Step into Stockholm's historic old town full of charm and stories.
Wandering Gamla Stan feels like walking through a 17th-century painting. Cobblestone alleys twist past ochre-yellow merchant houses, the Royal Palace dominates the skyline, and rune-stone fragments are quite literally built into church walls. Start at Stortorget — the main square with the painted houses on every Stockholm postcard — and lose yourself in the side lanes: Mårten Trotzigs gränd is the city's narrowest alley at 90 cm wide, and Brända Tomten is a tiny triangular square with one giant chestnut tree that locals come to read under. Watch the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace (12:15 daily, 13:15 Sundays), step into Storkyrkan to see St. George and the Dragon, and end at Järntorget for a hot chocolate at Chokladkoppen.
