Stockholm bridge in winter with ice and snow-covered city

Stockholm · Sweden

January

Arctic darkness and bitter cold — Stockholm's harshest month, best left to the brave

Avoid

#12 of 12 months

There are better months for Stockholm — see the full ranking below.

See when to go instead →

Climate

High

1°C

Low

-3°C

Rain

39mm

Sun

1.7hrs/day

30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5

How January scores in Stockholm

Weather
Low
Value
Very good
Crowds
Below average
Events
Below average
Atmosphere
Average

What you gain in January

  • Museums like Vasa and ABBA are virtually empty — the collections to yourself
  • Cheapest accommodation rates of the year in one of Europe's most expensive cities
  • True local Stockholm: cosy cafés, candlelit dinners and hygge at its most authentic

What you sacrifice

  • Only 6–7 hours of grey daylight; outdoor attractions are miserable and sometimes closed
  • Temperatures from −10 to 0°C with wind chill making it feel far colder

How January compares to July (best month)

FactorJanuaryJuly
Weather
2
9
Value
7
3
Crowds
3
9

January in other destinations

Lisbon (13.6°C)Barcelona (13.2°C)Tokyo (9.8°C)Bali (30.2°C)Santorini (13.4°C)Paris (7°C)New York (3.3°C)Marrakech (17.3°C)Amsterdam (5.6°C)Maldives (30.1°C)Rome (11.6°C)Bangkok (31.1°C)Istanbul (8.7°C)Vienna (3.2°C)Seoul (1.1°C)Dubrovnik (11.1°C)Rio de Janeiro (30.9°C)Kyoto (9.2°C)Phuket (31.5°C)Cape Town (26.1°C)Prague (2°C)Amalfi Coast (12°C)Mexico City (21°C)Medellín (28°C)Fiji (31°C)London (8°C)Sydney (26°C)Iceland (2°C)Tulum (28°C)Dubai (24°C)Singapore (30°C)Hoi An (24°C)Chiang Mai (29°C)Miami (24.1°C)Florence (9.2°C)Queenstown (22°C)Madrid (9.4°C)Porto (14°C)Edinburgh (7°C)Copenhagen (4°C)Budapest (4°C)Kraków (2°C)Tbilisi (6°C)Palawan (29°C)Hanoi (18°C)Osaka (9°C)Goa (32°C)Cusco (19°C)Buenos Aires (30°C)Mykonos (13°C)Zanzibar (32°C)Sri Lanka (31°C)Costa Rica (25°C)Cancun (28°C)Krabi (32°C)Athens (13°C)Seville (15°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (29°C)Havana (26°C)Split (10°C)Taipei (19°C)Kuala Lumpur (32°C)Valletta (15°C)Ho Chi Minh City (33°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (4°C)Dominican Republic (28°C)Jamaica (30°C)Tanzania (28°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (18°C)Jordan (12°C)Azores (17°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Los Angeles (19.8°C)Cairo (19.1°C)Kenya (26.8°C)Jaipur (22.2°C)Las Vegas (13.9°C)San Francisco (13.2°C)Madeira (19.5°C)Vancouver (6.9°C)Muscat (26.4°C)Lima (26.2°C)Cinque Terre (11°C)Kotor (10°C)Tel Aviv (18°C)Santiago (30°C)Bogotá (19°C)Bruges (5.8°C)Penang (31.5°C)Lombok (30.8°C)Cape Verde (26.2°C)Fez (13.8°C)Kerala (31°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (18°C)Oslo (-1°C)Auckland (24°C)Beijing (2°C)Delhi (21°C)Mumbai (31°C)Victoria Falls (29°C)Oaxaca (26°C)Bhutan (14°C)Da Nang (23°C)Nashville (7°C)Nice (12°C)Mallorca (14°C)Tuscany (9°C)Namibia (32°C)Crete (15°C)Komodo (32°C)Montréal (-6°C)Melbourne (26°C)Cairns (32°C)Venice (6°C)Dublin (8°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Stockholm, not across destinations. Methodology →