Sweden itinerary, day by day

From Stockholm on its islands to Gothenburg and its archipelago, then north by night train to the aurora skies of Abisko: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: June to August (summer) and December to March (far north)

Stockholm · Photo Anton Ovcharov / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Sweden in 3 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 470 km

1Stockholm

Days 1-2

A capital spread across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic. Gamla Stan is the medieval core, and the Vasa Museum holds the warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gamla Stan and the Royal Palace, guided2h · from €18
The medieval lanes of the old town, then the Royal Palace, one of the largest in Europe still in use.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The Vasa Museum1h30 · from €17
A 17th-century warship raised from the harbour in 1961 and about 98% original, the best-preserved ship of its age anywhere.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Gamla Stan · Djurgården island · The City Hall, home of the Nobel banquet (from outside) · Södermalm

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: City Backpackers (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Skeppsholmen (€160 a night) · Luxury: Grand Hôtel Stockholm (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

ADAM ALBIN ↗ ★ 4.8 · 663 reviews · €€€€
Stockholms Gästabud ↗ ★ 4.7 · 6622 reviews · €€
DalaNisse ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1572 reviews · €€
GAMLA STAN HOF ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1448 reviews
Petit égo ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1169 reviews · €€€

Photo Hakan Tas / Pexels

🚆 Train · 3h · 470 km

2Gothenburg

Day 3

Sweden's second city and the largest port in the Nordic countries, with canals, the wooden houses of Haga, and an archipelago of car-free islands a tram and a ferry away.

🎟️ Worth booking

Archipelago ferry and a seafood lunchHalf day · from €30
Out to the southern archipelago by ferry, with prawns or shellfish for lunch on one of the islands.
Book on GetYourGuide →
LisebergFull day · from €45
The city's amusement park, open since 1923, with wooden and steel rollercoasters and, in winter, a large Christmas market.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Haga · The Botanical Garden · Avenyn · Feskekôrka, the fish church

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Slottsskogen Hostel (€38 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Pigalle (€150 a night) · Luxury: Upper House (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Dönerbanken ↗ ★ 4.9 · 727 reviews
Restaurang Carbon ↗ ★ 4.8 · 352 reviews
Bord 27 ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1710 reviews · €€
SK Mat & Människor ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1204 reviews · €€€€
Koka ↗ ★ 4.7 · 909 reviews · €€€€

Photo The Iop / Pexels

Sweden in 7 days

3 stops · 17 things to do · train & flight

1Stockholm

Days 1-3

A capital spread across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic. Gamla Stan is the medieval core, and the Vasa Museum holds the warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gamla Stan and the Royal Palace, guided2h · from €18
The medieval lanes of the old town, then the Royal Palace, one of the largest in Europe still in use.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The Vasa Museum1h30 · from €17
A 17th-century warship raised from the harbour in 1961 and about 98% original, the best-preserved ship of its age anywhere.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Gamla Stan · Djurgården island · The City Hall, home of the Nobel banquet (from outside) · Södermalm

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: City Backpackers (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Skeppsholmen (€160 a night) · Luxury: Grand Hôtel Stockholm (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Hakan Tas / Pexels

🚆 Train · 3h · 470 km

2Gothenburg

Days 4-5

Sweden's second city and the largest port in the Nordic countries, with canals, the wooden houses of Haga, and an archipelago of car-free islands a tram and a ferry away.

🎟️ Worth booking

Archipelago ferry and a seafood lunchHalf day · from €30
Out to the southern archipelago by ferry, with prawns or shellfish for lunch on one of the islands.
Book on GetYourGuide →
LisebergFull day · from €45
The city's amusement park, open since 1923, with wooden and steel rollercoasters and, in winter, a large Christmas market.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Haga · The Botanical Garden · Avenyn · Feskekôrka, the fish church

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Slottsskogen Hostel (€38 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Pigalle (€150 a night) · Luxury: Upper House (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo The Iop / Pexels

✈️ Flight + train · 1h45 · to Kiruna

3Abisko, in Lapland

Days 6-7

A village some 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, in one of the driest corners of Scandinavia, which is why its skies are so often clear for the northern lights.

