Stockholm is filled with shop after shop of dazzling merchandise — often at dazzlingly steep prices that reflect the high esteem in which Swedish craftspeople are held.

Bargain shoppers should proceed with caution. Some good buys do exist, but it takes a lot of searching. If you’re a casual shopper, you may want to confine your purchases to handsome souvenirs and gifts. Swedish glass, of course, is world famous. Swedish wooden items are works of great craftsmanship, and many people like to acquire Swedish functional furniture in blond pine or birch. Other items to look for include playsuits for children, silver necklaces, reindeer gloves, stainless-steel utensils, hand-woven neckties and skirts, sweaters and mittens in Nordic patterns, Swedish clogs, and colorful handicrafts from the provinces. The most popular souvenir is the Dala horse from Dalarna.

Everybody’s favorite shopping area in Stockholm is Gamla Stan (Old Town). Site of the Royal Palace, it even attracts such shoppers as the queen. The main street for browsing is Västerlånggatan; many antiques stores are found here, but don’t expect low prices.

Skansen is most fun to explore in the summer because many craftspeople display their goods here. There are gift shops (some selling “Skansen glass”) as well as individuals who offer their handmade goods at kiosks.

In the Sergels Torg area, the main shopping street is Hamngatan, site of the famous shopping center Gallerian, at the corner of Hamngatan and Sergels Torg, and crossing the northern rim of Kungsträdgården at Sweden House. Big department stores, such as NK and Åhléns, are located nearby.

The Kungsgatan area is another major district for shopping, stretching from Hötorget to the intersection of Kungsgatan and Vasagatan. Drottninggatan is one long pedestrian mall, flanked with shops. Many side streets branching off from it also are filled with shops. Hötorget, home to the PUB department store, is another major shopping district.

Since around the turn of the millennium, a new shopping district (SOFO) has been identified on the rapidly gentrifying island of Södermalm, to the south of that island’s busy Folkungatan. Streets that have emerged since this neighborhood’s gentrification include Götgatan, Kokgatan, Bondegatan, and Skånegatan. Expect a youth-oriented, funky, hipster consciousness within the SOFO district, where there has been an explosion in housing prices on an island (Södermalm) where 60% of all households are composed of a single person.

Funky Items for Counterculture Shoppers — Hornstullstrand Street Market — often known simply as “Street” — is a funky, battered market positioned at the western waterfront on the rapidly gentrifying island of Södermalm. This relative newcomer to Stockholm’s punk underground scene is often compared to London’s Camden Market.