Nordic City of Light (Oslo)

Member Name: helencb

Product:	Oslo
Date:	17/03/05 (2188 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cosmopolitan, Lively, Heaps of open spaces

Disadvantages: Expensive

Oslo, the Nordic City of Light, has changed over the last 100, and even the last 20 years, and a new cosmopolitan Oslo has wakened in the shadow of the images of the old sombre Oslo as depicted by Edvard Munch, the city’s famous painter.

Getting There
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Oslo is situated in southern Norway, at a latitude of almost 60 degrees N. If you have the time and the money, you can reach Oslo via one of the 100 or so cruise ships that stop here every summer, but otherwise the simplest way is via direct flight to one of Oslo’s two airports – Gardermoen to the north of the city, takes 40 minutes into the capital, or Torp, served by Ryanair takes 1hr 40 minutes via the airport bus links. The cost of the bus trip from Torp to central Oslo, is 230 Kr per person, or around £20 return.

Getting Around
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Oslo can easily be explored on foot, as the city is still reasonably compact. Karl Johans Gate is the amin thoroughfare linking Sentralstasjon in the SE and passing the University and the National Theatre to reach the expanse of Slottsparken in the NW of the City.

The Oslo T Bane has five lines which cross the city from East to West, and most lines run through all the more central stations. A 24 hour ticket costs about £5 and should be validated at the yellow machines before you board your first train; thereafter it is valid for 24 hours. Generally speaking the platforms I encountered were clean and tidy and the trains were running efficiently and without delays, nor were they too busy.

There are of course hundreds of buses to help you on your way, although taxis seem quite expensive especially if you get stuck in traffic, and probably not worth the extra.

Eating and Drinking
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Probably best avoided altogether if you can! The price of drink in Norway is shockingly expensive. Generally speaking a .4l glass of draft local beer would set you back around 60kr or £5.00. This is definitely not a place to go for a stag or hen night. More popular beers and spirits were even more expensive; something like an Irish coffee would be nearly at the £10 mark; a bottle of very ordinary Australian Chardonnay that would cost about £4 in a supermarket here was about £35 in one restaurant, and as for champagne, even a Moet would be up around the £80 mark.

Soft drinks do not fare much better either with a coke in a restaurant coming in around the £3 mark.

The Aker Brygge is a lively area at night and the waterfront is lined with restaurants of all varieties, including Italian, Norwegian, Pizza houses, The Golden Arches, Indian and plenty of nice waterfront bars offering salads, sandwiches and tempting desserts. Steak and Fish are popular, although this will definitely push the cost of a main course up to well over £20 each. We ate at a lovely pasta place at the waterfront and our meal came to 545Kr including two beers each. Main courses such as pasta or pizza were typically around 120Kr, and so much more affordable.

It’s no joke that the tourist books advise you to make your hotel breakfast your main meal of the day and avoid eating a big meal in the evening if you want your money to stretch as far as possible. In Oslo, there are hot dog outlets everywhere, and a hot dog and a 0.50litre bottle of coke to go would typically cost around 39Kr or £3-£3.50 or so.

Coffee bars are everywhere and are on the expensive side of affordable, but not completely out of range.

Finally there is a proliferation of Mcdonalds and Burger King restaurants with a meal here costing about £6.00.

Tourist Attractions
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1. Not to be missed is the opportunity to get out onto the water, and the Waterfront at the Aker Brygge area to the west of the city is a match for Sydney’s Darling Harbour in my eyes, any day of the week. Oslo’s waterfront area is slowly changing and developing and they are getting their own opera house by 2008, work having begun on the foundations already. There are a number of sighseeing cruises available, ranging from a 50 minute mini cruise at 100Kr (£8.50); to cruises which combine Fjord sighseeing with city sightseeing via coach. If it is evening sightseeing, then the opportunity to get out on the Fjord, and enjoy a Norwegian Prawn buffet is an attractive option. Tickets are available at the pier opposity the city hall.

Of course the mini cruises come complete with a Guide who will normally speak Norwegian and English, but a cheaper option is to take the Public Ferry service between the Aker Brygge area, Dronningen and Bygydones with stops at both places. Some of the main museums of Oslo are situated near these locations but if you prefer to stay on the boat a 20Kr ticket will be adequate for the round trip which will be completed in under 40 minutes. Otherwise the 20Kr ticket is valid on the ferries for maximum one hour and if you spend time at the musuem you will need to buy another 20Kr ticket when you reboard the ferry.

2. If you only go to one museum while in Oslo, then my recommendation is the Norsk Folkemuseum. Entrance fees are 75 Kr per adult, with discounted tickets at 45Kr, and a family card costs 150Kr. Guides are available for between 60Kr and 120Kr and are available in English.

One of the main parts of the Folkemusuem is the Open Air museum which contains a plethora of traditional buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries, many of which you can walk into. There is something for all the family with the various re-enactments in some of the old properties, and the visual indoor exhibitions are also amazing, particularly the Toy Exhibition, the Sami exhibition and the exhibition detailing their close alliance with Russia.

I loved this place, and will write a separate review on it when I get a minute or two to write up my thoughts in full!

3. For a cheap trip, take your one day T-bane ticket and take the No 1 line west to the final stop – Frognerseteren. The views looking back on the city are simply amazing, and at the top there are a few opportunities for photographs, although unfortunately it was extremely wet when I got here. You simply cross over the track and come back down again!

4. Take any T Bane west bound and head for the parklands at Frognerparken or Vigelandsparken. The Vigeland park is filled with sculptures and you can also view the Monolitten, a huge spire carved from granite. You can enjoy a pleasant walk in the grounds and viist the Oslo Bymuseum in Frognerparken. The bymuseum is free to enter, although not many of the exhibitions have English information cards with them (some do). The museum shows how the city has developed over the years e..g the main infratructure systems.

5. West on the T Bane up to Holmenkollen bakken will also take you to Norway’s Ski Jump which is only used in February and March. It is visible from the city itself, although it would take about 20 minutes to get to the station. It was built in 1892 and is the world’s oldest ski jump and there is a ski museum adjoining detailing the history of skiiing over 1000 years.

6. If that isn’t enough museums for you, Oslo also has a museum of Architecture, a museum for contemporary art, a Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery, Museum of Applied Art, the Kon Tiki Museum, Maritime Museum, and the Museum of Technology.. Phew..An Oslo Pass can be purchased for entry into all the museums and for discounts on travel.


In addition there are a number of tour companies who operate tours from Oslo, out to Bergen and Flåm, where you can ride the Flåm Railway with its gradient of 1 in 18 and 20 tunnels. The latter trip also incorporates valleys and stunning scenery and can be done in a day, or can include an overnight stop.

My recent weekend break in Oslo certainly gave me a taste of Norway, and I would welcome the opportunity to go back and explore more and travel further afield within this beautiful country, however I may need to scoop lucky on the lottery to stay for more than a few nights!

Recommended, but take plenty of cash! If you go in June, enjoy the 24 hour daylight...

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