Cycle Tours Around Stockholm

After your arrival in Stockholm, take some time for a first tour of the town. The town hall with its striking corner tower is an example of Swedish national romanticism. Of particular significance is the parallel existence of architecture and water. Inside, you'll find not only the offices, conference rooms and halls typical of a town hall. In the Blue Room, for example, there is a great banquet held every year for the Nobel Prize winners. Wander through the narrow streets of the historic quarter in Gamla Stan on the island of Stadsholmen. In the next few days, discover one of the largest and best preserved medieval cities in Europe! In the evening there's a personal tourist information event and if you've booked bikes, they will be provided then.

First you'll be cycling along the Mälaren, Sweden's third largest lake, to Lovön island. This is where the royal Drottningholm Castle is – also known as the Swedish Versailles. It is the Royal Family's private residence – the castle in Stockholm is merely the official residence. With such a majestic start to the today, why not continue in the same vein and visit Stockholm Castle in the afternoon? With 600 rooms, it is one of Europe's biggest palaces. It is home to many different museums, the treasury and armoury and every day in front of the palace you can see the changing of the guards. By the way, the original castle was destroyed in 1697 by a fire. No-one died in the fire. But as the fire became uncontained, the decision was taken to through all valuables out of the windows to save them from the flames. In the process, a heavy bible landed on someone's head – and they died.

Of course, you mustn't miss a visit by bike to the Archipelago close to Stockholm! Skär or Skerries are usually flat, rocky little islands, that came into being during the Ice Age and depleted by the ice. Today, you'll find groups of several hundred islands before the mainland like a kind of garden. The Swedish expression skärgård  literally means skerry garden. By bike you pedal to Vaxholm, a small town and yet the capital on the archipelago. There is a fort from the 16th century you can visit. The actual highlight here, though, is the countryside. You'll see many small islands, a lot of water and the typical Falu red houses – it can't get more Swedish than that!

Today you're going to be cycling to the Baltic Coast! Your destination is the resort of Saltsjöbaden which means salt sea resort when translated. The countryside is the focus today – as your route takes you through a large nature reserve with lots of lakes. Did you know that there are almost 100,000 lakes in Sweden? That's 245 more lakes than IKEA shops worldwide! Back in Stockholm you should make sure you plan a visit to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa is the only boat that remains intact from the 17th century. At 69 metres in length and many carved figures for decoration it is a wonderfully impressive Swedish warship and a magnificent sight to behold. 95% of the boat is original! Very close to the Vasa Museum are the Astrid Lindgren and ABBA museums! Both museums tell the history of these extremely popular Swedish personalities.

On the Djurgården peninsula one of Stockholm's most visited attractions awaits you: Gröna Lund – Sweden's oldest amusement park. The history of the park is very romantic: opened in 1883, another park was opened in 1924 and the competition for visitors intensified. While the parents were always in competition with each other, their children fell in love. They kept their relationship secret and didn't marry until after the parents had died. Both parks were united and today, Gröna Lund is one of Sweden's biggest amusement parks.

You cycle round the island, which is part of the gigantic Ekoparken. The ecopark is Stockholm's green lung and the first national park to be founded in a town worldwide. It is 27 km² and a wonderful mixture of countryside and culture. You'll see herons, red deer and foxes – right in the middle of the capital!

On the cycle tours around Stockholm in the last few days, you've become acquainted with some of Sweden's unique scenery. One of the highlights was certainly the archipelago. We hope that this capital, surrounded by water, with its many green places to retreat to, has charmed you too! We are sure that you will remember this holiday for a long time to come.