Blog post -
Grand Hotel's best tips on walking routes
Sometimes you do not have to go far to get the feeling of a vacation. And sometimes the vacation feeling starts at home when you are planning for your next trip. As you dream of your next adventure whether you are close by or far away, we want to inspire you to choose new walking paths on your next visit.
Prefer to run rather than walk? Then Grand Hôtel Nordic Spa & Fitness Running Coach Rickard Löpare provides you with four tips for the road:
- Make sure you have good running shoes tailored by your foot
- Combine running and walking during your distance. If you hurry slowly, the running season will be longer
- Run on different surfaces and you will get a more varied workout that gives better results. In addition, it is more durable for your body.
- Running with a smile, then you perform better
All the following routes and distances start from Blasieholmen and the Grand Hôtel.
Skeppsholmen / Kastellholmen
Image: Helén Pe/mediabank.visitstockholm.com
About 1-hour walking distance
A stone's throw from the Grand Hôtel, Skeppsholmen is a green oasis in the middle of central Stockholm. In the 16th century, the islet served as the Vasa kings recreation site and today it is dominated by architecture from the 300 years that Skeppsholmen went under the name "The Navy’s Island". Along the walkway you will pass, among other things, af Chapman, one of the world's most famous hostels, and several older and well-cared for boats that are moored along the northeast quay. Take the opportunity to get a stunning 360 view over Stockholm’s waterways at the view tower on the hill at the far end of Kastellholmens beach.
Running route (about 5 km): Why settle for an island when you can combine several? From Blasieholmen, you quickly take the Strömbron to the Old Town and on to Riddarholmen, the smallest district of the capital. On the way you will pass both the Royal Palace and the Swedish Parliament. Round the islet to pass by Birger Jarl's tower, Evert Taube's Terrace and the church of Riddarholmen, built in the 13th century as the Gråbrödra monastery. Continue across Riddarholmsbron and turn south in Old Town. You can follow the outskirts of the district all the way and avoid cobblestones - or dive into one of the many alleys for a hillier run. From the Skeppsbrokajen you see the Grand Hôtel on the other side of the water and if you have energy left you can finish by rounding the island of Skeppsholmen.
Djurgården
Image: Tove Freij/mediabank.visitstockholm.com
C:a 2 h
About 2-hours walking distance
Whether the starting point for your walk is the Grand Hôtel or one of our sister hotels Lydmar Hotel and the Sparrow Hotel, it is about a 20 minutes’ walk along Strandvägen before reaching the bridge to island of Djurgården. We recommend that you turn left after the bridge and pass Rosendal's garden before continuing along Djurgårdsbrunnsviken. Along Prince Carl's road, next to the canal of Djurgårdsbrunn, you will find the hidden gem Isbladskärret. Here, a small herd of Scottish highland livestock graze during the summer, to keep away vegetation and provide the perfect conditions for a fine bird lake. If you are lucky you can see both Sweden's largest and smallest bird here. Isbladskärret is also the starting point for Kärleksstigen, a hiking trail given by the World Nature Fund to HKH Crown Princess Victoria and HKH Prince Daniel as a wedding gift. If you continue around Djurgården you reach Blockhusudden after about an hour's walk. There, Blockhusporten offers Italian ice cream and good coffee and striking views of the water towards Nacka Strand.
In the Middle Ages, Djurgården went by the name of Valmundsön , later Walmunsön , and became a royal hunting ground during the 1400s. The core of its southern shore is Waldemarsudde, which was originally the home of Prince Eugen ( 1865-1947 ), and today is one of Sweden's most visited art museums. From Waldemarsudde it is possible to get back by tram or bus 47. If you want to walk further you will finally pass the open-air museum of Skansen, the amusement park Gröna Lund and Nordiska Museet, a museum that tells stories about the Nordic lifestyle and traditions.
Running route (about 10 km): The trail of Djurgården offers about 10 kilometres of terrain trail, that is well maintained in a beautiful environment. The trail follows the water around the island, and it is easy to shorten or extend the lap by taking off on any of the paths or roads you pass. It is also possible to turn back a on the mainland on the other side of the cannal of Djurgårdsbrunn, where you have illuminated tracks all the way back to the city centre. Along the trail there are stones, logs and park benches for those who want to break off the run with other exercises.
Norr Mälarstrand / Kungsholmen
Image: Tove Freij/mediabank.visitstockholm.com
About 2-hours walking distance
A walk from Blasieholmen to the City Hall on Kungsholmen is a nice walk in itself. You follow the water keeping the Old Town on your left and cross the bustling Drottninggatan and through the Town Hall quay where the boats leave for trips out on lake Mälaren. At the Town Hall you continue along the water. This is a very popular walking path, especially on sunny days. A sting of nice bars, restaurants and outdoor cafés is followed by the picnic friendly Rålambshovsparken. Then you come to Smedsuddsbadet where you can see Långholmen on the other side of Riddarfjärden with sand between the toes. For a shorter trip, you can go by bus 1 back to the city from the bridge at Marieberg. Otherwise, the promenade will continue through Fredhäll, Kristineberg and finally Klara strand with Karlbergs Castle, the world's oldest military school, on the other side of the water. The lively city center grows back as you approach the city hall bridge. One tip if you still got energy is to end the tour by taking you up into the City Hall tower and being rewarded with a hard-to-reach view of Stockholm.
Running route (about 10 km): Four outdoor gyms can be combined with the running tour, along Kungsholmen's outer edge. There is also the possibility of a cool swim at several bathing places, including at the cliffs in Fredhäll and Kristineberg, with beautiful views of Lake Mälaren.
Lill Jansskogen
A very popular area for the Stockholm locals is Lill Jansskogen, which is reached by passing Stureplan and the Sparrow Hotel. Then you can cross Humlegården and follow Sturegatan past the stately embassy residences, up to Stadion where you will find Norra Djurgården and finally Lill Jansskogen. There are several different trails available that are excellent for running and the dreaded Maskinbacken, behind the Royal Institute of Technology, is a popular hangout for interval training. A stone's throw away you will find the source of Uggleviken, which is said to have been a sacred place in the 13th century. Today, the water is not drinkable, but flows through small streams from the old well into the bay of Uggleviken, which is Stockholm's most important deciduous forest with rich bird life. At Fiskartorpet, where ski jumping competitions were held as early as 1893, there are plenty of steps up the slope a real challenge for the leg muscles.
