Stockholm: a midwinter night’s dream

The Swedish capital does not fear the winter. On the contrary: from 13 December, it lights it up with thousands of lamps, illuminations, candles and paths of light. The darker months are a fantastic opportunity to discover another side of Stockholm, its islands and its emblematic sites.

In summer, Stockholm’s light is so pure that visitors return with eyes a little wider. Winter is a different story: in the run-up to Christmas, the sun only shines six hours a day upon the Swedish capital. And even those hours are rather understated, with a soft , low light. But fortunately, every 13 December, Lucia is celebrated by her personal retinue of teenagers, dressed in white and wearing a crown of flickering candles. These processions, the Luciatåg, have been celebrated in Sweden now for four centuries. Originally, the date of 13 December corresponded to the shortest day of the year in the ancient Julian calendar, established in Europe by the Romans. This special night was at that time thought to be haunted by evil spirits, which had to be kept at bay by banishing the dark with torches and lamps of all kinds.

Celebrate the light

Certainly, until mid-January, thousands of them will be shining in Stockholm. In churches, shops, houses, in the streets and in windows... Everywhere the night is pushed back with garlands, illuminations and light shows. During Stockholmsjul, in the Christmas holidays, around forty streets and squares in the capital are decorated with a million light bulbs in the most diverse shapes. You can see candlesticks, hearts and cherubs, but also moose, reindeer, bears... All together, this rivals the “festival of light” of the Nobel Week Lights, created by the Nobel Prize Museum. Each year the event invites artists, students and designers to think up new light installations, and the route of the “Skansen winter lights”. In the peaceful and green enclave of the island of Djurgården, this unmissable open-air museum offers a 1.5 km walking tour that revisits the highlights of the country’s history in lights.

Enjoying winter in the city

Unlike other grey and freezing winter cities, Stockholm projects another image: that of a capital whose inhabitants love winter and the joys that only this season can provide. Here, winter means ice rinks, skiing and saunas. Ice rinks are available in several places in the city, with Kungsträdgarden, one of its most iconic parks. That skiing is second on the list might surprise you.

Yes, in Stockholm, you really can go skiing… by metro. At the gates of the city centre, Hammarbybacken hill is transformed into a ski resort with the first snow, with a skiing area limited to four easy slopes, but with the advantage of being close to the capital. As for sauna, most of what you have probably heard is true: some Swedes really do like leaping straight from the heat of the sauna into icy water...

Visit the iconic landmarks

Along the way, you can visit the must-see tourist attractions of Stockholm. Starting with Gamla Stan, the old town. There is Stortorget square, which was for a long time the epicentre of the city, lined with colourful façades, and Västerlånggatan street, the beating heart of the neighbourhood. This is also where the royal palace stands, an immense rectilinear building where the royal family has resided since 1754, together with the Storkyrkan Cathedral. During this festive period, it resounds with concerts given in honour of Lucie. And let us not forget the Nobel Museum, which recalls that the inventor of dynamite and initiator of the prize that bears his name was born in the city. To the east, the island of Djurgården is home to the Vasa Museum. There we can discover the fate of this galleon, so heavy and poorly designed that it capsized a few minutes aft er being launched in 1628. It was finally recovered from beneath the waves and restored more than 300 years later, in 1961. North of Gamla Stan, the island Kungshomen is home to the town hall, with its tall square belfry illuminated at the end of the year. Finally, the Vasastan district offers the opportunity to visit the spectacular public library, designed in 1928 by one of Sweden’s greatest architects, Erik Gunnar Asplund.