Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan is the part of Stockholm almost every visit heads for, and the part where it's easiest to get lost. This page walks you through the old town in a sensible order, tells you what's genuinely worth seeing, and answers the questions that come up most often on the spot.

Stockholm's historic heart

Gamla Stan is Stockholm's old town, sitting on its own island between Norrmalm and Södermalm. Founded around 1252, it's one of Europe's best-preserved medieval town centres, a maze of narrow, cobbled lanes, colourful gabled houses and small squares, with the Royal Palace towering above it all.

The island is small enough to cross in half an hour and dense enough to keep you for hours. Two lengthwise streets give it structure: Västerlånggatan, the main shopping street in the west, and the quieter Österlånggatan in the east. Between them runs Prästgatan, a narrow historic lane first recorded in 1586 and named after the clergy of Storkyrkan and the German Church who lived there. If you want to escape the crowds, simply move one lane inwards.

A walking route in two to three hours

This route works as a single walk and takes in the main sights in an order that avoids doubling back. It starts at Gamla stan metro station at the southern end of the island:

1. Järntorget, the second large square of the old town, a quiet start right behind the station.
2. Mårten Trotzigs gränd, the narrowest lane in the city, a few steps further north. The stepped lane climbs from Västerlånggatan up to Prästgatan.
3. On along Prästgatan heading north, passing the Tyska kyrkan, the German Church with its distinctive spire.
4. Stortorget, Stockholm's oldest square, with the colourful gabled houses and the Nobel Prize Museum. Worth a longer pause.
5. Storkyrkan, the cathedral right next door, home to the 3.5-metre wooden sculpture "Saint George and the Dragon" from 1489.
6. The Royal Palace on Slottsbacken. If you want to catch the changing of the guard, time the walk so that you're in the outer courtyard at 12:15 (13:15 on Sundays and public holidays).
7. To finish, cross the bridge to Riddarholmen for the Riddarholmen Church, burial church of the Swedish kings, and the island's western shore, looking across the Riddarfjärden to the City Hall.

The route on its own takes two to three hours. Add a visit inside the palace and you're looking at half a day.

The colourful houses, and where they actually are

The motif on every second Stockholm postcard has a fairly precise address: the narrow, brightly painted gabled houses stand on the west side of Stortorget, and the best known of them is the red Schantzska huset at Stortorget 20. The square is freely accessible, costs nothing and is almost empty early in the morning. Everything else about it, from the Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520 to the Christmas market, is on our page about Stortorget.

The old town's second photo motif is Mårten Trotzigs gränd: 90 centimetres at its narrowest, a stepped lane between Prästgatan and Västerlånggatan just short of Järntorget. Coming from Västerlånggatan, the entrance is easy to miss.

What else there is to see

Just off the route are further stops you can add depending on your interests:

• Riddarhuset, the House of Nobility, one of the finest Baroque buildings in the city.
• Finska kyrkan opposite the palace, whose courtyard, open at all times, holds the Järnpojken, Sweden's smallest public monument at around 15 centimetres.
• Nobel Prize Museum at Stortorget, in the old stock exchange building.
• Medeltidsmuseet, the medieval museum under the Norrbro, has been permanently closed since November 2023 and currently exists only as the seasonal Medeltidsboden pop-up. It's only worth planning for during that season.

For food and coffee there's a simple rule: the further from Västerlånggatan, the better the ratio of price to quality. The classics on Stortorget are an institution all the same, more on that in our guide to Food and Drink in Stockholm.

Crowds, best time and practicalities

As lovely as Gamla Stan is, its main artery Västerlånggatan gets busy with visitors. In high season it's crowded between late morning and early afternoon, while the side lanes and Österlånggatan stay quiet even then. The old town is at its most atmospheric early in the morning and in the evening, once the shops have closed and the cobblestones are empty.

The nearest Tunnelbana station is Gamla stan (green and red lines, one stop south of T-Centralen); from the city centre you can also walk across the bridges, and from Södermalm via Slussen. The island is largely car-free, and sturdy shoes are a good idea on the cobbles. How to get around the rest of the city is covered in our guide to Public Transport in Stockholm.

It's a charming place to stay, but a lively one; for a quieter base, Norrmalm or Södermalm next door are good alternatives, more on that under Where to Stay in Stockholm.