Sweden · Stockholm County · Stockholm
Gamla Stan, Stockholm — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Gamla Stan is the old town of Stockholm, a district of ochre and rust-red houses packed onto the island of Stadsholmen between the bridges.
Find your area →
Where to stay in Gamla Stan
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Beds here come at a premium. The lanes around Stortorget and Köpmangatan hold small hotels in converted merchant houses, steps from the Royal Palace and the waterfront. You trade space for atmosphere.
Rooms are snug and the cobbles are quiet before the day-trippers arrive, and for more choice Södermalm sits one bridge south across Slussen.
Few places to stay in Gamla Stan — most visitors book in Södermalm nearby.
Things to do in Gamla Stan
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
7- Stockholms slott Heritage official residence of the Swedish monarch
- S/S Blidösund Heritage Swedish steamship built in 1911
- S/S Björkfjärden Heritage working life museum
- Nobelprismuseet museum about Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prize
- Livrustkammaren Swedish state historical museum with exhibits of Swedish military history
Show 2 more →
- Skattkammaren museum where regalia of Sweden and other valuable objects are exhibited
- Kungliga Husgerådskammaren organization that manages the furnishings collections of the royal palaces of Sweden
Churches & Religious Sites
4- Tyska kyrkan Heritage
- Finska kyrkan Heritage Church of Sweden church building
- Riddarholmskyrkan burial church of the Swedish kings and was opened approximately in 1300
- Gråbrödraklostret i Stockholm monastery for males of the Franciscan Order
Castles & Historic Sites
4- Bondeska palatset Heritage
- Wrangelska palatset
- Axel Oxenstiernas palats
- Olaus Petri statue and memorial
Landmarks & Notable Places
2- Medeltidsmuseet presents the origin and medieval development of Stockholm
- Jakob Sauers hus Medieval house
worth knowingacross 4 categories in Gamla Stan
About Gamla Stan
What are the main landmarks in Gamla Stan?
The island is the city's historic core. Stockholms slott, the royal palace, fronts the water with its state apartments, armoury, and the treasury vault of Skattkammaren, while the spire of Tyska kyrkan rises over the old German merchants' quarter. Beneath the Parliament on Helgeandsholmen, Medeltidsmuseet keeps the excavated town wall.
Stortorget, the oldest square, opens at the centre.
What is the history of Gamla Stan?
Stockholm began here. The town first enters the written record around the middle of the thirteenth century, when Birger Jarl is held to have fortified the island to guard the passage between the Baltic and Lake Mälaren. Trade with Lübeck and the Hansa filled its lanes.
In 1520 Stortorget ran with blood in the killings remembered as the Stockholm Bloodbath.
Where is Gamla Stan?
The district lies in south-eastern Stockholm, in eastern Sweden, on Stadsholmen with the islets of Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg around it.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Gamla Stan?
Riddarholmen: history with water views.
Good for
More areas in Stockholm
Updated July 2026