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Stockholm County (Stockholms län) is a county of Sweden which includes its capital, Stockholm and municipalities surrounding it. It is both the country's most populous region and the most densely populated one. Far from homogenous, it includes dense urban areas as well as large expanses of forests and a sparsely inhabited archipelago of over 30,000 islands. Stockholm dominates the area and it is fair to say that all of the municipalities within the county are Stockholm's satellites and suburbs to some extent, although other cities with a distant identity do exist there, notably Sweden's oldest city Sigtuna, the port of Nynäshamn or the industrial hub of Södertälje.

Destinations

Map of the Stockholm county with municipality borders and the city of Stockholm highlighted

The county has 26 municipalities, but not all of them are of equal interest to tourists. For easier orientation, we describe them by grouping them into seven destination articles:

Stockholm (municipalities of Stockholm, Solna, Sundbyberg, Lidingo and the town of Nacka in the namesake municipality) Includes information on Stockholm proper and the municipalities immediately adjacent, which can be considered to be seamlessly integrated with Stockholm city

Ekerö The only Swedish municipality with two UNESCO World Heritage sites

Stockholm Archipelago (Many larger and smaller islands belonging to different municipalities, including Värmdö and Vaxholm. The island of Boo and the seaside resort of Saltsjöbaden in the Nacka municipality are also covered here) Contains 30,000 islands spread across multiple municipalities

Södertörn (Botkyrka, Hanninge, Huddinge, Nynäshamn, Salem and Tyresö) The peninsula south of Stockholm, with lush forests, a long coastline and the port of Nynäshamn

Södertälje (This guide covers the municipalities of Södertälje and Nykvarn) A city and municipality in the southeast of the county, mostly known as an industrial centre

Norrort (Danderyd, Järfälla, Sigtuna, Sollentuna, Täby, Upplands-Bro, Upplands Väsby and Vallentuna) Includes those municipalities farther out north of Stockholm that cannot be claimed to be parts of the Stockholm city itself, like the ancient city of Sigtuna

Norrtälje The northernmost municipality in the county and the most expansive in terms of area, as well as the most sparsely inhabited. It offers a long coastline, many bodies of water surrounded by forests and unspoiled nature and is therefore popular with tourists in the summer.

Drottningholm in Ekerö is just one example that proves that it is worth to get out of Stockholm and explore other municipalities of the county

Understand

Stockholm county was established in 1714, not long after the whole county system was created in 1683. The actual city of Stockholm was separate from it until 1968, when it joined the county and both became a single administrative unit, with Stockholm itself now being one of the 26 municipalities of the county.

Get in

Stockholm County is very much centered around Stockholm, and with few exceptions you will need to arrive via the city to any destination within the county. The focal point of the transportation system of both the Stockholm city and County is the Stockholms Centralstation, also abbreviated as Stockholm C or Centralen. It is the main station for both long-distance, regional and local trains, the expansive Stockholm metro system (whose adjacent station is called T-Centralen) and for the local and long-range buses (which stop at the adjacent Cityterminalen).

With two large international airports within the county, finding a plane connection should not be a problem

By plane

Stockholm county includes two major airports with scheduled passenger traffic:

• Stockholm Arlanda, in the Sigtuna municipality, which is the country's largest airport by far in terms of passenger traffic and the number of international and intercontinental connections. It has a railway station served by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik's local trains (pendeltåg), which can take you to all over the county (and even up to Uppsala County) either directly or with a transfer. There is also an express direct connection to Stockholm's central railway station called Arlanda Express, as well as bus connections locally within Sigtuna, to Uppsala and to Stockholm.
• Stockholm Bromma is Stockholm's older airport, still within the city borders, which is now served mostly by domestic connections within Sweden.

