is a sort of outdoor museum of life in Sweden of old, also have a small zoo, both of these are on the same island as Abba. The palace is worth visiting when you're on Gamla Stan.

Thanks @Bs0u416d, must be good if you've been several times!

Three times! Twice at Christmas and once early November. You'll have a lovely time.

It's great, loads to do, easy to navigate be aware it gets dark early.

Oh yes of course, forgot about that.

Following as it's on my list

I recommend one of the free walking tours early on your visit, to see important sightseeing bits. Beware of the weather, it can be cold, rainy and bit miserable in October. Try cinnamon/cardamon buns (skeppsbro bageri for views), eat lot of fish, and enjoy! Stockholm is lovely (even in October, sauna helps to warm up!).

We live there, there are lots of free walking tours, you can buy a gocity pass that covers boats and hop on and off buses, it also includes entry (once) for most museums, I think the only excluded one is the abba museum, your pass cost is dependent on how long its valid for, I think a two day pass is about £80.

Its really easy to get around, get the app on your phone for the metro, its easier than loading money on a physical pass.

Definitely take the metro; it's a destination in its own right. Plus the coffee and cake tradition (is that called fika?).

Great tips, thanks all. Is it possible to kayak there in October?

Yeah... but be aware it's likely to be quite cold in October compared to UK weather.

Ah yes, might be cold if we fell in whilst kayaking!

And also just out kayaking with the wind factor

I live near Stockholm and my 23yo DD came to stay last weekend, so it was a packed agenda. We got lucky with the weather so outdoor activities may be a bit risky in October
Stockholm is a beautiful city and compact and the "tourist" bits are all close together. So here's what we did...
Took the tram from outside Central Station to Djurgården. Bought ABBA tickets in advance then walked around the corner to the Viking Museum. They have guided talks in English at specific times. The guides are dressed in period clothing and are trained archeologists. If you are British/Irish then expect some banter! We managed to fit in a sit down lunch which is a bit pricey but fika is not that expensive.
ABBA museum is great (helps if you are a fan) and there are a few interactive elements to keep younger children entertained but it surprised me how large it is.
Next door is Gröna Lund, the amusement park and across the road is Skansen. A lot of my colleagues with young families have annual tickets, which goes to show how popular it is. Authentic Swedish farm buildings reconstructed on a slightly hilly site. There is an aquarium and enclosures for moose, bears, lynx and Icelandic horses.
The Vasa Museum (Sweden's Mary Rose) is also within walking distance.
Tram back and got off midway to walk over to the Palace and then through Gamla Stan, which is very pretty and very touristy. Lots of tat and Dala horses!
Sunday we did not want to walk too much, so stayed within the city centre and visited The Paradox Museum, full of optical illusions.
My DD and her BF had hoped to store their luggage in a locker at the train station but we found all lockers at the train and bus station were taken, so I used the Bounce app to find a shop to drop their bags.
Then it was a walk to the Arlanda Express and a quick train journey to Terminal 5.
I hope you have a wonderful time. We did!

We took a hop on hop off water- bus

it stops at all the main sites, and is enjoyable in its own right

Oh wow, all sounds wonderful! I love Abba so the museum would be top of my list. Thanks for the replies!

This is a really lovely art gallery in a beautiful setting out on the archipelago and they do a great smorgasbord lunch.

https://artipelag.se/en/

We loved the gold room at the History Museum. It’s fantastic. The Vasa is early 17th century and way more intact than the Mary Rose. This is one of the top things to see in Sweden. I wouldn’t kayak in cold weather over the Vasa!