Stockholm City Hall (Stadshuset)

Stockholm City Hall is the city's best-known modern landmark and the venue for the banquet that follows the Nobel Prize ceremony each December. Designed by the architect Ragnar Östberg and built between 1911 and 1923, it was inaugurated on 23 June 1923. Its red-brick walls and slender 106-metre tower stand at the water's edge on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen, facing Riddarholmen and Gamla Stan across the water, and the building still houses the city's council and offices.

The only way to see inside is on a guided tour, which lasts about 45 minutes and runs in English and Swedish. Tours normally take in the Blue Hall, the Golden Hall, the Council Chamber and the Gallery of the Prince. The Blue Hall, where the Nobel banquet is held, is in fact a red-brick hall; it keeps the name from Östberg's original plan to finish the walls in blue. It also contains the largest organ in Scandinavia, with more than 10,000 pipes. Upstairs, the Golden Hall is covered in mosaics made from more than 18 million tiles, with motifs drawn from Swedish history.

Because the City Hall is a working building with council meetings, events and weddings, rooms can close at short notice. The Gallery of the Prince is closed on Saturdays because of wedding ceremonies, and the whole building closes on certain dates, including the days around the Nobel banquet and Christmas. Check the date-by-date schedule on the official website before you plan your visit. The tower, visited on a separate ticket, gives a panoramic view over central Stockholm.

The tour suits architecture fans, Nobel enthusiasts and anyone who wants a short, well-explained visit. Tickets for public tours are released online one week in advance through the official ticket shop, and same-day tickets are sold at the City Hall Shop, whose entrance is in the archway at Hantverkargatan 1. Groups of ten or more need to book a private tour. Allow an hour for the tour and longer if you add the tower.

The City Hall is a short walk from Stockholm Central Station and T-Centralen across the Stadshusbron bridge. In summer, sightseeing and Drottningholm boats leave from the quay beside the building, and the courtyard and waterside garden are pleasant places to sit with a view towards Riddarholmen.