Stockholm is spread across fourteen islands, but the one that matters most is the smallest and oldest, a little knot of ochre and rust-red houses rising straight out of the water in the middle of the city. This is Gamla Stan, the old town, where the whole place began some eight hundred years ago, and this self-guided Stockholm walking tour keeps entirely to its cobbled lanes and hidden squares. It is one of the most compact self-guided walking tours you can do, barely two kilometers, yet it takes in a royal palace, a coronation church, the narrowest alley in the city, and the square where the town's darkest day unfolded. Wear shoes for cobbles, bring a layer for the northern air, and give the little island a slow morning.

Before you set off

Give yourself two or three hours at a gentle pace, more if you go inside the palace or the cathedral or stop for a long coffee, which the Swedes treat as a daily ritual they call fika. Gamla Stan is tiny and entirely walkable, but its lanes are cobbled and can be slippery in the wet, so wear comfortable shoes with a bit of grip. The weather this far north is changeable and often cool even in summer, so bring a layer and something for rain, and take comfort that a warm cafe is never more than a lane away. The island is small enough that you truly cannot get lost for long, so put the map away and let yourself wander down any alley that looks inviting, because the quiet back lanes are where the old town keeps its charm. It does fill up in the middle of the day, especially along the main drag, so an early start buys you the cobbles almost to yourself and much better photographs. And do stop for a cinnamon bun and a coffee somewhere along the way, since pausing is half the point.

Riddarholmen Church

Start on the tiny islet of Riddarholmen, just west of the main old town and joined to it by a short bridge, a quiet corner most day visitors never reach. Its landmark is the Riddarholmen Church, whose distinctive cast-iron latticework spire is one of the oldest buildings in Stockholm, begun as a monastery church seven hundred years ago. For centuries it served as the burial place of Swedish monarchs, and almost every king and queen since the Middle Ages lies here, which gives the plain brick church a heavy dignity. The islet around it is calm and grand, lined with old palaces that now hold courts and offices, and from its western edge you get a lovely open view across the water to the city hall and the lake beyond. It is a peaceful, almost solemn place to begin, away from the crowds. Take in the view and the spire, then cross back over the little bridge toward the main island, where a grand pale palace stands guard at the entrance to the old town.

Riddarhuset (House of Nobility)

Just across the bridge, at the northwestern edge of the old town, stands the Riddarhuset, the House of Nobility, one of the most beautiful buildings in the city and often overlooked. Built in the seventeenth century, when Sweden was a great power, it was the meeting place of the Swedish nobility, and its elegant pink and grey facade with a steep copper roof is a fine piece of northern baroque. Inside, the great hall is hung with thousands of small painted coats of arms, one for every noble family, a dizzying record of the old aristocracy. Stand in the little square in front and take in the symmetry of it, with statues along the roofline and a bronze king in the garden. It is a reminder of the era when Stockholm ran an empire around the Baltic. The building marks the start of the old town proper, so from here you plunge into the cobbled lanes, following them eastward and inward toward the heart of the island and its main square.

Stortorget

Stockholm Gamla Stan colorful square You arrive at Stortorget, the great square at the very center of Gamla Stan and the oldest square in Stockholm, ringed by tall, narrow merchants' houses painted in warm shades of ochre, red, and gold. It is the postcard image of the city, and the row of gabled houses on its eastern side is photographed endlessly. Pretty as it is, the square holds a dark memory, for this was the site of the Stockholm Bloodbath in 1520, when a Danish king had scores of Swedish nobles executed here in a single day, an atrocity that helped spark the rebellion that made Sweden independent. Look for the cannonball said to be lodged in one of the facades, a relic of those violent years. Today the square is all cafes and the excellent Nobel Prize Museum, housed in the old stock exchange on its north side. Sit for a while with a coffee and take in the colored houses, then leave by the short lane on the northern side toward the great church whose tower rises just beyond the rooftops.