I have spent a week in Stockholm earlier this year and would like to share this information with you.

Stockholm is a very expensive city, and will seem even more expensive after Wroclaw (a city I last visited several years ago but remember enjoying!!)

For a weeks visit, highly recomended is the Stockholm Card http://tinyurl.com/3lnq7 which entitles you to free entry to 75 museums and discounts on more and reductions on some boat trips. The three day version also includes two free "tourist boat" rides as well, which are excellent ways to see the city.

I strongly recomend that you take the boat to Drottingholm Palace. You can take the boat each way and a return ticket costs 110Kroner (80 with the Stockholm Card.) Excellent guided tours are available with well-informed, polite and experienced staff - highly recomended. Audio guides are also available I believe.

Another must see, in my opinion, is the Historika Museum. Some of the exhibits, esp the Baroque room, are a bit dry but the absolute star of this museum (and an overwhelming reason to come) is the Gold Room, which is downstairs. There is something like 110lb of Gold and 550lb of Silver and I recomend that you find the Reliquary of St Elisabeth therein which I found to be a stunning exhibit. The museum website is at http://www.historiska.se/ There are guided tours of the museum, which I would recomend that you take, especially round the Viking exhibit, as they are quite informative.

I was in Stockholm during the Midsommer celebrations when there were various activities happening on the Island of Skansen (http://www.skansen.se/). This island is an outdoor museum and was bustling with celebrations for midsommer but I would imagine it to be interesting at other times of the year.

Also recomended is the Royal Palace tour http://tinyurl.com/5slwq which is very central and well worth every Kroner of the entry fee you pay. There are several palaces in Stockolm, information on which is available from the address I have just given. I only managed to see the Royal Palace and Drottingholm and highly recomend both.

During my one week there I managed to see all of the above and more - even allowing for closures over midsommer. Everything I wanted to see by getting there on foot (except Drottingholm Palace.)

A very useful Visitors Guide is at http://www.stockholmtown.com/ The main Tourist Office is in a large square under the "Culture House" and is very well stocked with plenty of infomation and expertly staffed - one of the best (if not the best) tourist office I have been too.

Unfortunately, I can't help you with Norway as I have never been there, but I hope is information on Stockholm is useful to you.

Mark Sukhija, in Zaragoza