Gamla Stan
Stockholm's history starts in Gamla Stan (Old Town), which still has the character of a medieval city. Its narrow lanes follow the same curves along which the seamen of former times carried their goods .These early years are shadowy, as is mush early Swedish history, perhaps because the Vikings were too busy raiding and plundering to spend time more than the runes that decorate their memorials. As long ago as history, this small stony islet between Lake Mälaren and Saltsjön was used by fishermen and hunters, but in the 12th century it became a base for German merchants from Lubeck who had begun to trade in iron, and an early king built a primitive watch tower.

Today, Gamla Stan covers the original island of Stadsholmen, Riddarholmen (the island of the knights and nobles), Helgeandsholmen, occupied by the Riksdig (parliament) and the tiny blob of Strömsborg, all so close that is sometimes diffucult to realise you have crossed from one to another. The best place to start a tour is Stortorget, the centre of the original city, from which narrow streets fan out all direction.

Medieval traders
Today, stortorget is a peaceful square. In medieval times, it was a crowded, aesy place of trade, where German merchants, stallholders, craftsmen, and young servant girls and boys jostled and shouted. Along one side is Börsen, the old Stock Exchange building, and the modern Stock Exchange still occupied the ground floor. On the floor above, chandeliers that once looked down on the glittering royal splendour of the New year balls, now preside over the Swedish Academy's weekly meetings. The Academy also meets here to elect the winners of the Nobel Price for Literature.

The World's Longest Art Gallery
It's hard to understand what inspired Swedish engineering designers to cover the walls of Stockholm's underground railway with paintings at a time when every other country was lining its undergrounds with shiny, cream tiles. But it has made Stockholm's underground, the Tunnelbanan, into mush more than a mere transport system. Down the escalators is a world of caverns full of colour, texture, and shape, giving Stockholm the world's longest art gallery. Booking halls, ceilings, platforms and track walls offer an endless variety of styles and colour - all for the price of a ticket. Half of the 99 stations have paintings, sculptures, mosaics or engravings. More than artists have contributed.

As pass the various stations, can look at Västra Skogen with a 18-metre (60-ft) human profile in terrazzo, tile patterns and cobblestones. But the high spot on this line must be Solna Centrum, which deserves a special stop. It has green hills and forests behind the rail tracks, silhouetted against red.

On the other arm of this line, is Tensta, one of the larger immigrant communities with some 30 different nationalities represented. The paintings show a Tribute to the Immigrants. But many think the most interesting station on this line is Kungs-trädgården, which has two beautiful entrances. Other more unusual exhibits are the Green Bird sculpture at Rågsved, the scientific, engineering, and mathematical symbols of Tekniska Högskolan and the fantasy beetles in glass cases at Gärdet.