Season guide · Stockholm · Sweden
Stockholm in winter
December–February: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Jacob Shaw, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Short days, frost and occasional snow, brightened by Lucia, Christmas markets and cosy cafés; low prices after New Year. Expect highs up to 3°C (37°F) and lows around -3°C (27°F), with about 26 rainy days across December–February.
Key facts
- Months
- December–February
- Temperatures
- -3°C (27°F) to 3°C (37°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 26
- Sea
- 2°C (36°F) to 4°C (39°F)
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Hotel prices
- Low
Weather in winter
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C (34°F) | -3°C (27°F) | 9 | 6.8 h | 1/5 |
| February | 2°C (36°F) | -3°C (27°F) | 7 | 9.1 h | 1/5 |
| December | 3°C (37°F) | -1°C (30°F) | 10 | 6.1 h | 3/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 2°C (36°F) against a yearly 12°C (54°F), and 26 of the year's roughly 97 rainy days fall in these 3 months. Crowds rate 2/5 and hotel prices 2/5 on average.
What's on in winter
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- February: Semla day — Shrove Tuesday, when cream buns sell by the thousand (February or March)
- December: Nobel Prize ceremony and banquet (10 December; not open to the public)
- December: Lucia — candlelit processions and concerts in churches (13 December)
- December: Christmas markets at Skansen and Stortorget (usually until just before Christmas)
Good choices for winter
Museum · Norrmalm
Nationalmuseum
Look for Carl Larsson's monumental murals on the staircase before heading into the galleries.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Museum · Djurgården
Junibacken
A children's museum built around the stories of Astrid Lindgren, with a story train that rides through scenes from her books, Pippi Longstocking's Villa Villekulla to climb around in, and play areas based on other Swedish children's characters.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Experience · Norrmalm
Metro art
With a 24-hour ticket, ride the blue line from T-Centralen to Kungsträdgården, then the red line to Stadion.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
- Photo spot
Architecture · Vasastan
Stockholm Public Library
Gunnar Asplund's 1928 library is a cylinder rising from a block, and inside a circular hall lined floor to ceiling with books wraps around the visitor.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Market · Östermalm
Östermalms Saluhall
Have lunch at one of the counters; it is the most convenient place to try several Swedish seafood dishes.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Food
- Shopping
- Free
- Rainy day
Day trips in winter
- Uppsala (About 40 minutes by train) — Sweden's fourth city is home to Scandinavia's oldest university, the twin-spired Uppsala Cathedral, the Gustavianum museum with its anatomical theatre and Linnaeus's garden.
- Sigtuna (About 1 hour by train and bus) — Founded around 980, Sigtuna is one of Sweden's oldest towns, with a low-rise main street of wooden houses, medieval church ruins, rune stones along the paths and a pretty lakeside setting on Mälaren.
What to pack
- A warm coat, hat, gloves and thermal layers
- Shoes with good grip for icy pavements
- A packable rain jacket for showers
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is winter a good time to visit Stockholm?
It is a trade-off: Short days, frost and occasional snow, brightened by Lucia, Christmas markets and cosy cafés; low prices after New Year. The best months overall are May–September.
+What is the weather like in Stockholm in winter?
Highs of up to 3°C (37°F) and lows around -3°C (27°F), with about 26 rainy days over the season.