Green City Guide: Stockholm

You are never far from water on a trip to Sweden's capital. Getting ready to be Europe's Green Capital 2010 means Stockholm has embarked on numerous initiatives to keep the water in surrounding Mälaren bay sparkling blue and pretty. Cleanliness is also encouraged in the city via a state sponsored ad campaign, and the city's water company even harvests methane from garbage disposals.

From the main train station, the city is laid out before you in a system of connected islands—to the south is the utterly charming Gamla Stan (old town) and then Södermalm, a residential oasis with tons of great (and green, funky) eateries and shopping galore. To the east, just north of the big city boulevards and shopping streets, you'll find more pockets of restaurants and shops in Kungsholmen. Eco practices are just part and parcel of how the city does business and you'll see signs of that everywhere you go. What will you do first?

For an in-depth look at Stockholm's eco-smarts, check out check out TreeHugger's Stockholm archives.

1. Take Public Transportation, a Pedal-Powered Cab or Bike Stockholm's Streets
   

   Unless you are crossing with by ferry from Helsinki or somewhere else in the Baltic, you'll probably arrive in Stockholm via plane or train. From the airport, take the convenient and fast (and pricey at about $25 one-way) 20-minute Arlanda Express train into Central station, which will soon tap body heat from travelers to warm an adjacent building).
   
   

   If you plan to hop buses, subways, or the adorable old-fashioned streetcars that in summer shuttle to and from the island-based park known as Djurgården (once the Swedish Kings' pleasure hunting grounds) you need to buy a Remsa discount bus ticket, which for complicated reasons is sold at Pressbyrån stores and not at subway turnstile booths. Another way to get around is by the recently introduced Ecocabs—which unfortunately are by no means cheap (about $6.50 for 15 minutes), but still great fun.
   
   

   And let's not forget biking: Stockholm is a great biking city, and the ride is especially pleasurable May through September when the weather is mild. You'll see a thousand different examples of classic bike design on the streets. There are also well-marked out-of-city pathways for the more adventurous.



2. Stay in a Green Hotel in the City Center
   

   The Scandic hotel chain, which has a number of locations in the inner city, is one of the greenest in the world. The chain is really deep green—from eschewing bottled water and jumbo shrimp at its premises to in-room recycling, organic breakfasts, and green power to light your bedside lamps. Scandic's 70s Scandinavian minimalist aesthetic can seem a little impersonal, but comes with its own charm. The Nordic Sea Hotel is an alternative choice that combines minimalism with green sensibility and is very centrally located to boot.







3. Grab a Fast-Food Burger at Max (and See Your Carbon Footprint) or Try Michelin-Awarded Lejontornet
   

   Stockholm has dozens of slick eateries, and quite a few organic upscale restaurants. But when nothing but a burger will do, head to the big Max on Hamngatan, kitty-corner from the huge, expensive Nordiska Kompaniet department store. This GMO-free burger joint will offset the 1.8 kilos of carbon that comes with your juicy Frisco cheese 'n bacon burger by planting trees in Africa. Going for a chicken burger classic? Just .4 kilos. At the other end of the dining scale, organic restaurant Leijontornet with a Michelin star will make a much larger gouge in your wallet. So order gorgeous "green-listed" seafood and lots of butter (Leijontornet churns its own!). Stockholm restaurant guide Ekokrogar, though in Swedish, has many organic restaurant suggestions. Vegans might like the low-cost Chutney on Söder, though dishes are unpredictable, so take a peek at what's coming out of the kitchen before ordering.



4. Search for Organic Coffee and Cakes
   

   The Swedish tradition of coffee (fika) and cakes is alive and well in the city of Stockholm—look out for the word ekologisk to find organic versions. Even though the pace here can rival most European capitals, locals take the time to have their cake and eat it too, with a mug of Fair Trade coffee. (In the summer, alternatively, folks pack in the ice cream—eating more per capita than gelato-guzzling Italians). Tasty choices include Cafe Mineur within the charming cobbled streets of Gamla Stan and Rosendals Trädgården, also a good end-point for a bike ride through Djurgården.



5. Shop for Organic Clothing and Cosmetics
   

   Walking through the different Stockholm neighborhoods is easy and fun. If you are in Gamla Stan for fika don't miss a trip to Ekovaruhuset, the organic and fair-made clothing boutique that has a sister branch in New York. Then cross over to Söder and walk up Götgatan and hit Filippa K., Granit (casual clothing and home furnishings), and Gudrun Sjédén women's wear, all with varying degrees of organic merchandise. While there, make sure to stop by Moonsun on Lila Nygatan 19 for a great selection of organic and natural cosmetics and hair care products as well as lots of ingredients for DIY beauty products. You'll have a hard time escaping Moonsun without leaving behind some of your Swedish crowns—the shop also offers massages, facials, and make-up treatments in a calming, serene atmosphere.







6. Expore Stocholm's Museums: Moderna Museet and Kulturhuset
   

   Stockholm's museums are well worth a few days of meandering—from the tiny Liljevalchs gallery on Djurgården to the fabulous Moderna Museet on its own island (and with some of the city's best views from its huge café). If you are in the center of town, a visit to the huge Kulturhuset, which houses a theater, reading salon, and galleries and sits over a large underground shopping center, is worth the time. Both the theater bar and the cafés on the second floor of Kulturhuset have now gone eco (there's even a small-scale wind turbine on the roof)—so get a cup of tea or coffee and sit to read one of the 700 daily newspapers at the adjacent reading salon.



7. Take a Boat to the Japanese-themed Hasseludden Green Spa
   

   Yasuragi Hasseludden is no low-price destination. This hotel and spa's room rates start at around $200 per night and an all-day visit is around $100. However, Hasseludden, once a rather boring convention center, now oozes Japanese serenity and simplicity. Geothermally heated pools are relaxing both in winter and in summer—there's a large lap pool as well. In summer, hop on Waxholmsbolaget's boats, which embark regularly from Strömkajen in front of the Grand Hotel.



8. Ride the Bus to the World's Largest IKEA at Kungens Kurva
   

   Big-box retailer IKEA has more green initiatives than any other large furniture manufacturer. So to see where flat pack originated, a trip to the enormous Kungens Kurva IKEA is a great rainy-day activity. You can take an especially dedicated IKEA bus from Regeringsgatan 17; hourly returns stop at major subway stations. A warm meal at the store's restaurant may be one of the least expensive you'll buy while in Stockholm, and the coffee is certified-sustainable by UTZ.




9. Bring Your Organic Baby to Kid-Friendly Stockholm
   

   In Sweden, babies and kids are kings and queens of the world, riding around in super-expensive baby strollers with lambskins to warm their undersides in cold Nordic winters. Kids become eco-savvy fast here, and have a deep appreciation of nature, as they are out in it quite a bit—moms park strollers on the sidewalks outside stores to let babies sleep and toddlers go out rain or shine at state-sponsored daycare. As a result, Stockholm offers lots of upscale and second-hand boutiques with adorable and quality kids' clothes. Polarn o. Pyret was thinking organic cotton long before Hanna Andersson. There's even a store dedicated to organic baby foods.



10. Time Your Trip with World Water Week
    

    So we end where we began—with the water. World Water Week, annually held in August, is a huge event in Stockholm, drawing policy makers from around the globe. It's a forum for leaders taking clean water and water conservation seriously, yet it is also a chance for the city to show off what it has done and what it is going to do to make Stockholm's water some of the cleanest and—when it comes to the tap water—some of the best-tasting in the world.

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