This is a walk that starts at a 1912 Olympic stadium and ends in a forest, and never leaves the city to do either. Stockholms Stadion is the anchor: Torben Grut's brick arena, built for the Games and opened in 1912, looking less like a sports ground than a National Romantic fortress with two towers over the gate. It's still in use — athletics, concerts, the marathon finish — and you can walk the whole outside of it for free.
Start there, round to the Sofiatornet for the clock tower, then north across Valhallavägen into the KTH campus — the red-brick courtyards of the technical university, early-1900s and quietly grand. Keep going and the campus gives way to Lill-Jansskogen, the city forest, where the pines close in and the traffic noise simply stops within a few minutes' walk.
Take any of the marked trails — they loop — and wander as long as you like; they're muddy after rain, so wear the right shoes. Come out by the KTH buildings at Tekniska Högskolan and ride the red line home, slightly amazed you were in a forest ten minutes ago.
