Stockholm, verdict by verdict

Stockholm is a capital built on water: fourteen islands stitched together by bridges and ferries, the medieval lanes of Gamla Stan, the Vasa warship and open-air Skansen on Djurgården, and a 30,000-island archipelago starting at the city's edge. The Tunnelbana and the ferry network make island-hopping simple, and the whole city reads as waterfront first.

The caveats are price and daylight. Hotels, restaurants and alcohol run expensive even for Scandinavia, so tight budgets feel it daily; winter days are short and dark enough that January and February test anyone whose mood follows the sun; and the spread-out layout means there is no single compact centre to stroll.

Three days covers Gamla Stan, the Vasa and one or two islands, with an extra day for the archipelago or Drottningholm in summer, and late May to August stretches the evenings past ten until the archipelago becomes the main event. December trades daylight for lights and Christmas markets. Sleep in Norrmalm for the shopping district or Södermalm for the SoFo bar quarter, ride the Arlanda Express into Central in about twenty minutes, and expect a city that suits museum days, design and cafe culture, and summer island-hopping.