Stockholm (Sweden)

Stockholm is， without doubt， one of the most beautiful national capitals in the world. The Old Town in summer is particularly spectacular(引人入勝的)and walking around the city's waterways and parks is a glorious way to spend a week-long stretch of European summer.

Almost two million people live in greater Stockholm， and over 15% of them are immigrants. Just stroll(漫步、閑逛) through the quaint(精巧的、離奇有趣的)streets， and you'll hear everything from Polish to Japanese. The city's royal residences include the largest palace in the world still in use.

This lovely， lively city， with its maritime bent and international flavour， is a magnet (磁鐵)for tourists. It is ideally situated for trade connections， with the 24，000 islands protecting the urban islands from the open seas. In fact， the city is best seen from the water.

Stockholm is built on islands， except for the modern centre (Norrmalm)， focused on the ugly Sergels Torg. This business and shopping hub is linked by a network of subways to Centralstationen (central train station). The subways link with the metro stations.

Most of Sweden has a cool temperate climate， with precipitation(降雨) in all seasons， but the southern quarter of the country has a warm temperate climate. Sweden is shielded from rainy Atlantic weather systems and can be influenced by high pressure over Russia， giving fine weather instead. Stockholm has an average of about nine hours of sunshine daily from May to July.

The Summer Music Festival， held from late May through August at the Drottningholms Court Theatre， celebrates opera， classical music and ballets by featuring productions that use historical， original instruments.

Each November， the Stockholm International Film Festival offers new filmmakers a competitive forum in which to strut their stuff. A relative newcomer to the scene and one of the few 24-hour film festivals in existence， this event has become one of Europe's most important film competitions. The Stockholm Jazz Festival blows through town in mid-July.

Kungliga Slottet is the largest royal castle in the world still used for its original purpose. It was constructed on the site of the 'old' royal castle， Tre Kronor， which burned down in 1697. The walls of the north wing of the castle survived and were incorporated in the new palace， but the medieval(中世紀(jì)的)designs are now concealed by a baroque exterior.

The new palace， which has 608 rooms， was designed by the court architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger， and wasn't completed until 57 years after the fire.