Magnus Engvall’s career in marketing has taken him around the world, including time in Singapore and regular visits to Germany. But he loves his home base of Stockholm enough that he dedicates some of his holiday time for a staycation—even if it’s during the darkest days of winter. “Today we had a clear blue sky and then a dramatic sunset,” he tells Pink Ticket. “What I like to do most is put on some nice shoes and my headphones, and listen to a good podcast while I walk around this beautiful city.”
The Swedish capital has a metro population of more than two million people living on an archipelago of islands between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea—there’s water everywhere. Although Stockholm’s a bustling modern city that’s easy to get around by foot or bike, it’s also close to nature. “You see beavers in the city. I’ve seen elk and foxes on the street. You don’t have to go very far to really be in the wild,” says Engvall. Locals are inclined to take advantage of the city’s green areas and waterways at all times of the year. “The other day there were winter bathers near downtown. It was minus one and already dark. This young handsome guy came, stripped naked and jumped into the water.”
Though Stockholm still has buildings that date back to the late 13th century, including the regal Riddarholmen Church, the city has grown bigger and more cosmopolitan over the last decade or so, with an increased number of immigrants enriching Sweden with their culture and food. At the same time, the government has loosened up, making it easier, for example, for restaurants to have outdoor seating and seating along the waterways. Engvall says that a decade ago, it used to be a hassle to find a hotel, but there are more options now.
Many tourists visit in the summer, when the weather’s at its warmest, but that’s also when many locals leave the city for their summer properties; for a more authentic and relaxed experience, visit in the cooler months.
We asked Engvall for his tips on the best of LGBTQ+ Stockholm. He had lots of suggestions. (He also reminded us that Air Canada is launching direct flights to Stockholm from Toronto and Montreal starting in June 2024).
What to see and do
Although a lot of people will arrive in the central business district around Stockholms Centralstation (Centralplan 15, Stockholm), that area is a little boring. There are so many other nice areas, including residential areas, to just walk around. Several of the major museums are the island of Skeppsholmen, which you can reach by bridge or by taking a boat.
The National Museum (Södra Blasieholmshamnen 2, Stockholm) was recently refurbished, and it’s close to the Moderna Museet (Exercisplan 4, Stockholm), which has an exciting collection of modern and contemporary art. Next to that is the architectural museum ArkDes (Exercisplan 4, Stockholm—closed for renovations until June 2024). It’s easy to walk between them. Then across the water you have the photography museum, Fotografiska (Stadsgårdshamnen 22, Stockholm), which is a very contemporary museum and they have a nice restaurant.
I love the Vasamuseet (Galärvarvsvägen 14, Stockholm), which is on a ship that was built in the early 1600s—it was the biggest ship in the world at a time when Sweden was a superpower both economically and militarily. It was full of gold and stuff, but it sank on its first voyage about 1,300 metres from the harbour. They found the ship in the 1960s and used special techniques to drag it up from the bottom of the ocean. Now it’s an impressive museum detailing the history of the people who built the ship, and the people who died on it.
Next to the Vasa Museum, there is, of course, ABBA The Museum (Djurgårdsvägen 68, Stockholm). Do I have to explain it? First of all, I love ABBA. For a time people looked down on ABBA; in socialist Sweden, they were deemed too commercial. But now ABBA is more appreciated than ever. It’s a must for many, many tourists, not only gay travellers. It’s a fun museum, very interactive—you get to singalong with them. You see their costumes and photos and newspaper reports. It’s a real document of the time and it makes me very nostalgic. It’s surprising how small everything was—they asked their neighbour to make the costumes. I actually met [ABBA member] Björn Ulvaeus twice this year, which is funny. He has been very vocal about how it was the gay audience that carried the band through the 1980s, from when they released their last album in 1981 up until the 1992 release of ABBA Gold, when things started happening for them again.
For me, I think it’s worth walking through many of the nice neighbourhoods outside of the city centre. The Woodland Cemetery, Skogskyrkogården (Sockenvägen, Stockholm) is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was built between 1917 and 1920 by two famous and talented architects [Asplund and Lewerentz]. It’s huge and beautiful. Greta Garbo is buried here, and Avicii.
Södermalm, which means South Island, is where I live. It’s one of the biggest islands and is popular among creative types and therefore also gay travellers. The western part of it is where Hornstull is located—some magazine called it one of the hippest neighbourhoods in the world. It’s a cool place to walk around, and there is a gay bar there.
LGBTQ+ life and nightlife
Stockholm Pride happens in late July, early August [in 2024, it’s July 31 to August 5]. It’s fun, But if you ask me, as a traveller, I’d rather see a city when it’s normal and not during a special week. But it’s really beautiful. There’s Pride Park [a ticketed event in Östermalms IP, a sports field at Södra Fiskartorpsvägen 2, Stockholm], which has a lot of entertainment and events. Then there’s the club nightlife. There’s also a big political program where you can go to seminars and so on. The most unique thing about Stockholm Pride is probably the parade, which is a very folk happening. It’s ordinary people: families, children, old couples sitting on chairs and watching the parade. It’s really for everyone.
LGBTQ+ nightlife in Stockholm has changed over the years in that it has shrunk a lot. There are fewer places, and some institutions are gone now, maybe due to the use of apps. But one of the positive things is that society has opened up so much, you don’t really need those places any longer. If you want to hit on someone at any bar, you can do it. If the guy is straight, he’ll just start talking to you. It’s safe like that.
