Capital city, way less of a typical tourist target than more famous capitals, but has it's charms. The building mass is relatively new, and so the city downtown overall doesn't give the most attractive impression, but if you venture into the old working class quarters of Grünerløkka and Sagene, or the classy parts of town in Frogner and Majorstuen, there's still some decent architecture. And hey, there's the nearby Nordmarka nature area, the Oslo fjord and it's islands, all the museums, Akershus fortress and on.
|
|
| Favourite spots: |
-Akershus Festning: Old fortress at the Oslo harbor, great views and a great place for a picnic on a sunny day - you might get fresh prawns of the fishermen in the harbor and have a classy lunch at the fortress.
-Birkelunden: Small park in Grünerløkka, band gigs almost every Saturday throughout summer.
-Grønland/Tøyen: Oslo's little Pakistan, get newbaked nan bread and fresh mangos in any grocery store, and eat them in Tøyenparken, before a swim in Tøyenbadet or a stroll through the Botanical garden, with a visit to the Munch museum added.
-Vigelandsparken (Frognerparken): Huge sculpture park, neat. Also contains swimming pool, water slides etc for a fee.
|
|
| What's really great: |
Oslo has quite a few good museums for those into such - there are the famous three in Bygdøy; the viking museum, the Kon-Tiki museum and Norsk Folkemuseum - all worth a visit, but on the bad side, some of these don't look like they've had a makeover since the early seventies. On the main street Karl Johan, there's the national gallery - free entrance. And of course the Munch museum. And the technical museum for those who like playing, pushing buttons, producing noise etc - great with kids of any age =)
|
|
| Sights: |
|
In addition to those already mentioned, there's the King's castle - which I'm not impressed with, but the surrounding park's nice on a sunny day. And there's Holmenkollen ski jump (why on earth do people want to see a ski jump? But the views over town are great up there); the Astrup Fearnley museum and Museet for Samtidskunst (both contemporarty art galleries) in Kvadraturen - where you might not want to be late at night, unless into offering certain services or buying heavy drugs; Middelalderparken ("the medival park") in Gamlebyen, also has concerts through summer;
|
|
| Accommodations: |
There are three youth hostels, but most of them are somewhat away from the centre, making them a bit of a hassle. The Anker Hostel is right downtown, five minutes walk from main street, train station, bus station etc.
Another budget option (although slightly pricier than a hostel) is MS Innvik, an old theatre boat docked in the harbor.
And there are various campings - most of them somewhat out of the centre, Ekeberg Camping the most accessible by public transport. In summer there's also Langøyene camping, a spot on an island in the fjord, regular boats from Vippetangen (behind Akershus fortress).
|
|
| Nightlife: |
Not really into clubbing.
There's Killyrego in Storgata, somewhat alternative techno and performances. And Rockefeller/John Dee in Torggata - mainly live stages, all kinds of music. Blå is a great jazz club by Akerselva (Brenneriveien) - very much an alternative scene. Don't walk home by the river btw, keep to the streets. SinPecado and Shu Club are gay alternatives, the former mainly women, latter mixed.
|
|
| Hangouts: |
-Mir (Toftes gate 69): Shabby, alternative place in Grünerløkka, punky style. Usually crowded, good atmosphere. Occasional concerts.
-Cafe Sør (Torggata 11, by Youngstorget): More of a cafe than a bar, international, drinks and chill music.
-Asylet (Grønland): In an old children's asylum, old restored building, great outdoor space when weather's good, traditional food.
-Cafe Sara (Torggata?): The leftist activist place, great Turkish/Mediterranean food, beer, cheap.
-Shamrock (Schleppegrells gate): Big Irish pub, fair prices, good snacks, nice atmosphere, to be avoided during soccer games unless you want to watch them with bravado.
-Naboens (Grünerløkka, by Birkelunden): Brown pub, cozy, strange mixed clientelle.
|
|
| Restaurants: |
Eating out is relatively expensive, so haven't done it all that much. For great value big fillings, go for any kebab/pizza shop on the eastside. Oishi Sushi in Skippergata and Sushihuset at Carl Berner have town's cheapest take-away sushi. Rehman's (Seilduksgata 15) is a fancy, very good Indian place, as is Cafe Darbar nearby the Munch museum in Tøyen. Excellent breakfasts up till 2 pm at Cafe Divan in Torggata. Delicatessen (Søndre gate 8) has towns best tapas.
Vegetarian: Vegeta (Munkedamsv. 3), Cafe Blitz (Pilestredet 28 - young leftist/anarchist cafe, loads of kids in black).
Traditional Norwegian food: Not what I'll personally go out to eat, but here goes... Kaffistova (Grensen) - where ruuuural people stay in Oslo, all meat balls and cabbaged lamb; Lofotstua (Kirkevn.) - fancy seafood, whale meat, seal etc.; Norrøna Kafe (Grensen 19) - simple and cheap.
To be avoided: Aker Brygge. The harbor area with all the fancy places where tourists tend to flock. Outrageous prices.
|
|
| Other recommendations: |
A public transport can get you pretty much anywhere, also to the nearby woods or the islands in the Oslo fjord. Www.trafikanten.no has info about this. Always cheaper to get in advance than to buy on the tram/bus/boat.
There are also city bikes - The tourist info at Oslo central station will give you a magnet card for a small deposit, this can be used to pick up bikes from some 40 different locations in town, and put them back at any location.
As most people have internet, web cafes are a little hard to come by. There is a decent one in the train station, and one in the bus station. But I recommend any public library for free use of the internet, even though you might have to wait a bit for a free computer.
|
|
Published on Tuesday September 3th, 2002
|
|
|
Tue, Mar 07 2006 - 08:46 AM
 by terje
| Hei Stine! For en Telemarking bosatt i Drammen var dette veldig mye nyttig info selv for meg... :-) |
| Information: |
| Login if you are a member, or sign up for a free membership to rate this report and to earn globo points! |
|
| Cambodia |
|
|
|
|
 |
| Costa Rica |
|
|
|
| Cuba |
|
|
|
| Denmark |
|
|
|
| Ecuador |
|
|
|
| France |
|
|
|
| Guatemala |
|
|
|
|
|
| Hungary |
|
|
|
| Italy |
|
|
|
| Laos |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Mexico |
|
|
|
|
9 votes
