Note: as a result of input from Christina Juhlin I am updating this information as of 21-July-2003.

Introduction

The contents of this guide results from my experiences living and working in the Stockholm area from January until the end of June in 1998. Given the nature of such a guide, changes will invariably occur rapidly so much of the information may change over time. During my stay in Stockholm, the exchange rate of dollars to krona varied between SEK 7.4 - 8 to the dollar. This makes the dollar expensive to Swedes, but even given the favorable exchange rate, Sweden in general and Stockholm in particular rank among the more expensive places I have visited. Without further ado, let's rock.

Your arrival in Sweden

If you arrive from the US, or most other places by plane, you will enter Sweden through Arlanda Airport. Once you get off the plane you will proceed directly to the passport area. The immigration officer will take your passport, perhaps ask a question or two and stamp it. Proceed from immigration control to baggage claim. Once you get your bags, walk through customs. In my experience, the customs area has never presented any problem since no official has ever shown his or her presence. Now I'm not going to advocate anybody exceed the allotted liquor import limit but I will tell you now that hard liquor is very expensive in Sweden, and one has to stand in long queues to even buy at greatly inflated prices. (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink). {Update, as of about a couple of years ago, some of the Systembolaget's locations have become self-service -- July 2003}

Getting to town

Once through customs you have a choice of ways to get to town. If you know somebody in Stockholm you can have them pick you up and drop you at whatever destination you desire. If you choose the cheap route, take the bus for SEK 75 from just outside Terminal 5 to City Terminalen. For the expensive route, take a cab for SEK 435. If you choose the taxi route, make sure that you get the price agreement up front. If you choose the bus route, you can take a cab to your final destination, or if your final destination is close to a T-bana stop, you can take the T-bana for a maximum of SEK 30. That still gives you a final cost of SEK 105 as opposed to SEK 435....every savings may count.

Getting basic information

There are several ways to get information but some of the first things you'll want to explore are maps and general information. For this purpose, no general, free booklet serves better than Stockholm This Week. The name is a misnomer because each one covers a month. The booklet covers a large variety of things to do, shopping directions, some maps, T-bana and Pendeltåg route maps, lists of museums, their charges and opening hours and a day by day list of events. You can pick a copy up at the airport information counter as you exit from customs, or get one at the hotel reservation kiosk in T Centralen (central train station) or stop by Sverige Huset (Sweden House) at Hamngatan 27.

Another source of information is the Stockholm Information Service webpage. Click here for more.

Last modified 21-July-2003.