Tullportsgatan in Norrtälje, 2015

Norrtälje, archaic spelling Norrtelje, is a town in northern Stockholm County, and the gateway to the northern parts of Stockholm archipelago. The ports of Kapellskär and Grisslehamn have international ferry connections.

Norrtälje municipality, Norrtälje kommun, makes up much of the traditional Roslagen region, together with Öregrund and Tierp in Uppsala County. The municipality has 57,000 permanent residents, and tens of thousands of summer guests.

The islands south of Norrtälje, such as Blidö and Furusund, are seen as part of Stockholm archipelago.

Settlements and islands

• Norrtälje itself is a town of 17,000 citizens.
• Rimbo is a suburban inland town.
• Hallstavik is an industrial town, dominated by a paper mill.
• Grisslehamn is a seaside village, with the ferry to Eckerö, Åland.
• Arholma is an island known for its coastal fortresses.

Get in

Kapellskär.

By car

The E18 from Stockholm or by ferry (see below) from Finland or Estonia.

By bus

See also: Public transport in Stockholm County

Norrtälje is served by SL, the public transportation carrier of Stockholm County. See that article for details about ticketing.

From Stockholm by bus 676 from Tekniska Högskolan (served by the Stockholm Metro) and from Uppsala central station bus 677 connect to Norrtälje's bus station. Line 631 and 631X connect the centre and the port of Kapellskär, line 637 the centre and Grisslehamn. Note that tickets for the buses must be bought before boarding. Travel time from Stockholm centre to Kapellskär (including transfer) is 1h 45min.

By boat

Finland and Estonia are one time zone ahead of Sweden.

The 1 Port of Kapellskär in the east is served by frequent ferry services.

• Mariehamn, Åland, with three services a day by Viking Line,
• Naantali, mainland Finland (some via Långnäs, Åland), by Finnlines, and
• Paldiski, Estonia by DFDS Seaways.

Naantali and Paldiski lines do not accept pedestrians; an accompanying vehicle is necessary to board these lines.

Also the port in 2 Grisslehamn in the north has a connection to Åland.

• Eckerö, Åland, by Eckerölinjen, two to three times daily (€5 for an adult, €10 for a car), two hours from Eckerö to Grisslehamn in Norrtälje. You can get from Mariehamn to Eckerö by the bus line 1 (€4.40).

See

Boats waiting to leave Grisslehamn for Eckerö, Åland, at the yearly Postrodden competition in memory of the Great Post Route.

• 1 Pythagoras Industrial Museum, Verkstadsgatan 6, ☏ +46 176 100-49. A hot bulb engine factory museum. 
• 2 Skebobruk Museum (by road 76, 30 km north from Norrtälje). Summer season only; mostly F–Su 13:00–16:00. 30 kr, children up to 15 free. 
• 3 Hallstavik, a factory town
• 4 Rimbo
• 5 Väddö, an island in the Baltic Sea with Grisslehamn
• 6 Albert Engström-museet, Albert Engströms Väg 11, Grisslehamn. A museum for Swedish satirist and illustrator Albert Engström. (updated Oct 2019)
• 7 Batteri Arholma. A coastal fortress built for the Cold War. Decommissioned in the early 2000s and converted to a museum.  
• 8 Storholmen (north of Norrtälje). A reconstructed Viking village situated on the shore of lake Erken. A small nature reserve of Norr Malma to the south, including a large graveyard from the Iron Age. The whole region – known as Roslagen – is steeped in history. In the Viking Age there was important trade with the East. There is a nice 18th-century inn and restaurant nearby and a child-friendly lakeside beach.  

Do

Norrtälje has deep forests and secluded beaches within comfortable distance from Stockholm and Uppsala, and is a great destination for outdoor life, such as fishing and hiking.

Cruise the 1 Väddö canal, from near Grisslehamn to near Kapellskär.

Eat

Mid-range

• 1 Parken Bar, Societetsparken. An outdoor restaurant open from June to August. 
• 2 s/s Norrtelje, Hamnpromenaden 2 (in the opposite of Societetsparken), ☏ +46 176 191 40, info@ssnorrtelje.se. Greek restaurant operating on an old steamship. (updated Jun 2022)

Sleep

Splurge

1 Rånäs slott. An estate with history back to the 14 century. The palace was built in the 1840s. 

Go next

• Åland

Routes through Norrtälje

Oslo ← Stockholm ←

W  E

→ → Naantali → Turku