24 hours of light in Stockholm is a unique highlight of visiting Sweden’s capital close to the summer solstice. Witnessing a day without true darkness has its perks. For starters, that means no vampires right? If you’re in Stockholm, Sweden close to the summer solstice, here’s what you can expect!
Stockholm’s Long Days of Summer
Stockholm is in the eastern part of the Central European Time zone so its official sunset isn’t insanely late per se (around 10:20pm at summer solstice), but if you’re looking to the north, this is the light you’ll see from around 11:30pm-2:30am. At around 2:30am it starts getting lighter because sunrise begins at 3:30am. Rise and shine sleepy heads because there is 24 hours of light in Stockholm, Sweden!
24 Hours of Light Lasts Around One Month
We visited Stockholm July 2nd-4th, 11-13 days after summer solstice. You have at least a month total, two weeks before and two weeks following the summer solstice to witness this unique event.
If you are in Stockholm during summer be sure to bring your eye mask! If your room does not have black out curtains, you might find it difficult to sleep. I had a similar experience visiting Helsinki saunas close to summer solstice.
Stockholm is around the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska. So you can also witness 24 hours of light on an Alaska cruise.
If you’re bothered by perpetual light at night, make sure there are good drapes where you are staying. You can also possibly improvise like we did. On the boat we stayed on there was only one small window, but for god knows what reason (Swedish minimalism?), the curtain was just a white flimsy piece of cloth. So I took a black t-shirt of mine and hung it over the worthless curtain, which helped immensely. Voila, better sleep was secured on subsequent nights!
Recap
Witnessing 24 hours of light in Stockholm is a pretty surreal experience. If you get the chance, we highly recommend checking it out somewhere in the world. Staying up and drinking on the deck of your small boat hotel, gazing out at beautiful and tranquil Stockholm, is highly recommended.
Stockholm is also one of Europe’s cleanest cities. I have been fortunate to visit all 27 European Union countries spanning 25 years of European Union travels. I’ve also visited all four Scandinavian capitals. They’re all fantastic cities to visit, especially during the summer. Oslo is my favorite for natural beauty, Helsinki wins for wellness and Copenhagen gets the mark for quirky fun given the hippy haven of Christiania.
Like most great things, the pictures don’t it justice. Is viewing 24 hours of light on your bucket list?
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