Gay visitors will find Club Backdoor (Johanneshov, Arenavägen 75, Stockholm) all by themselves. It’s in Slaktuhusområdet, which means “meat-packing district,” but it’s been redeveloped—where there used to be factories, there are now cool restaurants and clubs. It’s probably the biggest gay club in Stockholm, but the last time I was there I think half the people were straight. It’s a big place with different dance floors. There are drag shows and there’s cruising, but it’s not crazy because there are so many straight people. They have one dance floor that I don’t like so much because they play Eurovision music.
Side Track (Wollmar Yxkullsgatan 7, Stockholm) is a gay bar and restaurant, which is in a basement. It’s probably the oldest gay bar in Stockholm. It’s not big, but it’s cool, and the neighbourhood where they’re located has a lot of nice places. They share a kitchen with the pub next door, which has the same owners, so you can sit outside at the pub and eat really good food as you watch the boys and girls come and go.
Blue Oyster Bar (Långholmsgatan 15c, Stockholm) is in Hornstull, which is a cool area to visit. The gay club there is very hip and they have quiz nights. They also have drag queens and drag bingo.
Many of the places I like are not exactly gay but gay-friendly. If I have friends visiting from Canada or France or Singapore, I send them to these places. One is Trädgården (Hammarby Slussväg 2, Stockholm), which is located under a bridge. It’s a cool place with trendy people, very hip and multicultural. I would call it a club, because they have dancing, but it’s almost a festival, with art installations, music, different events and a restaurant. You can play Ping-Pong there, or it might be a quiz night.
I already mentioned Slaktuhusområdet, the meat-packing district. There’s another club there where a lot of gay people go, though it’s not gay. It’s called Fållan (Fållan 10, Johanneshov, Sweden). It has cool art, events, DJs.
Where to eat
I really like The Hills (Götgatan 29, Stockholm) and, across the street, Riche Fenix (Götgatan 40, 118 26 Stockholm). They’re both for eating good food, looking at beautiful people and being where it all happens. At the Hills especially, a lot of gay people show up for the scene and the people working there. Riche Fenix is a newer establishment, very hip.
There’s also the original Restaurant Riche (Birger Jarlsgatan 4, Stockholm). It’s a restaurant from maybe the 1950s or ’60s. Most tourists who come to Sweden want to eat Swedish meatballs, and this is one of the best places to eat them. But they also have a dish that I think is tastier and even more unique—toast skagen. It was invented by a famous chef. It’s a prawn mixture with dill and lemon on toast. You can get it at many places, but at Riche, it’s really good.
Den Gyldene Freden (Österlånggatan 51, Stockholm) is located in Old Town, called “Gamla Stan” in Swedish. They say it’s one of the world’s oldest restaurants, and they have a cool crowd despite being so old and historical. The Swedish Academy, the ones who select the Nobel Prize in Literature, traditionally have lunch there every week.
Where to stay
Hotel Skeppsholmen (Gröna Gången 1, Stockholm) is my favourite. It’s on the island of Skeppsholmen, right in the middle of the city, but no one lives there—it’s where the modern and architecture museums are. It’s so quiet there. I can hear birds singing and smell the fresh evening air. The guy who runs it is gay, which is very common in the hotel industry. If you don’t stay there, you can still go there for a drink or for breakfast. Right next to the hotel is the studio of [ABBA member] Benny Andersson, and it’s where they recorded their last album, Voyage, which they released in 2021.
Nobis Hotel Stockholm (Norrmalmstorg 2-4, Stockholm) is a very nice hotel in the same building where the bank robbery that led to the concept of “Stockholm Syndrome” took place. It happened exactly 50 years ago, in 1973. There was a bank robbery and hostage drama. In the gym of the hotel, the two holes they drilled to gas the hostage-takers are still there.
Hotel Rival (Mariatorget 3, Stockholm) is owned by Benny Andersson from ABBA. It’s on the island of Södermalm, in a lovely square called Mariatorget—a very good location.
Where to shop
Of course, there’s H&M. Their flagship store is at Sergels Torg, a square in the downtown shopping district (Sergels Torg 1, Stockholm).
The Swedish fashion brand Acne Studios (Norrmalmstorg 2, Stockholm) is actually in the same building as the Nobis Hotel—their storage room is where the hostages were held in 1973.
The Acne branch near where I live (Nytorgsgatan 36, Stockholm) has a different concept in how they display things—it’s very interactive.
Nitty Gritty (various locations, the most central being Krukmakargatan 24-26, Stockholm) is a store my boyfriend thought I should recommend—it’s a trendy store, but they have Italian and Japanese fashion there, so it’s not uniquely Swedish.
I don’t know how big the Swedish brand Our Legacy (various locations, the most central being Jakobsbergsgatan 11, Stockholm) is outside of Sweden, but I like their stuff.
If you want the opposite of IKEA, the interior design store Svenskt Tenn (Strandvägen 5, Stockholm) is very exclusive. Their style is really nice and there are affordable things there, like little vases and candleholders.
Day trip
Take a boat to one or some of the archipelago islands like Vaxholm, Grinda or Gällnö. There are ferries, but you can also book a boat to get there—that way might be faster or slower, or have more character. If you take a boat in the other direction, heading inland, you can visit the palace of Drottningholm (Drottningholms Slott Slottsstallet 11, Drottningholm), which is where the royal family lives. Across from the palace is the island of Kärsön, which has a clothing-optional beach that is popular among gay people. It’s fun that it’s located on royal grounds.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
