Stockholm/Kungsholmen

Kungsholmen is an urban island which makes up the western part of Stockholm's inner city, with the Stockholm City Hall, Stockholms stadshus, as a dominant landmark. While tourist attractions are few, the island has great waterfront parks and beaches, and plenty of cosy cafés and shops.

Understand
The eastern part of Kungsholmen is densely urban, and contains much of Stockholm's legal system: the national police board with the country's largest jail, and the Stockholm district court (Stockholms tingsrätt), as well as many government functions, such as the City Hall, and the County Council building.

The north-western part of the island is under development, with new hotels, shops and restaurants, as well as residential areas. The islands Stora Essingen and Lilla Essingen also belong to the borough. The E4/E20 expressway Essingeleden runs across these islands, as well as Kungsholmen.

Get in
Most of Kungsholmen is reached by subway, from Norrmalm, Vasastan, Västerort and Solna. The scenic Västerbron ("Western Bridge") connects to Södermalm. See Stockholm.

See
While most visitors to Stockholm see the City Hall, few of them take the opportunities to see the rest of Kungsholmen. Still, the waterfront is walkable around most of the islands, and there is a variety of restaurants, cafés and stores.



Do




Eat
Eastern Kungsholmen is packed with restaurants of different price levels.

Drink
Bars in Kungsholmen are concentrated around Fridhemsplan, and along Fleminggatan and Hantverkargatan. Prices are usually lower than the rest of the inner city.



Sleep
The accommodation options in Kungsholmen are limited, so you can consider staying in neighbouring Norrmalm or Vasastan where there are more thereof.

Stay safe
Kungsholmen contains the national police headquarters, with heavy law enforcement presence, and is generally safe.

Fridhemsplan is a nightlife district, with some risk of drunk brawls in the evening. Hornsbergs strand gets crowded in summer, with antisocial behaviour as a consequence.

As Kungsholmen's beaches get crowded (by Swedish standards), use common sense for water sport.