Travel Guide: Stockholm / City of Islands

Escape the heat by going north

This summer, record-breaking temperatures have been plaguing southern Europe. People have been advised not to leave their homes during the hottest hours. When interviewed by journalists, people arriving to Scandinavia (from Italy and Spain) in July talked about the relief they felt when feeling the fresh air and moderate temperature.

This is why today’s newsletter is a guide to Stockholm.

Sweden is one of the largest countries in Europe. Growing up in southern Sweden, in what today is called “the greater Copenhagen area”, Stockholm was more or less just a distant, northern place I knew little about. Today, it’s my home. Its geographical location might appear odd, far away from Europe’s financial area (Germany) or its political centre (Belgium), and also in the other end of the continent from holiday destinations like Italy and Greece. But from a historical viewpoint, the location makes perfect sense. Southern Sweden was for hundreds of years part of Denmark, while Finland – today an in…