Gamla Stan: the Old Town alleys
The medieval island at its quietest — the gabled square, the narrowest alley, the cathedral, before the cruise crowds. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Stortorget
The oldest square in the city, and the one with the gabled houses everyone photographs. Come before ten and you'll have the cobbles mostly to yourself. The *Nobelprismuseet* (the Nobel Prize Museum) is in the old Stock Exchange on the north side if you want a sit-down hour.

2. Mårten Trotzigs gränd
The narrowest *gränd* (alley) in the city — ninety centimetres at the pinch, thirty-six steps, named for a German merchant who arrived in 1581. Walk it slowly; you can touch both walls without stretching.

3. Storkyrkan
The cathedral, right beside the palace. Go in for the *Sankt Göran och draken* — the great oak-and-elk-horn St George and the Dragon, carved in 1489. Small entry fee; the quietest room on the island.

4. Kungliga slottet
The Royal Palace — over six hundred rooms wrapped around a courtyard. The changing of the guard happens here daily in summer, less often off-season; check the day's time rather than trusting mine. You don't have to go in to feel the scale of it.

5. Köpmangatan
The oldest street in Stockholm, running off the southeast corner of Stortorget. At *Köpmantorget* the small square at its foot, there's a second, bronze St George and the Dragon — the one outdoors, hooves in the air.

6. Österlånggatan
The old eastern shore street, before the land was reclaimed — now a curve of restaurants and shopfronts that lands you back near the *T-bana*. Quieter than parallel Västerlånggatan, which is the souvenir spine. Take this one.

Gamla Stan: the Old Town alleys