Photos: Santa Monica by Domenico Convertini, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Stockholm by Jorge Franganillo, CC BY 2.0, cropped.
Santa Monica or Stockholm?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Stockholm for
- culture and sights
- getting around
- live music and the arts
What lies behind each score is written up on Stockholm’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Santa Monica and Stockholm.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on beaches with your weighting.
Wins on culture and sights and getting around with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Santa Monica in July
Stockholm in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Stockholm has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Stockholm's sunshine is measured 26 km from the centre, at Stockholm Observatoriet.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Santa Monica: 1991-2020 normals, Los Angeles Airport (13.4 km from centre). Stockholm: 2003-2020 (sunshine 1991-2020, rainfall 1991-2020) normals, Stockholm Bromma Airport (7.1 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Santa Monica | Stockholm |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | - | Swedish |
| Currency | US Dollar (USD) | Swedish Krona (SEK) |
| Sockets | AB120 V, 60 Hz | CF230 V, 50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC-8, UTC-7 in summer | UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer |
| Emergency number | 911 | 112 |
| Elevation | 32 m | 22 m |
| Main airport | Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)11 km from centre177 non-stop destinations | Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN)36 km from centre174 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 13 days | 16 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Santa Monica | Stockholm |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 93,076 | 984,748 |
| People per km² | 4,270 | 5,260 |
| Museums within 10 km | 19 | 266 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 1 | 3 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | None | None |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Santa Monica or Stockholm somewhere new.