Dog Friendly City Guide: Stockholm, Sweden

Brasserie Hötorget lists its guests on its own website: Stockholmers and tourists, the young and the old, party-goers and morning sleepers, and then, at the end of the list, "Friends and foes, children and parents… even dogs." Stockholm is a city that writes the dog into the invitation. Dogs ride its buses, trams and metro for nothing, they settle under the tables of neighbourhood bistros on Södermalm, and they walk the royal parks that run right up to the middle of town. This guide is built from our own venue and walk data, the city's own pages and the Stockholm hotels we have assessed and ranked.

Getting There With a Dog

The rules for bringing a dog into Sweden are set by the Swedish Board of Agriculture, Jordbruksverket, and its travel guide for dogs and cats sorts them by the country you are coming from. From another EU country, its page for EU and nearby countries asks for a dog that is identified, has a valid rabies vaccination and a pet passport, and is declared to customs as you arrive. Sweden does not require a worming treatment. Coming from a country outside the EU where rabies is under control, the rules for those countries add a health certificate in most cases and entry to the EU through a recognised point of entry, and the Board warns that waiting times after vaccination and blood tests can mean up to four months of preparation. New EU rules came in on 22 April 2026: a dog chipped after 21 April 2026 needs an approved chip to get a pet passport. A dog with the wrong papers can be refused entry or quarantined at your cost, so start early. Our guide to taking your dog abroad puts the paperwork in order.

Where to Stay

The pick of the city is Hôtel Reisen, ranked A, a five-star hotel of 141 rooms on Skeppsbron, the Old Town quay, in Hyatt's Unbound Collection. Most of its rooms take dogs, and the dog comes with you into the bar, the restaurant, the lounge and onto the terrace. There are two dog packages. The standard one brings food and water bowls, a bed and a treat; the V.I.D. package adds a toy. The hotel can arrange a dog walker, a sitter and grooming, the front desk will point you to walking routes, and there are public green spaces nearby. The fee starts at 35 euros a night, with two dogs a room.

On Brunkebergstorg, Hotel At Six, ranked B, is a five-star hotel of 343 rooms whose own site promises panoramic windows over the square and rooftop views. Dogs are welcome in its bar, restaurant and lounge and on the terrace, the room has a bed, bowls and treats waiting, and the hotel sells dog food. There is no weight limit and no deposit, a settled dog may stay in the room while you are out, and the fee is 275 kronor a night.

We have ranked two more. At Blasieholmen, the 46-room Lydmar Hotel, ranked D, charges 100 kronor a night, lays on a bed, bowls and treats and has a garden outside, and dogs may use the lounge. On Vasaplan, the Nordic Light Hotel, ranked F, charges 400 kronor and sets no weight limit.

Eat and Drink

Start on Södermalm, at Hornsgatan Kvarterskrog, the corner bistro at Hornsgatan 81. It serves from late morning until late at night, cooks country dishes and the simple food of southern Europe, and keeps Bengan's beer fridge in the cellar. Its own site goes further than most: dogs are warmly welcome, and it tells you not to miss the dog's own menu. Visit Stockholm, the city's tourist office, adds that dogs sit indoors with you here.

Brasserie Hötorget, the French brasserie on Hötorget, is the central stop, open for lunch, a long dinner or a drink at one of its two bars, a cocktail bar downstairs and a small wine bar upstairs. Visit Stockholm's guide for travelling dogs names it as a place to stop with your dog in the middle of town.

Back on Södermalm, Brisket & Friends at Östgötagatan 25 smokes its meat overnight over hickory in the Texas way, with brisket at the centre and ice-cold beer to go with it. The city's guide says dogs are welcome both inside and out. For the best view in town, walk up to Fåfängan, a turn-of-the-century café and restaurant on the hilltop near Danviken, looking across the water to Royal Djurgården. Your dog joins you on its terrace on warm days.

Walks and Parks

Långholmen is the walk to make the trip for, an island park off Södermalm. The city describes it as a green, leafy nature park and a much-walked one. About 2,400 trees were planted on bare rock here in the 1870s, the old prison is now a hotel and hostel, and Stora Henriksvik has a small café and a museum to the poet Bellman. The city lists dog exercise areas on the island, and Visit Stockholm points to a dog friendly beach on its eastern side in summer.

Across the city, Royal Djurgården gives you wide paths, green spaces and long routes with the city's sights around you, according to Visit Stockholm. Walk out to Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, the prince's house and garden, 70,000 square metres with water on three sides, where Visit Stockholm says dogs are welcome in the park and garden.

North of the centre, Haga Park is perhaps Sweden's foremost English landscape park, in the words of the Royal Court, laid out for Gustav III with large lawns, semi-open pasture and woods along the water of Brunnsviken, and the Copper Tents and the Echo Temple to walk past. It is the long, quiet walk of the stay.

In Vasastan, Vasaparken is the neighbourhood park, with Astrid Lindgren's terrace looking over the playing field, two cafés, and a fenced dog run in its south-west corner, a good short loop when the long walks can wait.

Good to Know

The city's local regulations require dogs to be on a lead in public places except in the dog exercise areas the city has set up, a dog off the lead must wear a collar with your name, address and phone number or be chipped, and you must pick up after it. From 1 June to 31 August dogs are kept out of the marked areas of the city's bathing places. In nature areas, Visit Stockholm says dogs must be on a lead from 1 March to 20 August, and nature reserves may have their own rules. On SL's buses, trams and trains the dog travels free; on the metro and commuter trains, Visit Stockholm advises boarding at the front or rear of the train and keeping out of areas marked for people with fur allergies. At Hôtel Reisen dogs cannot be left alone in the room, there is a 15 kilo weight limit, and dogs stay out of the bar and restaurant at the Lydmar. Only some rooms take dogs at At Six, the Lydmar and the Nordic Light, so tell the hotel you are bringing a dog when you book.