Stockholm’s three surviving market halls – Hötorgshallen, Östermalms Saluhall, and Söderhallarna – are filled with colorful and enticing foods from around the world. For locals, these markets are popular places to buy the raw materials for home-cooked meals, but visitors can also enjoy a wander through these enticing emporia, where you’ll also find a variety of cafés and restaurants serving up specialty meals and snacks.

Hötorget and Hötorgshallen

Hötorget (Haymarket Square) has been a Stockholm meeting place for hundreds of years. These days the square is home to a lively market with vendors selling some of the city’s best fresh fruits and vegetables. On Sundays the produce stands are replaced by a flea market.

Hötorget lies at the heart of Stockholm’s downtown shopping district, adjacent to the pedestrian shopping street Drottninggatan. Along the south side of the square is Hötorgshallen, where vendors sell everything from fresh fish, meats, and cheeses to specialty teas and coffee. An international flavor pervades this market hall, making it the place to come for such delicacies as Turkish burgers, Middle Eastern kebabs, Japanese sushi, and Latin American groceries.

The original market hall was erected at the end of the 1880s. The present building was inaugurated in 1958; hundreds of people queued up to be among the first to enter. Also present was King Gustav VI Adolf, though he of course didn’t have to stand in line.

Next door to Hötorgshallen is one of the city’s top cinemas, Filmstaden Sergel. Also flanking the square are the PUB department store, the Stockholm Concert Hall (Konserthuset), and Kungshallen, a dining hall with a downstairs food court.

Östermalms Saluhall

This market hall in the posh Östermalm neighborhood is a true Stockholm gem. Its distinctive tower and soaring glass ceiling give it the feeling of a cathedral. Step inside, and you’ll immediately see that food is what’s worshipped here. Fish, game, baked goods, cheese, deli meats, produce, and chocolate are all on display. If your mouth starts to water at the sight of so many delicious goodies, there are plenty of cafés and restaurants where you can grab a drink or a bite to eat. Pull up a chair and enjoy watching the market regulars go about their business.

The architects of the Saluhall building were two young men by the names of Isak Gustaf Gustav Clason and Kasper Salin. Clason later went on to design Nordiska Museet (the Nordic Museum), one of Stockholm’s great landmarks from the turn of the 20th century.

NOTE: Östermalms Saluhall is currently closed for extensive renovations. Vendors are currently operating in a custom-built temporary market hall located at Östermalmtorg, the square outside the regular hall. Östermalms Saluhall is expected to reopen in the winter of 2020.

Söderhallarna

At the heart of the Södermalm neighborhood, on the west side of the square known as Medborgarplatsen, sits Söderhallarna, the youngest of Stockholm’s market halls. Opened in 1992, Söderhallarna consists of two connected buildings with three floors of commercial space, including a movie theater, Filmstaden Söder. The main market hall in the Saluhall building houses stalls selling a wide range of goods, including fresh meats and seafood, cheeses, baked goods, flowers, wine, and even Himalayan tea. Söderhallarna also offers excellent options for sit-down meals, with everything from Thai food to tacos, sushi to vegetarian specialties.

During the warmer months, Medborgarplatsen fills with outdoor cafés, making it a lively place to come for a drink or a meal during the long summer days.