Stockholm in style

While Swedes have long been praised for their no-nonsense take on interior design, it's Stockholm's fashion scene that's currently winning plaudits and showing savvy shoppers that there's more to Sweden than H&M. While Stockholm is by no means the cheapest destination in Europe, neither is it the outrageously expensive city that rumour may have led you to believe.

And with the long, light days of summer stretching ahead, now is the perfect time for a long-weekend break.

Built on a series of interconnecting islands, Stockholm is an easy city to negotiate. A good base is the Grand Hotel, a 368-room grand dame enjoying prime position opposite the Royal Palace a few minutes walk from Östermalm, the city's best shopping district.

Here you can find everything from international designers to high street names, designer stores and chic interior boutiques. Easy to walk around with plenty of cafés to stop at for a quick coffee and kanelbulle (cinnamon roll), the neighbourhood offers a great introduction to Scandinavian style.

At Nordiska Kompaniet (better known as NK), the city's iconic luxury department store and temple to style, you'll find fashion, homeware, children's clothes, food and stationery departments. While international names such as Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Westwood are here, it's the Scandinavian labels that really stand out.

Alongside preppy collections from Swedish designer Filippa K, you'll find beautiful designs from Danish export Malene Birger, hipster jeans from Acne and hippy styles from Odd Molly. Malene Birger's chic corner holds rails of delights suhc as a sleeveless peach vest for £90 (995 kroner), a gorgeous biscuit-coloured cardigan for £145 (1,599k) and a floaty floral dress for £200 (2,199k).

The streets around NK have boutiques dotted throughout Drottninggatan and Stureplan, which are also known for their restaurants, bars and nightclubs. While big labels such as Louis Vuitton and Versace can be found on Birger Jarls-gatan (a long street that forms the border between Östermalm and neighbouring areas of Vasastaden and Norrmalm), it's the local names that are of most interest.

Acne on Hamngatan is the perfect example of modern Swedish style. Founded in Stockholm in 1996, the label began life as a denim brand but has since expanded to produce full men's and womenswear collections that are cool, contemporary and very easy to wear. Top picks include a ruffled sleeveless top £108 (1,195k) and a dusty pink fringed suede jacket £364 (3,995k), which were on display next to the label's signature skinny jeans £181 (1,995k) and a rack of pieces from French fashion house Lanvin.

As well as Acne and Filippa K, other boutiques to look out for in Östermalm include J. Lindeberg (classic menswear), Anna Holtblad (simple chic) and Rizzo (shoes). Sturegallerian, a small shopping mall in the heart of the neighbourhood, is often tipped as a place to pop in to for its mix of high-end, high-street stores such as Zara and Massimo Dutti.

However, you can find these names at home, so just head there for lunch — the cafés, such as EG, are fantastic.