Typical street in the old city

As mentioned, Gamla Stan is the island on which the Royal Palace is located, the soul of the city one may say. Land was scarce around the Castle and other governmental, religious and military buildings thus the buildings tend to be very closed together having as a result this particular narrow streets.

Royal Guard at the gate

You can find Royal Guards at every single entrance to the Royal Palace. They regularly wear the same uniform but if the guards in charge belong to another specific branch of the Armed Forced they will most likely wear the uniform that belongs to that particular branch.

You can also enjoy the Change of the Guard, which takes place everyday around noon. There's always a schedule with updated date and times close to the area where the event takes place. The best change of Guard, in my experience, is when the Cavalry is part of it (just my humble opinion :D )

The Old Town

Gamla Stan, the Old Town, is Stockholm's core downtown. Besides the beautiful architecture, you can find the Royal Palace, the Nobel museum, the Mint museum, churches and a lot of other tourist attractions. Personally, I love walking in Gamla Stan any time of the year, being among its small streets feels like traveling back in time.