Student blogs

One of my favorite parts of living in Stockholm is getting to explore all the different neighbourhoods! They each have their own vibe; filled with different restaurants, cafes, bars, stores, libraries and plenty of other third spaces. In this blog, I will talk about some of the neighborhoods that I have favorite spots in. 

Before moving to Sweden, I lived in a much smaller city, Utrecht. There, the options of exploring were much more limited (two weeks in and I had already traversed the whole city centre). The city’s Oudegraacht was the main area where 70% of all the commerce was, the rest was just residential. So when I moved to Stockholm and realised there were multiple neighborhoods with different types of vintage stores, cafes, bookstores and libraries, I was really excited. Here are some of my favorite places in the inner city neighbourhoods: 

Vasastan

Vasastan is located right by KI, and it’s an area I have spent a lot of time in. From its pastel-colored tall buildings to its small cafes, it’s full of charm and with lots of things to do. Two of my favorite places here include Lilebros and Cafe Pascal! Lilebros is a small bakery that sells fresh Swedish pastries. Some of my favourites include the kanebulle and saffronbulle! Cafe pascal is a cafe that sells coffee, brunch food and pastries! So a lot of variety here. The vibes are super nice and I love going with friends after morning lectures at KI.

Södermalm

Södermalm, or “Söder” as Swedes say, is an area of Stockholm known for its alternative vibe, its vintage stores and cool cafes. Here I have a few staples: I love going to second hand shopping here since there are so many option to pick from, such as Stadmission, where you can find good pieces at a low-ish price (although I do mostly do window shopping). In terms of pastries, I love Sponge cookies! There are different flavours of cookies, and each one is so good (although my order is always the same). I love going there with friends for a treat during the weekend. Last but not least, I like going to the English Bookstore, as I love reading and they have a good variety of English books. I have soooo many other favourites but for the purpose of this blog I’ll keep it short.

Östermalm

Östermalm is one of the more expensive neighbourhoods of Stockholm, so I’m not there too often, except when I go to one of my favorite restaurants, Matcha Ya. I often go there with friends, order a strawberry matcha and occasionally treat myself to a miso ramen on the side. Another area I love going to (mainly during the summer) is the Bergianska trädgården! Most of this botanical garden can be accessed for free and it’s lovely to walk around and see the different exhibits (especially when there is sun)! 

Kungsholmen

Lastly we have Kungsholmen! (Which I have to include because I live in this area). It’s more residential than the other neighborhoods, and has more of a calm vibe going on. However, I love running around the island when it’s warmer out, which has allowed to stumble upon many cool places. In regards to coffee, I love Cafe Komet, they have amazing pastries and great coffee. And the location is great, but of course I’m biased. During the summer, I even have a favorite swim spot located on the southern side of the island! The water is always cold, but on very warm days, the cold can feel refreshing.

There are countless third spaces in Stockholm waiting to be tried out! Take some time to explore the different neighbourhoods and the gems that they hold, you won’t be dissapointed.