Major events

Stockholm is a city that attracts tourists all year round. In the summer most visitors tend to strut along the jam packed streets, finding bargains and enjoying the weather. When fall comes, it all quiets down and people tend to move indoors or onto heated patios, trying to catch the last breath of summer. For some reason people tend to get nostalgic during the fall. With winter comes the darkness and empty streets, and hot chocolate, tea, whiskey and other such belly warmers are consumed in infinite amounts. A complete list of happenings can be found on the brochures page, where a PDF of events is listed, it's called "What's On in Stockholm".

Regardless of the season though, there are always events taking place that completely define the city, and of course, we've listed some of the things you don't want to miss. Event-list.

Summer

Foodies should look out for Restaurangernas Dag (the Restaurants Day) in early June, when Stockholm's restaurants move into central Kungsträdgården and offer food, drinks and entertainment at an affordable price. It's usually a heck of an event. The Stockholm Jazz Festival blows through town in mid-July and is also an exceptionally festive occasion. The gay and lesbian Stockholm Pride event is held in early August, and is a great highlight of the summer.

Another fun summer event is Popaganda, a free festival for pop and rock lovers with both known and less known bands. It usually lasts a couple days and is held out on the big lawn at the subway station Universitetet.

The Summer Music Festival, held from late May through August at the Drottningholms Court Theatre, celebrates opera, classical music and ballets by featuring productions that use historical, original instruments. This is a must for anybody who is interested in history, royalty or historical music in general.

Fall

This is a pretty quiet time, when people are heading back to work and back to school. The pace changes into a methodical mode, and people turn back into their ambitious selves. Suddenly you have live music at all the great arenas, the fall markets and of course, the preparation of the annual book sale, when people line up in the street to get their hands on books at amazing prices. Many titles are offered in English.

Winter

Christmas time takes over the city somewhere around November 1st, and warms up the population. The market at T-Centralen is a classic, so stop by if you have the chance.

Also in November , the Stockholm International Film Festival offers new filmmakers a competitive forum in which to strut their stuff. A relative newcomer to the scene of film and one of the few 24-hour film festivals in existence, this event has become one of Europe's most important film competitions, so if you're in town check it out.

Spring

This is when the city comes out of it's shell. All the major sporting events take off during the spring so keep an ear out for which teams are playing and when before your trip.

The spring is also for shopping. A major event for many Stockholmers is the annual spring sale when the city goes nuts and sells everything from the winter line at ridiculously low prices.