It’s always hard to figure out what travel guide will fit a particular trip and person? What has the most interesting content for you and your trip? Should you purchase a traditional paper guide, download an eBook or choose a mobile app? We have chosen our favourite Swedish / Stockholm travel guides. Here’s what we think are the best on the market.

You might wonder, why would I buy a guide book when I already live in Sweden? For myself, I think they are an invaluable resource for getting to know the city. I have done the walking tours in most of them, used them to figure out which museums I would like to go to, and they are great to have when visitors from out of town come and visit!

We have posted links to these books via Amazon.co.uk. We recommend getting books from the UK because firstly it’s way cheaper for you, and secondly if you buy your books via our website, it helps support our site. We are a community website and any help our readers can give is greatly appreciated. Both ways, it’s a win-win, so thank you for your support!

Our Favourite Swedish Travel Guides

Stockholm Wallpaper

City Guide 2011

Wallpaper* City Guides not only suggest where to stay, eat, and drink, but what the tourist passionate about design might want to see, whether he/she has a week or 24 hours in the city. Featured are up and coming areas, landmark buildings in an ‘Architour’, design centres, and the best shops to buy items unique to that city. Wallpaper* City Guides present travellers with a fast-track ticket to the chosen location. The edited guides offer the best, most exciting, and the most beautiful of that particular city. As well as looking beautiful, the guides are expertly designed with function as a priority, and have tabbed sections so that readers can easily find the information they are looking for. The guides include rate and currency information, maps and a colour-coding system to help you navigate the different parts of the city. They are the ultimate combination of form and function.

Here’s what a reader says: These guides are not intended to be a comprehensive – more of an alternative, secondary guide. I did find some useful hints in the guide and given I like special shops, it was good to have insider tips. None of the places suggested disappointed.

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Stockholm: Lonely Planet Encounter Guide

2010 Paperback

This title covers a range of unique itineraries from keeping your budget under control to embracing the city during its Nordic winter chill. Locals share their insights: an editor dispels Swedish stereotypes and a designer defines what keeps Stockholm style so avant-garde. There are revamped full-colour pull-out map and detailed neighbourhood maps for easy navigation to discover twice the city in half the time.

Here’s what a reader says: I was very impressed with the descriptions of places and the layout was fantastic with good easy-use maps. The holiday was extremely enjoyable with the help of this book and as Stockholm is best seen on foot I was able to see everything I wanted to and experience the culture as best as possible.

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Time Out Stockholm

2011, 4th Edition, Paperback

Perched on the edge of the Baltic, Scandinavia’s coolest capital is made up of one-third water, one-third green space and three-thirds style. You just have to clock the number of glossy Swedish lifestyle mags lining the shelves of the newsagents, or the calculated cool clothing sported by young Stockholmers, to realise that this place is at the forefront of design – from chic boutiques to cutting-edge hotels. But it is also a city of substance, with over 100 galleries and 70 museums – impressive stats for a population roughly one-seventh the size of London. And for a break from all that Nordic chic, there are thousands of pine-covered islands a ferry ride away for a thoroughly laid-back getaway.

Here’s what a reader says: For me, this guide has the right balance of size and content. The Time Out guides are small enough to put in your pocket (just) and simple enough for quick reference on a street corner. unlike the Rough Guide, which has barely any photos, these have enough so you can see what things look like to help you decide whether you want to go or not. The photos are useful rather than artistic.  I like the maps section too, although in the Stockholm guide, the area doesn’t extend to the television tower, which is a tourist attraction in itself. Even so, they are very clear and helpful maps.  All in all, for me, my favourite city guides. They’re consistently helpful

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The Rough Guide to Sweden

by James Proctor and Neil Roland (Paperback – 1 Jun 2009)

A guidebook that the London Sunday Times says has “the best all-round coverage of attractions and places to sleep and eat.”

Here’s what a reader says: “Up to date and a mine of really useful information which other guides seem to miss – finds the small, out of the way places which make this fantastic country so vibrant. Whether you want Sweden’s cities, villages, islands or the huge mass of countryside in between, this guide is exceptionally well balanced and a good read in itself.” By Simon Lethbridge (Harrogate, Yorkshire)

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Travel Stockholm, Sweden

2011 by MobileReference (ebook – 2011)

This guide is designed for optimal navigation on eReaders, smartphones, and other mobile electronic devices. It is indexed alphabetically and by category, making it easier to access individual articles. Articles feature information about attractions, landmarks, districts, transportation, cultural venues, dining, history and much more. Addresses, telephones, hours of operation and admissions information are included. The guide is complimented by clearly marked maps that are linked to city attractions. An interlinked phrasebook as well as a pronunciation guide are included. This travel guide also features an itinerary with our suggestions for your travel route. Itineraries include links to individual attraction articles.

