City Backpackers, Stockholm

City Backpackers might just be our favourite hostel in Stockholm. It’s a big, funky and very sociable choice, within easy walking distance of the Central Station.

The dorms are nice and bright and the communal spaces beat those at every other hostel we’ve visited in the city. This is prime flashpacker territory.

Your first glimpse will be of the lobby, decorated with retro cameras, globes and modern art. Further inside is a lovely little courtyard, lit up at night by coloured lamps. The spacious kitchen is top-notch too, but if you’re feeling lazy then there’s also a welcoming café doing cheap breakfasts.

City Backpackers takes cleanliness pretty seriously. Guests have to take their shoes off to get into the parts of the hostel where the rooms and dorms are located. Once inside, it feels surprisingly homely, with wooden floors painted grey and plenty of comfy seats to crash out in.

Downstairs in the main chill-out area, there are four desktop Macs hooked up to the internet. More usefully if you’re travelling with a tablet or laptop, there are sofa-style bench seats around the edge of the room. Padded with fat cushions and equipped with individual power outlets, they provide a comfy place to catch up with folks back home or chat with fellow backpackers, who converge here every evening.

Room-wise, City Backpackers feels refreshingly well thought out. Dorms have between four and 12 beds, and come with good-sized lockers (bring your own padlock or buy one from reception). Each bunk has its own reading lamp and power outlet. Most dorms are mixed but there are female-only ones available too.

For the most part, facilities are outside the rooms: there are individual toilets along the corridors, plus clean, single-sex shower areas. There are also a few ‘private’ bathrooms that have a toilet, sink and shower in the same lockable area – though as these are more popular you may have to wait a while for one to come free, especially early in the morning.

Of course, if you stay in one of the hostel’s private en-suite rooms or apartments, you won’t have any such worries.

Lots of tours leave from City Backpackers, making it a good place to meet other travellers. Options include mushroom-picking tours, guided bike rides, kayaking trips and pub crawls. Cheaper, in-house activities like movie nights are also advertised on notice boards near the entrance.

Free sauna sessions take place at the hostel nightly; there are separate times allocated for guys and girls, but you can pay 50 SEK to rent it out for a mixed group at other times if you prefer. Fancy exploring Stockholm alone? Longboards can be rented at reception for 50 SEK per day.