Solo in Stockholm: my secret addresses

Where to stay, shop and eat, discovered as a lone female traveller on foot

I’ve just returned from a city break for one in Stockholm. I’d hoped to get this guide to you last week, but there’s something about solo travel that puts me into a completely different headspace; one in which I don’t want to rush things for the sake of it. Plus, a few days being selfish - doing exactly what you want, when you want - takes longer to wear off, for me, than a break with my husband or friends. It does something to my brain… you lean on your own instincts more, focus and allow yourself space (which is what you were probably seeking by travelling solo in the first place.) All of which is to say, sorry this is a few days late.

I’ve wanted to visit Stockholm for as long as I can remember, but a female friend telling me about her recent solo trip there finally encouraged me to book a flight. To date, I’ve had almost physical reactions to Nordic cities: Copenhagen was the first place I immediately felt as though I could live - a feeling that hasn’t worn off, two years later. Helsinki, which I visited last winter, seduced me hard with its sauna culture, outdoor heated pools, liquorice chocolate, coffee (they drink more per capita than any other country in the world) and cold. There’s something about surrendering to temperatures of minus 10 degrees, not to mention lowering your swimsuit-clad body into an ice hole, that embeds itself deep within you.

So, Stockholm. The first thing to say is just how many solo female travellers I encountered there - not that we really spoke, I just noticed them hanging out in restaurants, bars and bastus (the Swedish word for sauna). There was a sense of standing shoulder-to-shoulder that I’ve not had in other cities; as though I was part of something, rather than an outlier. And yes, I did take all that from the odd exchanged smile and knowing look. As I said, there was plenty of time to focus inwards.

Of course, there are a million Stockholm guides out there, but I followed my nose more than I might usually (you may want to do the same) and, thanks to that, unearthed some things I really think are worth seeing. They’re places I would happily return to again and again - no affiliate links here - and I hope you might visit them, too.