Sweden Guide
Stockholm
Getting Around
Stockholm winds its way across islands, over water and through parkland: the best way to get to grips with it is to equip yourself with a map and walk – it only takes about half an hour to cross central Stockholm on foot. Sooner or later, though, you'll have to use some form of transport and, while routes are easy enough to master, there's a bewildering array of passes available. One thing to try to avoid is paying as you go on the city's transport system – a very expensive business. The city is zoned, a trip within one zone costing 30kr, with single tickets valid within that zone for one hour; cross a zone and it's another 15kr.
City bus, local train and T-bana timetables are easily obtained from the SL-Centers dotted around the city (see below); timetables for mainline trains operated by Swedish Railways (SJ) can be found at Central Station, or online at 
www.sj.se (Swedish-language only). For general public transport information, consult the English-language website www.resplus.se , or call 
08/600 10 00.
Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL; www.sl.se ) operate a comprehensive system of buses and trains (underground and regional) that extends well out of the city centre. For information and timetables, the main SL-Center (Mon– Fri 7am–6.30pm, Sat & Sun 10am–5pm) is at Sergels Torg, just by the entrance to T-Centralen, and has timetables for the city's buses, metro, regional trains and archipelago boats.
The quickest and most useful form of transport both around the centre and out to the suburbs is Stockholm's metro system, the Tunnelbana or T-bana. There are three main lines (red, green and blue) and a smattering of branches; station entrances are marked with a blue letter "T" on a white background. Trains run from early morning until around midnight (and all through the night on Fridays and Saturdays). All branches of the T-bana meet at T-Centralen, the metro station below Central Station. The Pendeltågen regional trains that run throughout Greater Stockholm leave from the main train platforms on ground level. The T-bana is something of an artistic venture, too, with all stations decorated in some way: the most impressive are on the blue line – the T-Centralen station is a huge blue cave, while Kungsträdgården station is littered with statues, spotlights and fountains.
Bus routes can be less direct due to Stockholm's islands and central pedestrianization – consult the route map on the back of the Stockholms innerstad bus timetable for help. You board buses at the front, get off at the back or in the middle, and can buy tickets from the driver, though this is more expensive than purchasing in advance. Night buses replace the T-bana after midnight, except on Friday and Saturday nights.
From outside the Grand Hotel on Strömkajen, ferries provide access to the sprawling archipelago and also link some of the central islands: Djurgården is connected with Skeppsholmen and Nybroplan (summer-only), the latter a small square behind the Grand in Norrmalm, and with Slussen in Gamla Stan (year-round). Cruises on Lake Mälaren leave from outside the Stadshus at the southeastern tip of Kungsholmen, and city boat tours leave from outside the Grand Hotel and from around the corner on Nybroplan.
For the ultimate Swedish experience, hop on the free bus to IKEA from Regeringsgatan 17 (Mon– Fri 11am–5pm).