We'll be in Stockholm over Christmas from the 21-27 December.

Will staying for all 6 nights get too boring especially over this period?

Any suggestions for other places we could go for a couple of nights?

Do the ferries operate around the archipelago then?

Any possibility of seeing the Northern Lights and are there any places nearby which offer dogsledding?

Thanks!!!!!!

I think six nights in Stockholm is a lot. Perhaps you can take a couple of days to visit other parts of Sweden. But if you have never been, I recommend visiting Copenhagen. The Tivoli Gardens are open until 23 December.

http://www.tivoli.dk/composite-1247.htm

I don't know what Tivoli is like during December. But when I was there in June 2003, it was a very enjoyable experience worthy of an entire evening.

Enjoy dinner at one of their many restaurants. We liked this one, which was quite affordable:
http://www.faergekroen.dk/

Copenhagen is only a 5 hour train ride from Stockholm.

Swedish rail:
http://www.sj.se/node/0,4452,3378_1,FF.html

Six days in Stockholm in December can be a bit too much if all you are interested in are tourist destinations in the city and nearby vicinity. This is especially true since you will be there at a time when it will be quiet since a lot of the people go elsewhere.

I thought Tivoli still closes for the winter; just out of curiosity, how long have they had the extended "season" for or is this related to the royal wedding or something?

Copenhagen is a 5 hour train ride on the more expensive X2000 and even then aren't flights a bit better value. How long is it on the cheaper/more frequent (but slower train)?

I've been in Copenhagen in December and January quite a bit, and it can be quite cold with the wind blowing.... and it's pretty quiet at that time with the weather being normally gray or clear and cold. New Year's Eve there is anything but quiet. :)

as a Finn I reckon I might as well promote my home town a bit. Flights ARN-HEL are getting cheaper all the time, and you could easily do an affordable day trip to Helsinki while you're in Stockholm.

The new LCC FlyMe have prices starting from 22€ one-way all-in.
http://www.flyme.com/en/
- apparently they're a bit more expensive around Xmas

The SAS subsidiary Blue1 also sell afoordable one-way tix
http://www.blue1.com/en/index.html

Then obviously SAS and Finnair have loads of flights on that route.

This company offer ssightseeing services straight from the a/p - their drivers definitely speak good English, I have used them with foreign guests.
http://www.kovanen.com/www/en/henkiloliikenne.html

For northern lights etc. I'd probably go to Lapland. Don't know the Swedish Lapland too well, but in Finland the main airports are Rovaniemi and Kittilä that have a lot of charters from especially the UK around Xmas time. I reckon Finnair could be a bit expensive flying ARN-HEL-KTT/RVN - anyways, flew to Lapland for 12 hours last summer and it was great. Blue1's ARN-OUL (Oulu) route takes you relatively close to Santa Claus (2.5 hrs by train to Rovaniemi); www.vr.fi.

Rovaniemi would be my recommendation - they basically specialise in the Xmas market (Santa Claus village, Arctic circle etc.)
http://tourism.rovaniemi.fi/?deptid=6335

hope this helps, will be glad to answer any other questions
okko

Christmas in Stockholm is actually a nice time to be there. The days are very short, but there is good shopping. In the main square in Gamla Stan (Stortorget???) there is a market, and the lights in all the windows are very nice.

6 days may be a lot of time though.

Take the ferry over to Helsinki......it's a great time! Either Silja or Viking lines.

Take the ferry over to Helsinki......it's a great time! Either Silja or Viking lines.
I would recommend that as well. Swedes tend to celebrate Christmas on the 24th rather than the 25th. Shops will be open early in the day on the 24th, but by 3 PM you won't see a soul around town until the 26th when the sales start. The ferry (which is more like a cruise ship) leaves around 5 PM from Stockholm and gets to Helsinki around 9 AM. It returns later the same day around 5 PM and gets into Stockholm at 9 AM. I would leave on this trip on the 24th to return on the 26th if I were in your shoes. The ship goes through the archipelago, but it is already dark this time of year so you won't see much of it.

I would recommend that as well. Swedes tend to celebrate Christmas on the 24th rather than the 25th. Shops will be open early in the day on the 24th, but by 3 PM you won't see a soul around town until the 26th when the sales start.

That's my personal experience too.

The ferry (which is more like a cruise ship) leaves around 5 PM from Stockholm and gets to Helsinki around 9 AM. It returns later the same day around 5 PM and gets into Stockholm at 9 AM. I would leave on this trip on the 24th to return on the 26th if I were in your shoes. The ship goes through the archipelago, but it is already dark this time of year so you won't see much of it.

I've never taken the ferry, but I was wondering if they have sleeping compartments on said ship too?

I've never taken the ferry, but I was wondering if they have sleeping compartments on said ship too?
Yes, the ferries are actually cruise ships with several restaurants, cafes, bars, shows, spas, shops and more onboard. They also tend to have special activities and areas for kids.
You typically get a stateroom with one or two beds including private bathroom with shower. It is a very comfortable passage. I took the Silja Symphony in October and I found nothing to complain about. The dinner I had in the Lobster Bar was delicious! Although during this time of year you ought to try the traditional Swedish Christmas smorgasbord.

If you do consider taking an overnight ferry to Helsinki, I would actually recommend you look at going to Tallinn, Estonia as an alternative. It's about the same distance by ferry, but we found it much more charming (and economical) than Helsinki. Kind of reminiscent of Prague, but without the swarms of tourists (yet).

Another option is to fly north to Kiruna to stay in the ice hotel. Fabulous skiing up there as well, but you'll be ~6 mos. out of phase with the sun at that time.

