Old Town Hostel, Stockholm

There’s a good mix of four- and six-bed dorms at this subterranean hostel on Stora Nygatan, Gamla Stan’s busiest street.

The dorms are strung out along a corridor in the vaulted basement of a 17th Century building, but there’s plenty of room beneath the arched stone ceilings – it’s not as cramped as you might think when walking downstairs to the hostel from street level.

Given that the whole place is underground, there’s not much in the way of natural illumination. But there is quite a lot of electric light and the overall feel is surprisingly modern. The outer walls for each dorm are painted purply-red, and inside it’s all white emulsion and simple, no-fuss bunks.

Away from the dorms you’ll find a tidy kitchen and a sociable dining area where you can chat with other travellers and eat pasta (it’s supplied free).

Old Town Hostel is not a place you’re going to want to hang out in all day (there was a bit of a musty smell in the main corridor when we visited) but if you just want somewhere cheap and central to crash after a day of checking out the sights, this isn’t a bad choice.