Stockholm: The MONOCLE Travel Guide Series

Stockholm has a world-leading design scene, picture-book palaces and an enviable berth in the waters of an idyllic archipelago – so it’s an easy city to fall for. But it’s more than just looks that grace this place; there’s also a crop of new restaurants that has brought variety to a once one-dimensional food scene. In the hotel industry too, recent openings have upstaged the staid options, while shops teem with Swedish-made goodies and fashion-forward brands.

You might not see it in the still waters of Lake Mälaren, which surrounds the 14 islands that constitute Stockholm, but there's a tide of optimism and change-for-the better cresting just beyond the Baltic Sea.