Hello after years I’ve finally booked my trip to Scandinavia, the only issue is due to miles and availability we end in Stockholm Thursday -Monday morning Midsummer weekend. Is this really bad? Will most things in the city be closed? I known Skansen has festivities. Is this our best bet for what to do during Midsummer or are there better options in or near Stockholm? Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
7155 posts
What does the rest of the trip look like? It's not really the best time to visit Stockholm, many restaurants and museums will be closed on midsummer eve and midsummer day, although far from all. Skansen is not a bad place if you want to take part in the celebrations, although it's usually a time when people leave the cities and celebrate in more rural areas.
Posted by
Gothenburg, Scandinavia
91 posts
Well done! You have the perfect opportunity to enjoy the capital by having it to yourselves. Just imagine the Old Town without crowds (almost). You will experience it at its most magical and light-imbued. This is the time for a slow languorous pick-nick in the City Hall Park, dipping your toes in the bay from the Venetian steps, or settle in the lovely Djurgården meadows. Take bus 403 to the terminal stop Östervägen (19 min), alt. bus 401 to Hellasgården, for the Källtorpssjön nature reserve trails by the jetty, and swim in the lake. Take Saltsjöbanan to the seaside beach at Erstaviken. Look up Årsta Havsbad to see if you would like to swim at this seaside Lord of the Rings panorama. Like a child of nature. And the water is always clean. Enjoy the Scandinavian summer light!
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for the responses, Badger and Cherryplanter! The original plan was to do Stockholm to Copenhagen and the NiN Oslo to Bergen in two weeks, but now we are flying into Heathrow and leaving from Stockholm so we need to cut some things. But I guess that means we have options.
I would still like to see Norway so we could do Bergen to Oslo>train to Stockholm or Oslo to Bergen>fly to Stockholm. Either of these would give us more time in Stockholm so we could get there midweek, spend time in Stockholm, and then either travel outside of the city for the weekend or do as Cherryplanter suggested and enjoy the quiet city.
The other option would be to cut Norway and spend time in Copenhagen, travel through Smaland, and end in Stockholm. The problem here would be we still end up in Stockholm during Midsummer.
I’ve read a tremendous amount of posts here and really value your opinion. So any advice on which portion to cut and how to maximize being in Stockholm or the surrounding area for Midsummer would be greatly appreciated! We are an American family of 4 with two teenage sons if that matters. Thank you so much.