Sodermalm: Stockholm's Cool(ed) Island

Södermalm’s reputation is shops, bars and nightlife. Its best sights are public and free: cliffs with the best views in the city, two old squares, and a free city museum. Here’s how to see them, and how to get through the Slussen works.

When you need this

You have half a day in Stockholm and want views and neighborhoods rather than another museum. Or you’re staying on Södermalm and want to know what’s nearby. Or you’ve just come out of the metro at Slussen and the map no longer matches what you see. This page covers the public places. It names no shops, bars or cafés, because those change faster than any guide can check.

What Södermalm is

Södermalm is the large island on the south side of central Stockholm. Locals call it Söder for short. Visit Stockholm, the city’s official visitor site, calls it “Stockholm’s trendiest neighborhood.” It also points out that in the early 20th century it was “an impoverished and rough district” of cramped housing for factory workers.

That is the “cooled” story in one line: a working-class island that became the city’s fashionable side. The cool label is the tourist office’s, not ours. What a visitor actually does on Söder is simpler: climb to the viewpoints on the north cliffs, sit in the squares, and walk.

On paper, the City of Stockholm’s Södermalm district is bigger than the island. It also covers Gamla stan, Hammarby Sjöstad, Långholmen and Reimersholme. This page stays on Södermalm itself, with Långholmen as a summer extra.

The viewpoints

Skinnarviksberget is the one to climb. The City of Stockholm says its summit, Bergets krön, is Stockholm’s highest natural point, 53 meters above sea level. From there you look out over Riddarfjärden and the city. The hill is part of Skinnarviksparken. Its eastern half is bare rock and wild ground, and the western half is mown lawn. The city notes the hill is busiest in the summer half of the year, and in winter part of the park is used for sledging.

Nearby, on Gamla Lundagatan, Ludvigsbergsgatan and Yttersta Tvärgränd, the city has kept low 18th-century wooden houses behind board fences and lilac hedges. The name comes from the tanners, skinnare, who once worked here, away from the city because of the smell.

Monteliusvägen and Fjällgatan are the other two. Visit Stockholm describes both as popular walking routes on the northern side of Södermalm with views across the city. Walk them west to east: Skinnarviksberget, then Monteliusvägen, down past Slussen, and up to Fjällgatan. No source publishes walking times between them, so plan the route on a map.

One caution: Skinnarviksberget has large differences in level, bare rock and natural ground. It is not a step-free viewpoint. Wheelchair users are better off in the lawned western part of the park or at another view.

The squares

Mariatorget is, in the city’s words, a popular and lively city park, lined with big lime trees where people play boules. It has a playground, a kiosk and a public toilet. The square was laid out in 1759 and was called Adolf Fredriks torg from 1768 to 1958. Anders Wissler’s bronze fountain Tors fiske (“Thor’s fishing”) was placed in the park in the early 1900s. Mariatorget metro station (red line) carries the square’s name.

Nytorget is laid out on two terraces. It has an artificial lawn around an ornamental pond and a large gravel playground at the south end. The city notes a small café in the northeast corner in summer and a toilet on the north side. Bror Hjort’s sculpture Lek (“Play”) has stood here since 1935. Its history is darker: in the Middle Ages this was an execution site, and the park was only laid out in 1921.

SoFo

SoFo is Visit Stockholm’s name for the blocks south of Folkungagatan, around Nytorget. It describes them as packed with independent clothing, design and vintage shops, and it calls Nytorget “a bustling social scene” in the warm months. SoFo is a shopping district rather than a sight. Go if browsing is your thing, and treat Nytorget park as the place to sit down.

Visit Stockholm also names the parks Vita Bergen and Tantolunden, Årstaviken as a popular place for Sunday walks, and Långholmen, a short walk from Hornstull. Långholmen is “a popular place for a summer swim,” and its old prison was in use until 1975.