What we like most is that the attraction articles include free audio guides links to Google Maps! The website says: “On a dedicated electronic reader with a slow connection and a primitive browser, Google Maps will display the attraction on the map along with metro stations, roads, and nearby attractions. On an internet-enabled device such as the iPhone and the iPad, Google Maps will even show you the route from your current location to the attraction you want to go to.”

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Sweden (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

by DK Publisher (Turtleback – 2005)

Recognized the world over by frequent flyers and armchair travelers alike, Eyewitness Travel Guides are the most colorful and comprehensive guides on the market. With beautifully commissioned photographs and spectacular 3-D aerial views revealing the charm of each destination, these amazing travel guides show what others only tell.

What readers say: “I usually like Eyewitness Travel Guides, and this “Sweden” issue was also as useful as the others I have owned. I am glad Stockholm has its own chapter and in great detail. The scenery pictures are nice, and graphics explaining detailed floor plans of buildings and museums are very useful. The pictures alone are enough to make me want to go there! I also like the Traveler’s Needs section, especially the accomadation divided in categories of location and price. Although accomodation nowadays is easy to find from the Internet, Eyewitness has saved me a lot of precious time trying to compare each hotel between websites. I would recommend anyone who is going to Sweden to get this book. You will get all the information you need, and more!” By S. Anan

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Stockholm (Eyewitness Travel Guide)

by Kaj Sandell (Paperback -2007)

Your holiday starts the moment you open this guide. ‘The best guide available. Packed to the brim with colour photos, maps and essential information’ – Reader review. Capture the essence of Stockholm. From incredible natural surroundings in the Archipelago to beautiful parks and high-class night life. Photos, illustrations, unique 3D models and birds-eye-view maps of all the major sites ensure you don’t miss a thing. Clue up on the basics, from the most comfortable places to stay (whatever your budget) to the best bars and restaurants. Discover where the locals go, enjoy relaxing entertainment, amazing sites and retail therapy, exciting sports, scenic walks or drives, thematic tours and colourful festivals. All you need for an unforgettable trip. This title is winner of the “Guardian & Observer” ‘Best Guide Books’ and “Wanderlust Magazine” Silver Award for ‘Top Guidebook’.

What readers say: “…considered to be the world’s best travel resource to over 30 destinations around the world, make it easier to plan a splendid vacation.” — North American Press Syndication

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Knopf MapGuide: Stockholm

by Knopf Guides (Paperback – 2009)

Knopf MapGuides are handy, practical and perfect for those of us who are slightly impaired when it comes to map-reading. You don’t have to search a huge crackling sheet with a microscopic index for one of 10,000 dots on the map.

What readers say: “Knopf MapGuides are handy, practical and perfect for those of us who are slightly impaired when it comes to map-reading. You don’t have to search a huge crackling sheet with a microscopic index for one of 10,000 dots on the map…The extraordinary quality of the books’ beautiful hues and heavy paper also give these $8.95 guides an evocative quality that stands apart from the glossy, garish look of most travel books.” – Marin Independent Journal

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Stockholm Travel Guide

by Offbeat Guide (Kindle Edition ebook – 2010)

Overview: Offbeat Guides creates personalized, up-to-date travel guides that cover over 30,000 travel destinations worldwide using a combination of search technology and curation by both amateur and professional travel experts.

What readers say: “This is the perfect use for my kindle. Headed to a conference in Stockholm, I got this guide and effortlessly found transport, good food, and some local events all in the vicinity of my hotel. I even used a few of the key Swedish phrases listed, which made me very popular, or at least amusing. I will definitely be picking these up for all of my future destinations.” By Richard H. Markuson (Sacramento, CA)

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Stockholm Walking Tour

by Travel On The Dollar (Kindle Edition ebook)

Take a walk through the Swedish capital city that is made up of 14 islands connected by some 50 bridges on Lake Mälaren that flows into the Baltic Sea and passes an archipelago with some 24,000 islands and islets.

This book gives you maps and routes so you can find the best that Stockholm offers.

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Frommer’s Sweden

by Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince (Paperback – 2011)

Captures all the highlights of this beautiful nation–everything from sophisticated cities and medieval towns to summer solstice festivals and Swedish glass factories. They provide tips on how to enjoy the best museums, shopping, and nightlife, as well our authors’ favorite offbeat experiences, such as exploring the Orsa “Outback” by horse and carriage or kayaking the Stockholm Archipelago. Detailed and candid hotel and restaurant reviews, plus what attractions are worth your time–and money.