There are two other airports serving Stockholm, which are actually in neighbouring counties:

• Stockholm Skavsta
• Stockholm Västerås

By rail

The only train station in Stockholm served by long-distance domestic and international trains is the Centralstation, where you can change to local trains, the metro or a local bus further on to your destination. Some long-distance trains also call at Södertälje Syd and Flemingsberg

By boat

Baltic sea ferries with passenger and vehicular (car and truck) capacities connect Stockholm with Helsinki, Turku, Riga and Tallinn. A ferry from Gdańsk arrives in Nynäshamn, a port in the south of Södertörn.

Norrtälje's rural seclusion provides a counterbalance to the hustle and bustle of Stockholm

By road

Stockholm is served by three major motorways of the European motorway system:

• E4, which traverses the country from north to south, passes through Stockholm by way of the city's ringroad. South of Stockholm, it goes across the country to its west coast, terminating in Helsingborg (where you can branch out further south to Malmö and Copenhagen), passing by Nyköping, Linköping and Jönköping. In Jönköping, you can branch out to Göteborg. North of Stockholm, the E4 follows the Baltic Sea coast to major Norrland seaside cities like Umeå, Luleå and Skellefteå
• E18, which starts out in northern Stockholm and goes north of the lake Mälaren through Västerås, Örebro and Karlstad to the Norwegian border and then on to Oslo
• E20, which goes south from Stockholm via Södertälje, and then, south of lake Mälaren, it goes west to Göteborg. In Göteborg, it turns south along the North Sea coast to Malmö.

Do note that entering Stockholm by car with Swedish number plates incurs a congestion charge.

Sigtuna, described in our guide to Norrort, is actually older than Stockholm itself

Get around

The whole county is served by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik AB (Greater Stockholm Local Transit Company), which provides many different modes of transportation under a common ticketing and fare scheme. This includes, light rail/trams in Stockholm, two systems of local railway (Stockholm metro and local trains), a comprehensive network of bus lines. There are also regular ferries between the islands which are operated by independent companies - some are under the same SL fare scheme, and others are not, requiring separate tickets.

The Stockholm archipelago (Sandhamn pictured) gets even more picturesque in the wintry months

See

Stockholm is obviously packed with an amazing array of sights and attractions as you would expect of a historic European capital and a large modern global city at the same time. But this does not mean that you should not get out of the city proper and admire both the rich natural features and the unexpected wealth of opportunities to explore, experience and learn.

• The Stockholm Archipelago is both a tranquil refuge and home to quite a few historic monuments and museums scattered across the islands - just getting there over the water provides for some spectacular sights
• Sigtuna in Norrort is Sweden's oldest continually existing city and holds many artefacts thereof
• Tumba and Huddinge in Södertörn have museums devoted to their natural heritage

There is plenty of water to enjoy in all kinds of ways, like here in Sandviken in Södertälje

Do

There is plenty to do in the Stockholm County. The city of Stockholm contains many sports and entertainment venues including the humongous Globen and Friends Arena, and there is always something major happening to be experienced live. The county has a very long coastline and includes vast expanses of water, which lends itself to all kinds of activities, from water-related sports to simply sunbathing or picincking on one of the many sea- and lakeshores. Surprisingly for localities easily reachable by commuter railway, you do not have to get far out of Stockholm either to observe wildlife up close and engage in a Nordic photo safari.

Eat

There isn't much in the way of a particular cuisine of Stockholm County, but you will of course be able to enjoy the general Swedish favourites and specialties. Due to the region's diverse ethnic makeup, you may also take advantage of the wide range of non-Swedish cuisines represented throughout the County, from kebab and falafel stands to high-end specialty restaurants.

Drink

Stockholm city obviously has the liveliest nightlife, and given the great public transportation connections, the inhabitants of other municipalities tend to go there to party and enjoy evenings out as well.

Sleep

Given the well-developed network of metro and commuter railways, as well as the distribution of major businesses and venues throughout the country, you are not limited to Stockholm itself in your search for accommodation. Stockholm itself tends to be quite expensive actually, especially if you are looking for a higher standard and larger rooms. Therefore, you may want to look for a better deal in one of the other municipalities - provided you can figure out good connections from the place you stay to where you want to get.