The Stockholm archipelago is the largest in Sweden and one of the largest in the entire Baltic Sea. During the days I spent in the Swedish capital I decided to take a boat tour to discover a tiny part of it.
These tours start at the Strandvagen docks, overlooking Nybroviken Creek
– Ticket price: 280 crowns (or free with the Stockholm Pass). You can buy it at the ticket office of the “Ferry Terminal” at the beginning of Strandvagen, near the Berzelii Park (next to it there is also another terminal, but if you are wrong, they will show you where to go);
– Departure pier: Strandvagen (docking 15 or 16, you will be told which one when you buy the ticket);
– Duration: 2 and a half hours (in official information 2.5 / 3). I admit having found “too much” the last half hour of the tour, turns out to be the “longest” part because you are returning to port, the explanations are increasingly rare, and many things have already been seen on the way (unless you have changed sides of the ship);
– Timetable: 10.30am and 1.30pm (approximately). I advise you to arrive well in advance, immediately make a ticket at the ticket office and immediately get in line because this tour is very crowded and you may even not be able to get up and have to wait for the next departure (and under the hot lunchtime sun I don’t
recommend it).
–Explanations: both in English and Swedish (I have noticed that in some cases are only in English). In some cases, they give you some unique information (for example, indicate which is the island that marks the “border of the Swedish jurisdiction on that side of the sea”). Inside the boat, we took, there was a small restaurant and for those who don’t want to eat there are outdoor seats and I recommend you sit on those that are on the right side of the boat because from there you can see almost all the places you need while listening to the explanation.
During the tour, which proceeds without stops, we pass “close” to 14 of the many islands that make up the entire archipelago: all more or less densely inhabited, some are very small, and during the winter some are practically impossible to reach the city. Many aspects struck me and the same number that “simply intrigued me”. A lot of times I asked myself (having a lot of fun) how the owners of many of these houses can bring the car home, given the position in which their home it is located! I noticed the alternation of modern buildings and buildings “typical of the past” and above all the strong presence of glass and open spaces: I found myself reflecting on how all this makes understand the desire of the inhabitants of the Nordic countries to capture every shining
moment! There are many sailing boats that, during a sunny day, cross each other during the tour and as many motorboats can be seen moored waiting for the owners or while speeding through the waters of the archipelago at full speed. But nature always remains the undisputed queen of this immense archipelago and all the little islands that are part of it and to see it flow in front of her eyes in all its magnificence I think correctly makes the idea of how indeed we can define it “the queen of archipelago”! Apart from various disquisitions, I certainly recommend you take into consideration the idea of doing this tour: even if it’s slightly too long, it will give you a better view of the city and its surroundings.
Then let me know if you have done it: I am also curious to discover your idea of the Stockholm archipelago!