The sunset aspect
The rock faces due west over the lake.
Holger.Ellgaard — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Holger.Ellgaard — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Esquilo — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Holger Ellgaard — CC BY-SA 3.0
Skinnarviksberget is the highest natural point in central Stockholm: a bare rock mass in western Sodermalm rising some fifty-three metres above sea level, with no fence, no platform and no gate — exposed stone you simply sit on. The view from it is the most comprehensive in the city for nothing at all: City Hall with its brick facade to the right, Lake Malaren stretching ahead, and the rooftops of Kungsholmen and Gamla Stan to the side — all of it facing west, which puts it squarely opposite the sunset. That is what made it Stockholm's foremost summer ritual: people climb up after work with bags of food and blankets and sit on the rock until the light goes, close to midnight. The climb is short but steep, up steps and a dirt path from Soder Malarstrand, taking about ten minutes. There are no facilities at the top — no cafe, no toilets, no lighting — and that is part of its local, untouristed character.
The rock faces due west over the lake.
Locals climb with blankets and food till midnight.
Skinnarviksberget, 117 26 Stockholm
Stockholm City HallStockholm City Hall is the building you recognise from pictures of the city even11 minutes walk4.6
The Stockholm City MuseumThe Stockholm City Museum occupies a seventeenth-century building at the foot of14 minutes walk4.6
The Katarina ElevatorThe Katarina Elevator is an iron lift connecting Slussen harbour below with the 16 minutes walk4.6
Gamla Stan (The Old Town)Gamla Stan is the nucleus from which Stockholm grew in the thirteenth century: a16 minutes walk
The Nobel Prize MuseumThe Nobel Prize Museum occupies the old stock exchange building on **Stortorget*16 minutes walk4.3Nearest metro is Zinkensdamm, then walk west to Evert Taubes park where the steps and dirt path begin. The climb is about ten minutes and steep in its final stretch over bare rock — wear rubber-soled shoes and avoid it straight after rain, since wet rock here is dangerously slippery.