Slussen in autumn 2026

Slussen is the junction between Gamla stan and Södermalm, and it is a building site. The City of Stockholm says the whole new traffic solution will be finished in 2027, with the last works in 2028. Here’s what that means on the ground this autumn:

Older guides are wrong here in both directions. Guides written between 2010 and 2023 call Katarinahissen closed; it runs again. Guides written before the works send you to the old ferry quay; the boat now leaves from the other side of the water. Bus stops around Slussen can also differ from older maps and saved routes, so check SL’s journey planner on the day.

Getting to Fotografiska also means crossing the works. From Slussen metro, the museum describes a temporary staircase and walkway, 800 meters along the waterfront. The Djurgården ferry does not stop there.

Getting there and around

The metro stations are the easiest way to find your way around Söder:

One SL ticket covers the metro, buses and the Djurgården ferry. Tapping a contactless card at the gate buys a 75-minute single. For step-free travel, SL rates Slussen’s passability as sometimes worse during the works and the bus stops at Medborgarplatsen as not accessible. Visit Stockholm says far from all metro stations have elevators, so check elevator status in the SL app.

Stadsmuseet pairs well with a Söder walk. It is free, stands at Slussen, and is closed on Mondays. On Wednesdays it stays open to 20:00, and the same evening Fotografiska sells two tickets for the price of one from 18:00.

Practical information

FAQ

What is Södermalm known for?

Södermalm, or Söder, is the large island south of Gamla stan. Visit Stockholm calls it Stockholm’s trendiest neighborhood, known for shops, bars and nightlife, a contrast with its poor, crowded past in the early 1900s. For visitors, its best sights are free: viewpoints on the north cliffs, the squares Mariatorget and Nytorget, and Stadsmuseet at Slussen.

How do I get to Södermalm?

Take the red or green metro to Slussen, the gateway from Gamla stan. The red line continues to Mariatorget, Zinkensdamm and Hornstull; the green line to Medborgarplatsen and Skanstull. One SL ticket or a tapped contactless card covers it. The Djurgården ferry currently leaves from a temporary pier on Skeppsbron, on the Gamla stan side, because of the Slussen works.

Where is the best view on Södermalm?

Skinnarviksberget, in Skinnarviksparken, is Stockholm’s highest natural point at 53 metres above sea level, with views over Riddarfjärden and the city, according to the City of Stockholm. Monteliusvägen and Fjällgatan on the north side are the other viewpoints Visit Stockholm names. All are free; Skinnarviksberget’s rocky summit is not step-free.

What does SoFo mean in Stockholm?

SoFo is the name used for the blocks south of Folkungagatan on Södermalm, which Visit Stockholm describes as packed with independent clothing, design and vintage shops. Nytorget, the square at its heart, is a summer meeting place with a terraced park, a pond and a playground. It is a shopping district rather than a sight in itself.

Is Slussen still under construction?

Yes. The City of Stockholm says the whole new traffic solution will be finished in 2027 and the last works in 2028. The new bus terminal was due in autumn 2026 without a fixed date. Katarinahissen reopened in 2023 and the new Södermalmstorg in 2025, while the Djurgården ferry uses a temporary pier on Skeppsbron.

What can I do for free on Södermalm?

Most of it. The viewpoints at Skinnarviksberget, Monteliusvägen and Fjällgatan are free, as are the parks Mariatorget, Nytorget, Vita Bergen and Tantolunden. Stadsmuseet, the Stockholm City Museum at Slussen, has free admission and is closed on Mondays. In summer, Långholmen off Hornstull is a popular place for a swim.

Related guides

• Stockholm travel guide — how the districts fit together and the city-wide Slussen warnings.
• Gamla stan — the old town, just across Slussen.
• Djurgården — the museum island, by the line 82 ferry from Skeppsbron.
• Fotografiska — the photography museum on Söder’s waterfront, open to 23:00.
• Stockholm in 3 days — a Södermalm walk as one day-3 option.

Facts verified 2026-09-25. Sources: Stockholms stad (parks, the Slussen project), Visit Stockholm, Region Stockholm/SL, Stadsmuseet, Fotografiska and SVT — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.