SWEDEN’s floating capital of Stockholm is cool, cutting-edge and eternally captivating – just like its hospitable inhabitants.

Sitting pretty across blue Lake Malaren’s fourteen islands, the Venice of the North is also a land of happy contradictions. Parked right next to the red, orange and vanilla “Toytown” dwellings of medieval Gamla Stan and its ice-cream parlours and souvenir shops, is the Folkungagatan district (SoFo to natives) with its hilly streets full of indie boutiques, hip art galleries and industrial-vibe food halls serving up local delicacies like reindeer casserole and cloudberries.

Whether it’s ice-skating in Kungstradgarden in winter or leaping off the Fredhall cliffs in summer, this regal Nordic beauty offers so much more than Abba, meatballs and Ikea – but with a price tag to match.