3 nights in Stockholm

9th March 2015

By Kitty Burrows

A couple of weeks ago my boyfriend and I decided to take our annual city break to Stockholm, the city of islands.

The full party was you can imagine, fully prepped for the trip, confident that between us we shared the knowledge of meatballs, Ikea and blonde haired beauties as a good idea of what to expect when we landed in the capital of Scandinavia.

Normally opting for accommodation Airbnb style, this time around I decided that we’d take a more conventional approach, staying at Design Hotel Miss Clara by Nobis, in the Norrmalm district of the city, a little worried that we wouldn’t want to be walking too far around town in sub-zero temperatures.

The hotel itself was a perfect example of minimal, chic, Nordic design. The architect responsible for renovating this old girl’s school was clearly sensitive to the building’s history – the hotel is finished with parquet flooring, natural leather and glass decanter light fittings.

The hotel bar at Miss Clara was no exception to its stylishness, serving a great menu of cocktails and bar snacks, with a cool crowd of Stockholmers gathering there each night.

Interior-Miss-Clara-Hotel-Est-Magazine
Room-2-Miss-Clara-Hotel-Est-Magazine
Room-Miss-Clara-Hotel-Est-Magazine

 Images via Est Magazine

F O R   F O O D

After learning that the Swedish have their own word for a coffee and cake break, we recommend that ‘Fika’ is taken as much as possible over the duration of your stay in Stockholm.

The standard of food and service in the city was faultless, however be prepared to pay considerably more for dinner and drinks in general.

– In the Norrmalm/Ostermalm district we dined at Speceriet, a cosy and relaxed restaurant with a small but thoughtful menu, located next to sister restaurant Gastrologik. Head to Niklas for a friendly barman and chilled out drinks afterwards

– We also stumbled across K25 Food Hall – extremely busy on a Friday night, but a great variety of different cuisines under one roof, keep your eyes peeled for somewhere to sit

F O R   A R T

– Walk across to the Moderna Museet on Skeppsholmen island some to see to big name artists, such as Matisse, Picasso and Warhol. We’d also recommend the buffet-style restaurant here for lunch and some great views. Take a pit-stop at the espresso bar for some fika between exhibitions

F O R   H I S T O R Y

The Vasa Museum – a salvaged 16th century warship that sank just outside of Stockholm on her maiden voyage, found and restored in the 60’s

– The Gamla Stan ‘old town’ is another island not to be missed for its picturesque cobbled streets and a selfie opportunity, here you can go into tourist mode and visit the Royal Palace and the Nobel Museum

– Wanting to see a view of the city from the water, we took a boat ride around the islands and quay, sitting on reindeer hides and eating pea soup – fun in winter, but this would no doubt be even more glorious in the summer months

 To see the full collection of Design Hotels, head to their website: www.designhotels.com