Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale
Stockholm Gamla Stan Christmas Market Review
“Stockholm in the winter? Are you insane?”
This was the standard reaction I received when I announced the addition of Stockholm to my Christmas market itinerary.
Ok, I sort of understood the reaction. While the allure of the midnight sun draws visitors to Sweden in the summer, I hadn’t heard many visitors mention the limited daylight and the mid-afternoon moon as a reason to visit Sweden in the winter. But I wasn’t going to let something as silly as sunshine stop me from seeing what I’d heard would be a Scandinavian wonderland and a visit to the famous Stockholm Gamla Stan Christmas Market. (Also check out our post on my second favorite Swedish Christmas market in the city center at Kungstradgården.
Stockholm, 2:00 p.m.
After an early afternoon arrival in Stockholm, my travel mate Linds and I dropped our bags off at the hotel and sprinted out the door, determined to beat the clock and reach the Gamla Stan Christmas market before dark.
![DSC02847 gamla stan bridge winter buildings](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02847.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
![DSC02854 gamla stan, stockholm, bridge](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02854.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
We hadn’t really researched when nightfall would hit and estimated between 4 and 5 pm. We were wrong.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 31 stockholm's old town historic center gamla stan dusk winter buildings sedish style](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02891.jpg?w=633)
We took the quickest route to the Gamla Stan Christmas market through Stockholm’s old town. The Gamla Stan happens to be one of Europe’s best preserved medieval cities so it was impossible hard not to be distracted. I may have stopped and taken a few quick snaps.
![DSC02883 swedish guard stockholm](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02883.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
![DSC03029 stockholm swedish building old town gamla stan](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03029.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
Stockholm, 2:30 pm. By the time we reached the Gamla Stan Christmas market, afternoon had already given way to dusk. We hurried over to the wooden cabins dotting the 13th century square.
My Review of Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market
My first impression of the Gamla Stan Christmas market– had I stepped into some kind of fantastic fairytale? Not the kind with scary witches and burning stoves, but the kind with dancing woodland creatures and wish-granting fairies. Yes, it was really that magical.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 33 stockholm gamla stan christmas market review](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02893.jpg?w=633)
Rosy-cheeked Swedish children beaming at the sweets before them.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 34 gamla stan christmas market reviews stall candy cabin hut vendors](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02895.jpg?w=633)
The candy cane vendor at the Gamla Stan Christmas Market.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 35 gamla stan christmas market stockholm sweden decorations ornaments crafts](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02912.jpg?w=633)
Most of the Christmas decorations had a distinctively Swedish look to them, like these bundled-up mini elves.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 36 stockholm christmas market gamla stan elves decor stall booth cabin](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02914.jpg?w=633)
The Stockholm Christmas market featured lots of swinging elves and Santas.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 38 swedish christmas ornaments gamla stan christmas market stockhom stall vendor](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02923.jpg?w=633)
Red and white seemed to be a predominant color scheme for Swedish Christmas ornaments.
![DSC02924 swedish christmas ornaments gamla stan christmas market stockhom stall vendor ceramic elves](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02924.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
![DSC02925 swedish christmas ornaments decorations gamla stan christmas market stockhom stall vendor](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02925.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 39 Gamla Stan Christmas market vendor stockholm stall booth cabin](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02907.jpg?w=633)
Vendors took great care into making their stalls feel festive, adding to the storybook feel of Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market. I adored this Swedish vendor’s hat as much as her delicious selection of local cheeses.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 40 swedish crafts gamla stan christmas markets stockholm snapsglas](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03043.jpg?w=633)
A perfect gift from the Gamla Stan Christmas market– a festive champagne flute (snapsglas) hand painted with a santa…or a skull.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 41 stockholm gamla stan christmas market vendor review](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02976.jpg?w=633)
This Gamla Stan Christmas market vendor specialized in lambswool items– I loved these baby shoes decorated with Swedish flags.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 42 ornaments gamla stam christmas market stockholm](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02931.jpg?w=633)
Sometimes you could barely see the Swedish vendors through their elaborate, carefully arranged displays of ornaments.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 43 DSC02952](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02952.jpg?w=633)
This Swedish vendor charmed us into trying smoked reindeer meat. Our review? Pretty tasty!
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 44 swedish christmas market gamla stan stall honey jam food](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02951.jpg?w=633)
I gave up on trying to read the Swedish signs.
