Home > Getaways > Travel > 5 stunning islands to visit near Stockholm
Cradled by a stunning archipelago between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea, the Swedish capital has beautifully preserved this cluster of 30,000 islands, islets and reefs of which 150 are inhabited. Our top five below.
More than just a tiny port (crowded on fine days) and pine forest (much quieter, with beaches), the ‘capital’ of the archipelago is postcard worthy with its pastel-coloured wooden houses, cobbled streets and fortress turned museum chronicling the archipelago’s defensive role. The best way to soak it all up? A tour of the island (10 km) by foot takes about four hours.
This island is a local favourite thanks to the much-cherished Gustavsberg porcelain factory (est. 1825). Today the town is home to a centre celebrating the art of ceramics with a museum, factory outlet, ceramicists and coffee shops. The founder of the world-famous baby carrier brand BabyBjörn opened an art and design foundation, Artipelag, on the island.
Fancy a dip? Grinda is where you want to be, an island popular with Stockholmers for its sandy beaches and rocky creeks. It was actually the site of Stockholm’s first seaside resort, in the 1940s, as you’ll see from the various wooden chalets available to hire, some with private saunas. Swedish lifestyle at its best.
TV show The Sandhamn Murders put the island on the map, although the place still feels timeless, or at least has that end of season feel, like when the Isle of Wight is left back to the locals after a lively summer of regattas. The scent of eternal Sweden lingers over the red houses on one coast and the wild beaches on the other.
Not just the wildest, also the largest inhabited island, the sunniest (it’s the most southern) and one of the most unspoilt. Three good reasons to come include the chance to venture out on foot (there’s a footpath hugging the northern coast, 15km or five hours for a round trip), by kayak or by bicycle, weaving past or between beaches lapping with crystal-clear water on one side, rocky plateaus on the other and panoramic views of the Baltic Sea everywhere you look.
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