British Airways Highlife Magazine: All through the night: 24-hour cities
STOCKHOLM
Population 897,000.
How late is late? 1am. Dinner at 9pm is late and a handful of nightclubs stay open till the wee hours. In summer, more people linger outdoors taking post- night-out dips off the scattered islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic.
Beyond-midnight feasts? At Riche, a century-old brasserie in chic Östermalm, rub shoulders with the Stockholm elite and eat fancy versions of classics such as toast Skagen and biff Rydberg, before dancing at nearby Lilla Baren.
It’s 2am, where are you? At a korvmojar – Sweden’s distinct hot-dog stands. At Maxi Grillen in Medborgarplatsen order the tunnbrödsrulle, a hot dog and mashed potato wrap served with mustard, relish, onions, ketchup and shrimp salad.
Come 3am, still going? Enjoy a fika – the Swedish ritual of a break for coffee and a pastry – at a taxi café, the nickname given to the 24-hour greasy spoons that are popular with cabbies. Nattcaféet in Södermalm is a classic.
At 4am – what’s the soundtrack? Machines or nature: snowploughs or chirping birds, season dependent.
Can you still get home? Yes, the Stockholm metro system (dubbed ‘the world’s longest
art gallery’, since most of its 100 stations are decorated with mosaics and paintings) runs 24/7.
How do you party when the sun never sets? Parties at unusual venues – under a bridge at Trädgården or in an old industrial estate at Slakthuset.
24-hour city? 18 hours. This city also likes its sleep.
Nathalie Rothschild 