"I would recommend that as well. Swedes tend to celebrate Christmas on the 24th rather than the 25th. Shops will be open early in the day on the 24th, but by 3 PM you won't see a soul around town until the 26th when the sales start."
I believe shops will open on the 27th rather than the 26th in Sweden - that's the case at least in Finland. Do note that Helsinki will be very quiet on 25th, at least until early evening.

"The ferry (which is more like a cruise ship) leaves around 5 PM from Stockholm and gets to Helsinki around 9 AM. It returns later the same day around 5 PM and gets into Stockholm at 9 AM. I would leave on this trip on the 24th to return on the 26th if I were in your shoes. The ship goes through the archipelago, but it is already dark this time of year so you won't see much of it."
Viking Line does not have any departures on 24th and 25th Dec. I believe Silja Line operate throughout the Xmas period however - apart from Helsinki, there's the option of going on the Stockholm-Turku (former capital of Finland)-Stockholm route - if you do not leave the ship, this takes 23 hours in total. At the moment the cruises are rock-bottom cheap, so not a bad choice at all.

Silja Line
http://www.silja.fi/?ChangeLang=english

Tallink (Stockholm-Tallinn)
http://www.tallink.fi/en/index.html

Kiruna
- I reckon SAS would be the best option, Nordic Airlink (Finnair subsidiary) are starting to fly there in Feb 2005
http://www.flynordic.com/showIndexPage.do

okko

If you do consider taking an overnight ferry to Helsinki, I would actually recommend you look at going to Tallinn, Estonia as an alternative. It's about the same distance by ferry, but we found it much more charming (and economical) than Helsinki. Kind of reminiscent of Prague, but without the swarms of tourists (yet).

Another option is to fly north to Kiruna to stay in the ice hotel. Fabulous skiing up there as well, but you'll be ~6 mos. out of phase with the sun at that time.
IMHO both Helsinki and Talliinn are at their worst in December -- cold, muddy, icy and rainy but (usually) without much in the way snow and pathologically short daylight hours. Christmas lighting helps a little, but not much.
Then again, Stockholm will be more of the same, so you're out of luck no matter where you go.

But I do recommend the cruise, even if all you do on arrival is get right back on and head back!

Good point. Perhaps Helsinki would make more sense at this time of year with its wider array of night life. Are the Finns more wild than the Estonians?

By the way, the reason Sweden goes totally quiet at 3 PM on Christmas Eve is that the traditional Donald Duck/Disney Christmas cartoon show is on TV then. It is one of the most watched shows on Swedish TV every year!!!

"IMHO both Helsinki and Talliinn are at their worst in December -- cold, muddy, icy and rainy but (usually) without much in the way snow and pathologically short daylight hours."
well, at least right now we have the record amount of snow for November. But as you said, all we know about Xmas is that it's going to be cold.

"Are the Finns more wild than the Estonians?"
Doesn't really make any difference - if you stay in the centre of Tallinn, most of the people will be Finns anyways.

Hey,

I'd suggest a visit to the Ice Bar in Stockholm. It is completely in ice and is a great experience (you enter with a special jacket and all). If you are thinking about travelling elsewhere, try Jukkasjärvi and a night in the famous ice hotel they have there. Undeniably it should be a great experience. (Have not been myself...anyone else?)

The Ice Bar, on the other hand, at the Nordic Light Hotel in central Stockholm, is great...give it a go!

Well, for dogsledd and northern lights you must definetely get away from Stockholm. Typically there is not even snow in december in this area of Sweden (for an unusual fact there is snow all over at the moment - but it will most likely disappear in the next days). If you have the financials set take a trip, by plane, to Kiruna which is the most northern town of Sweden. Book with star carrier SAS on www.scandinavian.net.
The fanciest way to stay over is at the Ice Hotel there (expensive) but there are plenty of other options. And the place is crowded with dogsledd and northern lights :) You can even arrange for a dogsledd to pick you up at the airport.
Information on northern Sweden and Kiruna here:
http://www.lappland.se/
Regarding the ferry question. I guess that you are thinking of the smaller boats taking you across the extensive archipelago? Yes, most of them runs all year, and you can sleep over at some nice hotels in small islands if you like. Much recommended.
The official visitors guide to Stockholm:
http://www.stockholmtown.com/

"IMHO both Helsinki and Talliinn are at their worst in December -- cold, muddy, icy and rainy but (usually) without much in the way snow and pathologically short daylight hours."
well, at least right now we have the record amount of snow for November. But as you said, all we know about Xmas is that it's going to be cold.

"Are the Finns more wild than the Estonians?"
Doesn't really make any difference - if you stay in the centre of Tallinn, most of the people will be Finns anyways.

:D ROTFLOL Often enough very true.

The Ice Bar, on the other hand, at the Nordic Light Hotel in central Stockholm, is great...give it a go!

Ditto that.

I thought Tivoli still closes for the winter; just out of curiosity, how long have they had the extended "season" for or is this related to the royal wedding or something?

It's open for a Christmas market for about four weeks from the end of November - and this has been the case since at least 1998 when I was there at that time of year.

It's open for a Christmas market for about four weeks from the end of November - and this has been the case since at least 1998 when I was there at that time of year.

Thanks. I am not too familiar with Copenhagen in the weeks before Christmas Eve. I know that Tivoli has not been open most of the times I have been there from Dec. 24th and through most of the rest of the winter thereafter.

Tivoli is open from the 12th of November until the 23rd of December. It's open from approximately 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. everyday, with it opening up at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and with it closing at 10 p.m. on Sunday night.