Oslo Destination Guide

A Capital That Turned To Face Its Water

For most of the twentieth century Oslo kept its back to the fjord, with a working harbour and a motorway between the city and the sea. Over the last two decades it has done the opposite, and with unusual conviction: the opera house you can walk up and stand on the roof of, the new library, the Munch museum standing over the water, the National Museum, and a continuous waterfront promenade linking them. The result is a capital that now rewards a couple of days on its own terms, which was not true a generation ago. It is also, and this matters for planning, the place most people begin a Norwegian trip rather than the reason for one.

The planning decision: the city, and then the fjords

Be honest about why you are going to Norway. For the overwhelming majority of travelers the answer is the fjords, and Oslo is two nights of museums and food before the train west. The Bergen railway crosses the mountain plateau in about seven hours and is one of the great rail journeys in Europe; the classic variation drops down the Flåm branch to the water and continues by boat through the Nærøyfjord. From Bergen you can push further north to Ålesund, the Lofoten islands or Tromsø for the winter light. The alternative shape is a Scandinavian capitals trip, pairing Oslo with Copenhagen and Stockholm, which works well by short flight or rail and gives you three quite different cities.

Two completely different products, summer and winter

Norway in summer and Norway in winter are not the same holiday. June through August gives you very long days, the fjords at their most accessible, hiking, coastal boats and a city that lives outdoors on the water. It is also the busy and expensive season. September and October bring colour and quiet. From December through March the country turns to snow: cross country skiing in the Nordmarka forest directly from the city, downhill within easy reach, and the winter sports culture that Norwegians take more seriously than almost anything else. Holmenkollen, the ski jump above the city, is both a museum and a working arena and gives you the best view of Oslo you will get. Winter days are short this far north, which suits some travelers and not others.

Where to base, and how the city works

The centre around Karl Johans gate, the Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen waterfront and the new Bjørvika quarter behind the opera house are all walkable to each other, and this is where you should be. Frogner, west of the centre, is the residential and embassy district and quieter, with Vigeland Park at its edge. Bygdøy, a short ferry or bus ride across the water, holds the museum cluster that most visitors underestimate: the Fram Museum with Nansen and Amundsen's polar ship, the Kon Tiki Museum and the Norwegian Maritime Museum. The Viking Ship Museum on Bygdøy has been closed for a major rebuild and its reopening date should be confirmed for your travel dates. Oslo Airport at Gardermoen is about twenty minutes from the centre on the express train.

Stay strategy in an expensive city

The Thief on Tjuvholmen is the design led choice, on the water and attached to the contemporary art museum next door. Hotel Continental, opposite the National Theatre, is the traditional grand hotel and family owned for over a century. Amerikalinjen occupies the former headquarters of the Norwegian America Line by the central station. Sommerro, in a restored art deco building in Frogner, is the more recent arrival and the most complete. The honest point about Norway is that it is among the most expensive countries in Europe for food and drink, and hotel value is best judged on what is included rather than on the room rate alone.

When to begin

Four months for the city. The fjord leg is the constraint: the Bergen railway, the Flåm branch and the fjord hotels are limited in capacity and sell through the summer well ahead, and the best coastal voyage cabins are booked far earlier than people expect. Winter northern lights travel in Tromsø behaves the same way. If a specific fjord hotel or a particular sailing is the anchor, settle that first and let the city dates follow it rather than the other way round.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• The Munch museum and the National Museum on separate days, given properly, since together they hold the strongest collection in the Nordic countries.
• The Bygdøy peninsula museums, with the Fram and Kon Tiki polar and ocean collections, reached by the small ferry across the harbour.
• The Bergen railway west, in either direction, with the Flåm branch and a fjord boat attached to it.
• Holmenkollen for the ski jump, the museum and the view, and in winter for the cross country trails that start where the metro ends.

Who this trip suits

Oslo suits museum and design travelers, and anyone drawn to polar and maritime history. It suits active travelers, since skiing, sailing and hiking are all within reach of the city. It suits families, because the museums are unusually engaging for children. It suits cruise and expedition passengers using the city as a start or end point. And it suits anyone building a wider Nordic itinerary.

When another plan may fit better

If you want a great city break in its own right, Copenhagen and Stockholm are the stronger pure city choices in the region. If cost is a live concern, Norway will test it. And if you are coming for the fjords, do not give Oslo a week you should be spending on the west coast.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

Tell us your month, whether the fjords or the winter is the point, and how far north you want to go, and we will set the rail, the boats and the rooms in the sequence they need to be held. Our luxury leisure travel planning handles the whole Norwegian route rather than the capital alone.