Gamla Stan is the island Stockholm started on, and the best hour to walk it is the one before the cruise ships unload. Two and a half kilometres of medieval lanes — a square, an alley, a cathedral, a palace, and two versions of the same dragon — done before the crowds arrive from the harbour.
Start at Stortorget, the gabled square at the centre, while the cobbles are still empty. From there the lanes pull you south: down to Mårten Trotzigs gränd, the ninety-centimetre alley you can cross with both arms out, then back up past Storkyrkan, where the 1489 St George and the Dragon stands in carved oak and elk-antler — go in, it's the quietest room on the island. The Royal Palace, Kungliga slottet, is next door; the guard turns out here, though the timing shifts with the season, so check the day.
Then Köpmangatan, the oldest street, down to the bronze dragon at Köpmantorget, and out along Österlånggatan — the calm eastern curve, not the souvenir crush of Västerlånggatan one street over. It lands you back at the T-bana where you began.
