Exploring Gamla Stan, Stockholm

I get to experience the beautiful scenery of Gamla Stan, Stockholm, every day on my way to work. These streets can take hours of walking - you never get bored!

I find the scent of a cinnamon bun and coffee or waffles so tempting every time I walk the pebble streets of Gamla Stan, Stockholm. And I walk the streets of Gamla Stan every day as I am quite fortunate of working in the middle of it. Gamla Stan is not a big place but there is still so much to see, and I have to say that it is so good to get to experience it now when there are no crowds or flocks of people everywhere. Because of the pandemic, there are not many tourists in town.

Cobblestone streets full of history

The whole of Gamla Stan is full of pedestrian friendly beautiful cobblestone streets and picturesque colorful houses from the Middle Ages. The atmosphere during the day is wonderful, but a good evening stroll shows another side of the small island surrounded by rivers.

One of the most Instagrammed spots for sure is Stortorget that can be seen on the picture above. It is the central point of whole Gamla Stan and according to visitstockholm.com , the street called 'Köpmansgatan' that runs from this square is the oldest one in the whole Gamla Stan, and has been mentioned already in some documents from the 14th century. Wild!

Close by - I mean, everything is close by when you are in Gamla Stan - you can also find the narrowest alley of the old town. The street called Mårten Trotzigs Gränd is only 90 cm wide from it's narrowest spot, and the walls surrounding are filled with colorful graffiti. I have actually found quite a bunch of smaller and bigger cool graffiti paintings around Stockholm. Perhaps I'll write more about those later!

Cafés and restaurants

Even with the pandemic, there are many cafeterias and restaurants that are open with limited opening times. Though I work in the middle of Gamla Stan, I haven't visited any of them since I try to avoid closed public places to an extend. At work we have gone to some bakeries on Friday's and fetched some delicious pastries for us to enjoy on our coffee break. Also now that the spring is approaching, I tend to take a walk in the middle of the day and just enjoy the sun and warmth.

As I mentioned before, even though it is early spring and there are not many tourists in town, the whole Gamla Stan has a delicious scent when you walk along the streets. Waffles, pastries, food, coffee... This Fika and Wine -cafe especially always seems so inviting but I have not yet tested it out. We have bought some delicious cinnamon buns from the bakery side of Grillska huset that can be found from Stortorget.

I think it might be quite good for me not to be able to go to all of these small wonderful cafe's in Gamla Stan since I don't think there would be a limit on how many cinnamon buns one can eat in a week - so it is better to keep it on one and think of it as a gift for myself for having done great work during the week.

It is especially hard when the office is upstairs of one the highest reviewed cafes and restaurants in Gamla Stan. Under Kastanjen is actually located under a huge chestnut tree. I need to wait until spring properly begins and the tree starts to get some leaves - it must look quite astonishing.

When it's summer, warm and Gamla Stan is filled with people, I can imagine that the atmosphere will be even better. I'll continue my adventures in here at least for 1,5 months still, so I'll let you know all the other nooks and corners I can find. If you have any tips for me to see or to do in Gamla Stan, leave a comment or send me a message!