Why Stockholm should be your first city break of 2019

If the reality of being back at work after the festive break is getting you down, why not plan your next city break and escape to Stockholm, which really is a smorgasbord of delights.

Go now

The Swedish capital (visitstockholm.com) is an appealing place even in winter, and has been restored to full cultural output as of October – when the Nationalmuseum (1 on the map below; nationalmuseum.se), its temple of fine art, reopened after a five-year restoration. Flights are plentiful, including Scandinavian Airlines (flysas.com) from Edinburgh, Heathrow, Manchester and Birmingham. 

Stay here

A glorious 1912 dame of a retreat, where Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman used to stay, the Radisson Collection Hotel, Strand Stockholm (2) (telegraph.co.uk/tt-strandstockholm) offers doubles from £140, room only. The At Six (3), a boutique hotel on Brunkebergstorg square in Norrmalm serves up doubles for £102, room only (telegraph.co.uk/tt-atsixstockholm). 

Walk here

Gamla Stan (“The Old Town”) is the most famous of the 14 islands on which Stockholm sits. The Kungliga Slottet (4) (Royal Palace) in its north corner is still the home of the Swedish monarch. You can wander the courtyards for free, but must pay for the staterooms (160kr/£14; kungligaslotten.se). Exit to the south-west and you pass the Storkyrkan (5), the 13th-century red-brick bastion that stands as the city’s Lutheran cathedral (svenskakyrkan.se; 60kr/£5.25). Immediately to the south on Stortorget, the Nobel Museum (6) (nobelcenter.se; 120kr/£10.50) salutes the writers, scientists and pacifists who have won Scandinavia’s humanist accolades since 1901.

Shop here

Sodermalm has some of the city’s best shops. The pedestrianised “high street” Gotgatan offers music store Hellstone (7) (hellstonemusic.se), and Designtorget (8) (designtorget.se), an arcade of chic clothes outlets and coffee shops.

See this

Nationalmuseum entry is free. The Moderna Museet (9) (modernamuseet.se; free), adjacent on Skeppsholmen island, keeps things more contemporary, with work by Picasso, Dali and Warhol.

Try this

Abba: The Museum (10) (abbathemuseum.com; 250kr/£22), on Djurgarden, charts the legendary pop band’s story.

Drink here

The Strand Hotel (2) bar pours a “Greta Garbo” cocktail (aquavit and peach; 156kr/£14).

Eat here

Oaxen Slip (11) (oaxen.com) on Djurgarden deals in modern Swedish fare – like deep-fried pork belly with pickled turnip (215kr/£19). Fotografiska museum (12) on Sodermalm (125kr/£11; fotografiska.com) has an in-house restaurant which revels in healthy dishes such as beetroot linguine with goat cheese for 135kr (£12).

Off the map

A three-mile stroll east of Gamla Stan, the Kaknastornet TV tower was once the tallest building in the Nordic countries. The tower is currently closed due to a problem with the sprinkler system. There is no update on when it will reopen, but should do in the near future. The lift to its viewing deck (70kr/£6; kaknastornet.se) normally delivers you to an epic view.