Stockholm walking tours compared: the tip-based Old Town tours, paid walks from SEK 143, a Södermalm walk and a ghost walk

💡 The Short Version: The free tours are tip-based: book a place at no charge, then tip. Nordic Freedom Tours’ Old Town walk starts outside the Gamla Stan metro station at 10:00, 13:00 or 15:00, takes about 2 hours and 3 km, and ends in front of the Royal Palace. Paid Old Town walks are from SEK 143 (2 hours, optional fika) to SEK 435 (a small group with an official city guide). Two walks leave the Old Town: a Södermalm walk from SEK 210 and a ghost walk from SEK 199. None goes inside a museum or the palace. Or book now: the Old Town walking tour with a local guidead is from SEK 150, rated 4.7 from 2,646 reviews, and the Secrets of Gamla Stan walk with a fika optionad from SEK 143 (GetYourGuide).

The tours compared

Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price for one adult. The free tour has no price: the operator asks for a tip.

The tip-based Old Town walk

Nordic Freedom Tours

Free to book, tip at the end · English only · about 2 hours · 10:00, 13:00 or 15:00

Nordic Freedom Tours has run since 2015 with local freelance guides, and says its tips are mandatory at the end. It asks guests to book on its own site rather than a platform. Its start times show at checkout, and the Old Town walk is listed at 10:00, 13:00 and 15:00.

The walk is about 3 km and starts outside the Gamla Stan metro station, by the exit towards the Old Town. Look for the guide holding the Nordic Freedom Tours sign. The route passes the German Church, Mårten Trotzigs gränd (the narrowest street, 90 cm wide), Järntorget, Stortorget, the Iron Boy, the Royal Palace, Storkyrkan, the Nobel Prize Museum, Prästgatan with its rune stone and Riddarholmen Church, and the company says the itinerary can change without notice. The 10:00 walk ends in front of the Royal Palace at about noon, before the 12:15 changing of the guard.

Mårten Trotzigs gränd, the narrow stepped alley in Gamla Stan. Photo: AleWi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The tour starts on time and does not wait for latecomers. It runs in any weather. It is for over-18s, is not suitable for wheelchairs or strollers, and bans dogs, smoking and filming. The company does not take organised groups, including schools, student groups, firms and groups of friends; an organised group of more than 6 must book a private paid tour.

Paid walks in Gamla Stan

A paid walk gives a fixed price, and the listings marked small group say so. All the walks below cancel free on GetYourGuide.

Västerlånggatan, a shopping street running through Gamla Stan. Photo: Leonhard Lenz, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

• The Old Town walk with a local guidead is from SEK 150 for 2 to 2.5 hours, 4.7 stars from 2,646 reviews. It is Nordic Freedom Tours’ paid listing and covers Riddarholmen, the Bloodbath square, the narrowest street and the Royal Palace. SEK 150 is the lowest date; the standard price is SEK 300.
• The Secrets of Gamla Stan walkad is from SEK 143 for 2 hours, in a small group, 4.7 stars from 329 reviews. A fika stop is an optional extra.
• The medieval to modern walkad is from SEK 159 for 2.5 hours, 4.8 stars from 98 reviews. The standard price is SEK 199.
• The Walk of Gamla Stanad is SEK 167 for 2.5 hours, 4.8 stars from 617 reviews.
• The Old Town walking tourad is SEK 278 for 2 hours, 4.6 stars from 838 reviews.
• The small-group Old Town tourad is SEK 435 for 2 hours with an official city guide, 4.9 stars from 479 reviews.

Storkyrkan, the Nobel Prize Museum and the Royal Palace are separate tickets that no walk includes. Gamla Stan says what each costs.

Birger Jarls torg on Riddarholmen, with the statue of Birger Jarl. Photo: Leonhard Lenz, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Södermalm, the ghost walk and a private guide

• The Bohemian walkad is SEK 210 for 2.5 hours, 4.8 stars from 67 reviews. It covers 1,000 years of Södermalm, with street art, historic landmarks and panoramic viewpoints. Stockholm viewpoints lists the free ones to revisit on your own.
• The ghost walkad is SEK 199 for 1.5 hours, 4.7 stars from 2,916 reviews. The guide tells tales of murders, myths and disease in the dark streets of the oldest parts of the city.
• A private custom walking tourad is from SEK 612 for 2 to 8 hours, 4.6 stars from 84 reviews.

What a walk does not do

A walk passes sights and does not go inside them. The Royal Palace takes a ticket, and the Nobel Prize Museum, the Royal Armoury and Nationalmuseum are closed on Mondays. The tip-based walk ends at the palace, so a reader who wants to go in the same day should look at the Royal Palace tickets page first. For a tour on the metro, see the Stockholm metro art page, and for a tour that eats, food tours.

Which to book

• A first orientation on a budget: the Old Town walk with a tip, at 10:00 so that it ends before the guard.
• A set price instead of a tip: the Old Town walk with a local guide, from SEK 150.
• A small group: the Secrets of Gamla Stan walk, from SEK 143, or the SEK 435 tour with a city guide.
• A longer walk through the history: the 2.5-hour medieval to modern walk.
• Murders and myths: the ghost walk, SEK 199.
• Outside the Old Town: the Södermalm walk, SEK 210.
• On your own: the Gamla Stan walk goes from Gamla stan station to Slussen, and the Södermalm walk goes on from Slussen to Monteliusvägen.
• More ground in less time: a bike tour or the hop-on hop-off bus.
• From the water: boat tours.
• With a Go City pass: none of these is covered; see Stockholm Pass: is it worth it?.

What to book before you go to Stockholm has the closed days for every sight, and free things to do in Stockholm lists what to add on your own.