Welcome to 2020! Anyone else feel like they’re going to make this new year the best of their life? Well, we suggest you kick-start the process by booking yourself on a fabulous holiday or two… With no end in sight for the Scandinavian tourism trend (Nordic is the new cool), arguably no destination could be better suited for a trip of superlatives than the region’s capital and biggest city, Stockholm.
There’s always a reason – or two, or twenty – to visit Sweden’s first city, and perhaps even more so in 2020: Stockholm’s hotels and museums are gearing up for an exciting year of events and exhibitions. Want to join in on the fun? Of course you do.
The Märta Måås-Fjetterström exhibition at the Royal Palace, until April 19th
Okay, so this exhibit at the Royal Palace has been going for a while, but it won’t be around much longer – and fans of leading ladies simply can’t afford not to check it out! Make your way to the impossible-to-miss ‘Kungliga Slottet’ before April 20th to dive head first into the wonderful, woven world of textile artist Märta Måås-Fjetterström and marvel not only at her work – there are more than sixty of Måås-Fjetterström’s beautiful rugs on display – but also at her fierce determination as a ground-breaking female entrepreneur in the 20th century. Nothing like a pioneering feminist who helped changing gender bias while putting beauty out into the world!
www.royalpalaces.se/marta-maas-fjetterstrom
Spring salon at Royal Djurgården, January 10th till March 21st
Enjoy looking at art so much, you could take some home with you? Head to Stockholm’s greenest island, Royal Djurgården, before March 22nd, and take in the historic extravaganza locally known as Liljevalch’s Spring Fair (it’s been around since 1921!). Staged at the Liljevalchs Museum, the show will encompass more than 300 artworks from 170 creators, and everything is for sale. There tends to be an immense variety of different types of work at the fair, so whether you’re into abstract or figurative art, there’s something for everyone. And the quality of the work truly speaks for itself – all 170 artists have been carefully selected out of more than a whopping 3,000 applicants looking to be represented at the spring fair. Colour us impressed!
www.royaldjurgarden.se/springsalon
Milky Chance at Berns Salonger, March 8th
Hands down, there’s always something happening at Berns! One of Stockholm’s most fun hotels to stay at (as well as one of the city’s most beautiful properties, we might add), this Östermalm-based four-star number doubles as the concert venue of superstar dreams, regularly luring the world’s biggest names to perform in its pompous Salonger hall. Though not quite as famous as Rihanna or Rita Ora, German folk bang Milky Chance will be playing here March 8th, and you bet we’ll be standing in the front row to throw a rose or two when they break into ‘Stolen Dance’. Best of all, the way back to your hotel is never long when seeing a show at Berns – that is, if you book yourself into one of their 82 rooms and suites, each one equipped with unique art pieces!
The general awesomeness at Mälarpaviljongen, all summer long
If there’s any one place in Stockholm so cool, it doesn’t require a special occasion for you to justify visiting the city in 2020; it’s no doubt Mälarpaviljongen, the stylish cafe-cum-bar-cum-restaurant on the waters of the lake Mälaren. Though that doesn’t mean there are no special occasions here: from early April till late September, when the LGBT-run pavilion is open, it hosts an exemplary number of events, uniting both local and international DJs and entertainers under the rainbow flag. And with Mälarpaviljongen currently working on putting on its biggest and most spectacular season ever, there’s no better time to visit – plus, who wouldn’t enjoy a mid-year celebration to honour how well 2020 is going for them?