Stockholm’s archipelago is unique

Stockholm’s archipelago is unique. Genuine archipelagos exist in only a few corners of the world and Stockholm’s is the largest. Beginning in the middle of the city at Strömkajen, where our boats are moored, it stretches for mile after mile out into to the Baltic. Along the way we pass thousands of islands and skerries, which gradually shift in character the farther out we get.

First we travel through the lush inner archipelago where the islands are richly forested and, since the end of the 1800’s, lined with attractive summer villas. At the turn of the last century Stockholm was quite a grimy city and the idyllic archipelago was a magnet for those who could afford it. As soon as spring was in the air, estate owners, general managers, and directors would leave for their summer retreats built in Old Scandinavian, National Romantic or Swiss chalet style. Wives and children settled in for the summer while their menfolk commuted to the office on the trendy new steamboats.

Idyllic, wild and windswept

Most archipelago life is centred in and around the inner archipelago. Discover Vaxholm, the archipelago capital, as well as quaint little villages and old fishing communities still buzzing with activity. At least in the summer. Winter is a quiet season. Even though the number of year-round residents has increased in recent years, it is during the summer months that the area really comes alive. Fishing huts, summerhouses and old post offices are transformed into restaurants, bars, comfortable guesthouses, youth hostels, galleries, shops and handicraft studios.

Boat traffic may be frequent and the jetties crowded with people but it is never hard to find your own private paradise. Take a stroll through woods, past gentle meadows and along endless rocky beaches, with only eiders and red-breasted mergansers for company. As you edge nearer to the outer archipelago, you might also be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a seal. Out here the landscape is much more barren, wild and windswept. In the past these islands were inhabited by people who made a living from the sea – farmers and fishermen, customs officers and sea pilots. But they have long since left their fishing stations and lighthouses and today it is mainly boat people who find their way to these archipelago outposts. Along with grey seals and sea eagles.