Best-selling writer Stieg Larsson has rocketed Stockholm to the top of the list of most popular European cities through the exploits of computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, better known as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It’s high time: Stockholm has always been a city of under-appreciated surprises and discoveries. Every visitor should see the main sights, but then hop on the 1900 steamboat that takes you past hidden creeks and marshland to the royal family’s palace on Drottningholm. Swim in a restored 1904 Art Nouveau pool, tuck into reindeer or arctic char in a gourmet food market, or try a distinctly different guided walk over the rooftops. And of course, follow in the footsteps of Lisbeth Salander on the former working-class island of Södermalm.
