Where to stay in Stockholm: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

Norrmalm is downtown Stockholm, and it is all business. This is where you'll find Central Station and the Arlanda Express, the long pedestrian shopping street of Drottninggatan, the big department stores and T-Centralen, where every metro line meets. It is not the prettiest part of town, but it is the most convenient by a distance.

Hotels are large, modern and well run. Several are steps from the airport train; one, facing the water near the Waterfront Congress Centre, has a terrace with city views; another is a design-led five-star with a serious art collection's worth of style and a terrace bar. Gamla Stan is a ten-minute stroll across the bridge, so you give up very little by sleeping here.

Gamla Stan is where Stockholm began, and it looks the part. Lanes barely wide enough for two people wind between tall houses painted saffron and rust, opening on to Stortorget, the old main square, and the vast bulk of the Royal Palace. By day it throngs with visitors. Early in the morning and late at night it belongs to you.

Hotels here are small and full of history. One occupies three 17th-century buildings, with some rooms looking over the water and others on to the alleys; another, on the waterfront, is 150 metres from the palace. Expect low beams, uneven floors and stairs. Light packers and romantics will love it; anyone with heavy luggage should know that taxis cannot reach every door.

On the small peninsula of Blasieholmen, Stockholm puts on its finest show. The quayside faces Gamla Stan and the Royal Palace across the water, white archipelago steamers line up along the front, and the Nationalmuseum sits at the tip. Kungsträdgården, the city’s favourite park for cherry blossom and people-watching, is a block inland.

This is where the city's legendary hotel has stood since 1874, with its classic veranda restaurant and smörgåsbord. Next door is a far more relaxed five-star that feels like a well-connected friend's apartment, and around Berzelii Park you'll find a sleek design hotel. Splurge here for a big occasion.

Östermalm is where the money lives. Broad, handsome avenues lead down to Strandvägen, a waterfront boulevard of Art Nouveau mansions, and the Östermalm food hall is a temple to herring, cheese and cinnamon buns. At the district’s western edge, Stureplan is the centre of the city’s nightlife: fine dining, cocktail bars and nightclubs with queues outside.

Hotels range from an elegant five-star close to the old town to boutique hotels with individually designed rooms in the thick of Stureplan's restaurants and bars. Further into the residential streets, a comfortable four-star sits in the exclusive heart of the district. The Vasa Museum, Skansen and the other Djurgården sights are a walk or a short tram ride away.

Södermalm, or Söder to its friends, is Stockholm's creative quarter. Once solidly working class, it is now the home of independent boutiques, vinyl shops, third-wave coffee and bars that fill up early. Walk the clifftop paths on its northern edge and the whole city, water and all, is laid out below you.

The hotels have more personality than most. One is in a restored 1780s building that used to be a brewery, with a quiet courtyard; another, near Maria Square, has individually decorated rooms and three bars. At Slussen, where the island meets the old town, a large hotel has views over the water to Gamla Stan, which is within walking distance.

North of the centre, Vasastan is the Stockholm that Stockholmers keep for themselves. Its grid of stately apartment blocks hides excellent bistros, bakeries and second-hand bookshops, and nobody is trying to sell you a Viking helmet. Vasaparken fills with picnickers in summer, and the handsome city library is a short walk away.

Hotels are good value for the location. There's a characterful inn with a garden and terrace, a hotel in two 19th-century buildings on Sveavägen close to Odenplan station, where trains run direct to Arlanda Airport, and a modern hotel on a quiet side street off Drottninggatan. You can walk to the centre in about 15 to 20 minutes.

Solna is a separate town a few minutes north of the centre, and it's worth a look if central prices make you wince. It's home to Sweden's national arena and the Mall of Scandinavia, and trains from Solna station reach the middle of Stockholm in eight minutes.

The hotels are modern and well equipped. The most unusual combines a working urban winery with a seasonal heated rooftop pool; another has a spa and an indoor pool. It's a smart pick for concerts and football, for drivers, and for anyone happy to trade a little atmosphere for a lot more room.