🎟️ Worth booking

Northern lights hunt, guidedEvening · from €110
An evening out with a guide who follows the forecast and the gaps in the cloud. The aurora season runs from September to March.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Dog sledding or snowshoeingHalf day · from €130
Half a day on the snow-covered tundra, pulled by huskies or on your own two feet.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Abisko National Park · Frozen Lake Torneträsk · The midnight sun (summer)

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: STF Abisko Turiststation (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Abisko Mountain Lodge (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Brasserie Fjällköket ↗ ★ 4.7 · 285 reviews
STF Abisko Turiststation ↗ ★ 4.4 · 1778 reviews

Photo Mark Davis / Pexels

Sweden in 14 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · train & flight

1Stockholm

Days 1-4

A capital spread across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic. Gamla Stan is the medieval core, and the Vasa Museum holds the warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gamla Stan and the Royal Palace, guided2h · from €18
The medieval lanes of the old town, then the Royal Palace, one of the largest in Europe still in use.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The Vasa Museum1h30 · from €17
A 17th-century warship raised from the harbour in 1961 and about 98% original, the best-preserved ship of its age anywhere.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Gamla Stan · Djurgården island · The City Hall, home of the Nobel banquet (from outside) · Södermalm

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: City Backpackers (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Skeppsholmen (€160 a night) · Luxury: Grand Hôtel Stockholm (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Hakan Tas / Pexels

🚆 Train · 3h · 470 km

2Gothenburg

Days 5-7

Sweden's second city and the largest port in the Nordic countries, with canals, the wooden houses of Haga, and an archipelago of car-free islands a tram and a ferry away.

🎟️ Worth booking

Archipelago ferry and a seafood lunchHalf day · from €30
Out to the southern archipelago by ferry, with prawns or shellfish for lunch on one of the islands.
Book on GetYourGuide →
LisebergFull day · from €45
The city's amusement park, open since 1923, with wooden and steel rollercoasters and, in winter, a large Christmas market.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Haga · The Botanical Garden · Avenyn · Feskekôrka, the fish church

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Slottsskogen Hostel (€38 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Pigalle (€150 a night) · Luxury: Upper House (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo The Iop / Pexels

✈️ Flight + train · 1h45 · to Kiruna

3Abisko, in Lapland

Days 8-12

A village some 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, in one of the driest corners of Scandinavia, which is why its skies are so often clear for the northern lights.

🎟️ Worth booking

Northern lights hunt, guidedEvening · from €110
An evening out with a guide who follows the forecast and the gaps in the cloud. The aurora season runs from September to March.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Dog sledding or snowshoeingHalf day · from €130
Half a day on the snow-covered tundra, pulled by huskies or on your own two feet.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Abisko National Park · Frozen Lake Torneträsk · The midnight sun (summer)

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: STF Abisko Turiststation (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Abisko Mountain Lodge (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Brasserie Fjällköket ↗ ★ 4.7 · 285 reviews
STF Abisko Turiststation ↗ ★ 4.4 · 1778 reviews

Photo Mark Davis / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h35 · return

4Stockholm

Days 13-14

A capital spread across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic. Gamla Stan is the medieval core, and the Vasa Museum holds the warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gamla Stan and the Royal Palace, guided2h · from €18
The medieval lanes of the old town, then the Royal Palace, one of the largest in Europe still in use.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The Vasa Museum1h30 · from €17
A 17th-century warship raised from the harbour in 1961 and about 98% original, the best-preserved ship of its age anywhere.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Gamla Stan · Djurgården island · The City Hall, home of the Nobel banquet (from outside) · Södermalm

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: City Backpackers (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Skeppsholmen (€160 a night) · Luxury: Grand Hôtel Stockholm (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Hakan Tas / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Take this itinerary with you

The free printable Sweden guide: map, stops day by day, hotels by budget. Works offline.

📥 Get the free guide

Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Köttbullar: meatballs in cream sauce, with lingonberry jam and potatoes.
Gravlax and herring: salmon cured with dill, and herring pickled a dozen ways.
Smörgåsbord: the traditional buffet, cold dishes first, then the warm ones.
Kanelbulle: the cinnamon bun of fika, the coffee break Swedes take seriously.
Knäckebröd: crispbread, eaten with butter and cheese at breakfast.
Reindeer: smoked, or thinly sliced and sautéed, the meat of Lapland.

⚠️ What to avoid

Sweden is expensive and close to cashless: many places take cards only.
Book the aurora trips and your Lapland beds early: winter in Abisko fills up.
Keep your voice down on trains and buses: quiet is the norm.
The right of public access lets you walk and camp almost anywhere, as long as you leave no trace and keep away from homes.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Sweden guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Sweden, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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