Turn the autumnal darkness to your advantage and stroll along Monteliusvägen, a quarter-mile-long hillside path on Södermalm, the boho-chic southern island.
Start by getting lost in the streets of Gamla Stan, on the small but strategically central island that houses the official home of the Swedish monarchy.
DesignTorget (0046 08 21 91 50; designtorget.se), is a wonderland of great Art Deco gifts.
The Kungliga Slottet (0046 8 402 6130; royalcourt.se, £14) is one of the few European palaces permanently open to the public. Make for the unostentatious Royal Apartments.
The Östermalms Saluhall (ostermalmshallen.se) is a splendid 19th-century red-brick food hall with speciality stalls.
