Årstaviken: the lake path and the allotments
The shore under Södermalm's cliffs, the hillside allotment cottages, and two railway bridges across the water. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Zinkensdamm
Come up from the T-bana and head south-west toward the water. You drop quickly off Södermalm's plateau; the lake, *Årstaviken*, opens below you almost at once. Coffee on Hornsgatan first if you want a runway.

2. Tantolunden
The big south-facing park on the slope down to the water. Lawns, swimming spots, the city's most relaxed Sunday. Walk the shore edge rather than the top — the path hugs the water the whole way east.

3. Tanto koloniträdgårdar
Up the hill behind the park: the *koloniträdgårdar* (allotment gardens), rows of painted timber cottages with hand-kept plots. One of Stockholm's oldest allotment areas, dating to the 1910s. Walk the lanes between them; they're public, the gardeners used to people wandering through.

4. Årstaviken shore path
The flat path right at the waterline under Södermalm's wooded cliffs. Rowers, the occasional swimmer, the rail bridges ahead. This is the stretch to slow down on; benches face the water and the afternoon sun.

5. Årstabroarna
Two railway viaducts side by side across *Årstaviken* — the 1929 concrete original and the 2005 *Nya Årstabron* alongside it. Trains cross overhead; the contrast between the two structures, seventy-six years apart, is the thing to look at.

6. Eriksdalsbadet
Stockholm's biggest swimming centre, the outdoor 50-metre pool built for the 1962 championships still in use. End the walk here, or carry on up to *Skanstull* T-bana five minutes north.

Årstaviken: the lake path and the allotments