Stockholm/Södermalm

Södermalm [sødərˈmalm] (or just Söder) is the southern borough of central Stockholm, consisting of the island of Södermalm proper, two smaller islands connected to it from the west (Långholmen [ˈlɔŋˈhɔlmən] and Reimersholme [rejməʂˈhɔlmə]), as well as the neighbourhood of Hammarby Sjöstad on the opposite bank of the Hammarby Sjö in the east, which is a redeveloped former industrial area that was transformed into a model sustainable residential community.

Apart from the administrative borough of Södermalm, this guide also covers other areas surrounding Södermalm on the continental southern sea and lakeshore, which are easy to access from and visit together with Södermalm proper. This includes (from West to East) the residential borough of Liljeholmen with the Trekanten lake and its recreational opportunities, the green Årsta neighbourhood, Johanneshov famous for the Globen arena complex, as well as the urban part of Nacka (namely Sickla and Henriksdal), which is a municipality immediately east of Stockholm pretty much integrated with the city proper in terms of infrastructure.

Stockholm's southern suburbs are called Söderort.



Get in

 * See Public transport in Stockholm County for extended information.

Stockholms södra station is a commuter railway station. Several metro stations and bus lines, with Slussen [ˈslɵsən] being the busiest station, as well as several bus lines. Connected to Kungsholmen by the scenic Västerbron ("Western Bridge"), as well as the Old Town to the north and Söderort to the south.

Hammarby Sjöstad is served by local passenger ferries.

Get around
Most of Södermalm is walkable, and well served by public transportation. Until 2025, the traffic hub at Slussen is being rebuilt, with rerouting of traffic, including pedestrians. Passages around Slussen can be congested during daytime.

See Stockholm Main Street for the shopping and nightlife along Götgatan, and Södermalm heights tour for a walk among historical buildings and art galleries, with an astounding waterfront view.

Understand
Until the 19th century, Södermalm was mainly a farmland to support Stockholm. As the railway was built in 1860, Södermalm became an industrial district with homes for the working class. As the industries were displaced by offices in the 20th century, the island began to gentrify, and now has some of the most fashionable neighbourhoods in Stockholm.

In the 21st century, Södermalm gained recognition from the Millennium series by Stieg Larsson, with many of the locations of the books and film open for visitors, in particular the northern waterfront ridge, "Söders höjder", where many 18th and 19th century buildings remain. At times called "Stockholm's Montmartre", the island has also earned a reputation of "hipness", making Financial Times' top list of destinations for 2014 and third place on Vogue's list of the world's coolest neighbourhoods.

Hammarby Sjöstad is formally a part of Södermalm, the only bit not on the main island. Since the late 1990s, there has been construction on the former docks and small industrial estates after extensive cleanup. The Sjöstad ("city on the lake") was planned from the outset to be a model community for sustainable living and design, including many innovative features in its infrastructure and architecture that limit the quarter's impact on the environment and provide for a better quality of life; see also Stockholm environmentalist tour.

Nacka is a municipality immediately east of Södermalm proper. Sickla and Henriksdal, the westernmost districts of Nacka, were harbour districts, which have been re-developed and integrated into Stockholm's inner city and are covered in this article. The farther removed eastern part of Nacka, including the seaside resort Saltsjöbaden, is covered in our guide to the Stockholm Archipelago.

Viewpoints
The northern parts of Södermalm offer some excellent viewpoints with panoramas of the central parts of the city:

Artisan Södermalm
Between Slussen and Mariatorget, the Hornsgatan street has a narrow sett-paved side section on the north side, above the main street, nicknamed ("the Hornsgatan bump"), with a lot of galleries. Some examples are:

Do
The area has two other arenas: the old-fashioned Hovet, and the 30,000-seat Tele2 Arena.
 * Hammarbybacken February 2012.jpg
 * Globen or Ericsson Globe (3387500085).jpg
 * Hammarbybacken February 2012.jpg
 * Globen or Ericsson Globe (3387500085).jpg
 * Hammarbybacken February 2012.jpg
 * Globen or Ericsson Globe (3387500085).jpg
 * Hammarbybacken February 2012.jpg
 * Globen or Ericsson Globe (3387500085).jpg
 * Hammarbybacken February 2012.jpg
 * Globen or Ericsson Globe (3387500085).jpg
 * Globen or Ericsson Globe (3387500085).jpg
 * Globen or Ericsson Globe (3387500085).jpg
 * Djurgården plays some of their ice hockey home games in Avicii Arena (Globen) and others at the smaller, neighbouring Hovet, both Arenavägen (T Globen).
 * AIK plays their ice hockey home games at Hovet.
 * AIK plays their ice hockey home games at Hovet.

Buy


Södermalm contains many stores for alternative, vintage and second-hand fashion.

Götgatsbacken
Götgatsbacken, the northernmost section of Götgatan on Södermalm, is perhaps best known for its nightlife, but also has lots of clothes stores with different profiles, including a new, small shopping centre called Bruno (see section below).



SoFo
The district, the cleverly rebranded area south of eastern Södermalm's Folkungagatan, has lots of designer clothes and design shops, as well as cafés and restaurants.



Budget
At Medborgarplatsen [ˈmeːdbɔrjarˈplatsən], there are several food wagons featuring street food from Greek to Polish. One can get fried calamari pita bread for 35 kr with a drink. Kabbas, Falafa, bratwurst, Polish sausages are all under 50 kr, walking south on Skaraborgsgatan towards Globen are several more budget-priced kabba places. In Liljeholmen there are various small restaurants/cafés/sushi bars serving different kinds of food in Marieviken, the business quarter of the district. Mainly open at office hours. There are also some other cafés in Gröndal.



Drink
Södermalm is full of pubs, and the main nightlife street is Götgatan. Occasionally, people go for a pub crawl along Götgatan, having one drink at each bar; without any chance to finish off the whole street in one evening. In weekend nights, most bars along the street get crowded, but there are many hangouts in the rest of the island.

Slussen/Northern Götgatan

 * Bishop's Arms. Warm and cosy English-style pubs offering good food, real ale and other beers from around the world. Live jazz music Wednesday evenings. Although this chain runs 25 pubs in Sweden, they all have a pleasant atmosphere, notable for the absence of loud music.
 * (T Mariatorget, famous from the fourth Millennium book)
 * (T Medborgarplatsen)
 * Debaser. Stockholm's premier rock club. The name of the place was taken from an old song by The Pixies, and many of the bands that play there know the Pixies discography by heart, but they also have other types of music than alternative rock.
 * Debaser. Stockholm's premier rock club. The name of the place was taken from an old song by The Pixies, and many of the bands that play there know the Pixies discography by heart, but they also have other types of music than alternative rock.


 * (T Medborgarplatsen)



Medborgarplatsen
Medborgarplatsen is a major nightlife hub. The outdoor seats are immensely popular during the warm seasons. The backstreets, such as Östgötagatan, are more calm.

Budget




Mid-range




Stay safe
Nightlife in Medborgarplatsen usually gets wild, and police presence is irregular. Closing time (01:00 and 03:00) are worst.

The welfare services at Mariatorget attract homeless and disadvantaged people, some with mental illness or drug addiction. However, these people rarely cause trouble.