Stadshuset, the City Hall of the Nobel banquet

You begin on Kungsholmen, a step from the centre, in front of Stockholm's most photographed building: Stadshuset, the City Hall. It looks medieval, but it belongs to the 20th century. The architect Ragnar Östberg spent twelve years building it, from 1911 to 1923, and it was inaugurated on 23 June 1923, Midsummer Eve, to mark four hundred years since Gustav Vasa entered Stockholm.

1Venice in brick

Östberg was inspired by the Doge's Palace in Venice, with its arcades over the water, and by the campanile of St Mark's. He used around eight million bricks, one in eight of them handmade, in a format larger than usual. The tower is 106 metres high and is crowned by three golden crowns, the emblem of Sweden, turned towards the Royal Palace. If you feel like climbing it, there are 365 steps.

2The banquet of 10 December

Every 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, the Blue Hall hosts the Nobel Prize banquet. The funny thing is that the Blue Hall is not blue: Östberg planned to plaster it in that colour, but when he saw the bare brick he changed his mind, and the name stuck. After dinner the guests go up to dance in the Golden Hall, covered with more than eighteen million tesserae of glass and gold.

On 15 March 1986 the Blue Hall also hosted the funeral ceremony of Olof Palme.

3What to look for

• The three crowns at the top of the tower.
• The arcades opening onto Lake Mälaren.
• The view from the garden towards Riddarholmen, where the history route begins.