![DSC02989 swedish glogg gamla stan christmas market](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02989.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
![DSC03039 swedish glogg gamla stan christmas market](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03039.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
After that it was time for some Glögg, the Swedish version of mulled wine.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 45 Swedish bread baked goods gamla stan christmas market review](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02900.jpg?w=633)
We checked out the Swedish baked goods and sweets.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 46 drinks vendor food hot chocolate gamla stan christmas market stockholm sweden](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02903.jpg?w=633)
Varm Choklad (hot chocolate) at Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market.
![DSC03023 hot dogs gamla stan stockholm](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03023.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
![DSC03006 swedish hot dogs food vendor Gamla Stan Christmas](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03006.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
The only hot food option was a lone hot dog vendor. We were in the mood for something heartier so we decided to grab dinner in town instead.
![DSC02937 swedish advent candles](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02937.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
![DSC02982 swedish ornaments wool felt](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc02982.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 47 night stockholm gamla stan architecture curved roof buildings](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03010.jpg?w=633)
By 3:30 pm, night had set on the Gamla Stan Christmas market. But instead of dampening the festive mood, it only made it even more magical.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 48 jul-hallbroad, a thin, cracker-like bread sweetened with cinnamon and spices gamla stan christmas market review](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03066.jpg?w=633)
I picked up some jul-hallbroad, a thin, cracker-like bread sweetened with cinnamon and spices, to bring home with me.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 49 wooden Stalls Gamla Stan Christmas Market. stockholm sweden](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03015.jpg?w=633)
The wooden stalls lit up at night created a cozy feel at the Gamla Stan Christmas Market.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 50 Swedish honey food gamla stan christmas market stockholm](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03051.jpg?w=633)
Swedish honey from a local farm looks tempting.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 51 swedish glogg xmas market](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03049.jpg?w=633)
Swedish Glogg.
Post-Christmas Market, we Headed Back out to the Streets of Gamla Stan.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 53 gamla stan cobblestone winter streets stockhom sweden](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03100.jpg?w=633)
The dark skies and lantern-lit alleys gave Gamla Stan’s cobblestoned streets a luminescent quality.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 54 Christmas lights Gamla Stan Stockholm cobblestone street night](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03109.jpg?w=633)
The Swedes excel at subtlety, even when it comes to their Christmas decorations. You won’t find blinking, colorful lights or giant plastic snowmen here.
The cold and dark doesn’t stop the Swedes from going about business as usual.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 56 gamla stan streets in stockholm at night walking cobblestone sweden](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03115.jpg?w=633)
Looking at this photo, it’s hard to believe these tweens aren’t breaking curfew but are just on their way home from school in the mid-afternoon.
![Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market, a Real Life Swedish fairy tale 57 stockholm gamla stan street](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03096.jpg?w=633)
I’m not surprised that candles are so popular in Stockholm.
I could have wandered these ancient cobblestone lanes forever, but the frigid nordic air had started to catch up with us. Lesson learned– the next day I wore two pairs of my “thermal” socks.
![DSC03119 sweden stockhokm christmas tree](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03119.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
![DSC03118 stockholm subway train stop gamla stan](https://i0.wp.com/souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc03118.jpg?w=246&h=246&crop=1&ssl=1)
We stopped to admire the Christmas trees for sale before hopping onto Stockholm’s easy-to-navigate metro. Loaded with bags full of Swedish Christmas market goodies, we set off to find a warm dinner.
Didn’t see enough photos of Stockholm’s Gamala Stan Christmas Market? Click through for the rest of my photo review in the slide show:
Have you shopped Stockholm’s Gamla Stan Christmas market? Share in the comments below!
Want to read about more Christmas markets?
Swedish Christmas market in the city center at Kungstradgården.
Is New York City’s Union Square Holiday Market worth checking out?
Check out the Budapest Christmas Market here for the shopping
And here for the Budapest Market’s mouth watering-eats
Munich, Germany’s Medieval Christmas Market: Corny or Cool?
What to Get: Gorgeous Swedish glass, ceramic and felted wool ornaments, reindeer jerky and woolens
Where to Get it: Stockhom’s Gamla Stan Christmas Market. In Stortorget, the main square in Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden
What to know: Hours: Daily, 11 am to 6 pm every day between November 23rd and December 23rd[/box]
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