Making the Most of Your Holidays and Breaks While Studying in Stockholm

Studying in Stockholm offers the perfect opportunity to explore the Swedish capital, its culture, and nearby destinations. With our guide on making the most of your holidays and breaks, you'll create unforgettable experiences and immerse yourself in Swedish life.

Get to Know Stockholm

Spend your breaks discovering Stockholm's numerous attractions, museums, and neighborhoods. Visit Gamla Stan, the oldest part of Stockholm dating back to the 13th century, which boasts cobblestone streets and colorful buildings.

Explore Djurgården, a lush island home to popular museums like the Vasa Museum, which showcases the world's only preserved 17th-century ship, and Skansen, the world's first open-air museum.

Wander through the trendy district of Södermalm, known for its vibrant art scene and vintage shops, and don't miss Östermalm, an upscale neighborhood with high-end shopping and dining options.

Embrace the Great Outdoors

Stockholm offers a variety of parks and green spaces such as Djurgården, a former royal hunting ground that now hosts museums, gardens, and walking trails. Hagaparken, an English-style park featuring the historic Haga Palace, and Kungsträdgården, a popular urban park that hosts events and concerts.

The city is surrounded by water, with 14 islands connected by 57 bridges, making kayaking, canoeing, or taking a boat tour excellent ways to experience Stockholm from a different perspective. Stockholm's water is so clean that you can even swim in the city center!

Plan Weekend Getaways

Take advantage of your breaks by visiting nearby destinations like Uppsala, Sweden's fourth-largest city, known for its historic cathedral and prestigious Uppsala University, founded in 1477.

Explore Sigtuna, Sweden's oldest town, with its well-preserved medieval architecture, rune stones, and charming wooden houses.

Visit Vaxholm, an idyllic coastal town often called the "gateway" to the Stockholm Archipelago, and Mariefred, a picturesque town on Lake Mälaren, home to the 16th-century Gripsholm Castle.

Explore the Stockholm Archipelago

The Stockholm Archipelago comprises over 30,000 islands, offering endless opportunities for day trips or weekend getaways.

Grinda, just a 90-minute boat ride from Stockholm, is a popular island with beautiful walking trails, sandy beaches, and waterfront restaurants. Sandhamn, a lively sailing destination, is famous for its vibrant atmosphere, historic buildings, and picturesque harbor. Svartsö, a peaceful island with lush forests, offers charming accommodations and delicious local food at its renowned restaurant, Svartsö Krog.

Attend Events and Festivals

Stockholm hosts various events and festivals throughout the year, such as the Stockholm Culture Festival, a free, city-wide event that attracts around 1.5 million visitors annually with music, theater, and art performances.

Stockholm Pride, the largest Pride event in Scandinavia, celebrates LGBTQ+ culture and rights with a week-long festival and colorful parade. The Nobel Prize ceremony, held every December, honors laureates in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace, followed by the prestigious Nobel Banquet.

Plan your holidays and breaks around these events to maximize your exposure to Swedish culture and truly gain a worldly experience while studying in Stockholm.

Sample Swedish Cuisine

Sample traditional Swedish dishes like gravlax, a Nordic dish of raw salmon cured in salt, sugar, and dill, köttbullar (meatballs), typically served with lingonberry sauce and mashed potatoes, and kanelbullar (cinnamon buns), a popular Swedish pastry.

Visit food markets like Östermalms Saluhall, a historic market hall dating back to 1888, offering gourmet food from around 20 vendors, and Söderhallarna, a modern market hall with a wide variety of fresh produce, seafood, and international delicacies.

Learn the Language

Use your breaks to learn some Swedish, which can help you better integrate into Swedish society and open up more opportunities. Attend language classes at institutions like Folkuniversitetet, which offers courses for various levels, or practice with locals through language exchange programs like Tandem, which connects you with native speakers.

Meet New People

Join clubs or organizations related to your interests to make new friends, both local and international. Universities typically have numerous clubs, ranging from sports to arts and culture. This will not only help you build a support network but also provide you with insider tips and connections for your time in Stockholm.

Plan International Trips

Being in Stockholm gives you easy access to other European cities. Take advantage of budget airlines like Ryanair and train connections to visit nearby countries like Denmark, just a 5-hour train ride away, Norway, with a 6-hour train journey to Oslo, Finland, accessible via a ferry ride to Helsinki, and the Baltic states, with Riga, Latvia, reachable in about an hour by plane.

Embrace Swedish Culture

Engage in Swedish customs and celebrations like Midsummer, the most important holiday in Sweden, where locals gather to dance around a maypole, sing traditional songs, and feast on herring and aquavit. Lucia, a celebration of light on December 13, features processions of singers dressed in white gowns and candles, and crayfish parties (kräftskivor) in August, where Swedes gather to enjoy crayfish, drink schnapps, and sing drinking songs.

Participating in these traditions will give you a deeper understanding of Swedish culture and help you feel more integrated in your local community.

Conclusion

By combining local exploration, regional travel, and immersing yourself in Swedish culture and traditions, you'll create unforgettable memories during your holidays and breaks while studying in Stockholm.

To make your experience even better, consider using Hemavi to find your accommodation. Hemavi is a matchmaking service for roommates and shared accommodation, with a high focus on safety and compatibility between roommates. By ensuring a comfortable and secure living situation, you can focus on making the most of your study abroad experience.

Hemavi's service can connect you with like-minded individuals, expanding your social circle and providing opportunities to explore Stockholm and beyond with your new roommates. So, not only will Hemavi help you find a suitable place to live, but it also contributes to enhancing your overall experience in Stockholm.