The Monocle Travel Guide to Stockholm

Stockholm has a world-leading design scene, picture-book palaces and an enviable berth in the waters of an idyllic archipelago - so to say that it's an easy city to fall for sounds a little trite.

But it's more than looks that grace this place (even if a dedicated Beauty Council does oversee the architectural developments). There's also a crop of new restaurants that has brought variety to a once one-dimensional food scene - one that's now fast outstripping the old-hat New Nordic movement with its fresh approach to informality and charm.

In the hotel industry too, recent openings have upstaged the staid options, while the shops teem with Swedish-made goodies and fashion-forward brands. We steer clear of the glumly predictable tourist fodder and over-hyped openings in favour of the time-tested, the independent, and the winsome.

You might not see it in the still waters of Lake Mälaren, which surrounds the 14 islands that constitute Stockholm, but there's a tide of optimism and change-for-the better cresting just beyond the Baltic Sea.