Oslo Travel Guide - Complete Tour & City Guide to Norway's Capital
This is your complete city guide to the Norwegian city of Oslo. Everything from how to get here from the airport, to getting around the place using public transportation. What attractions to see, the best places to eat, how to kick a baby in the bum or zipline down a ski jump. And how to have the most amazing time, in this fascinating action-packed city If you're watching this video guide you'll probably have heard about the world famous attractions that reside here. But it's also a cool tranquil city to explore in its own right. There's literally hundreds of things to do here in Oslo, but it can get quite confusing and overwhelming if you're not sure what to do, so this video guide will explain absolutely everything to you.
Firstly let's have a look at a map of Oslo. Most of these attractions you will be interested in is located right here in the middle of the city. You could probably get away with walking in a big rectangle and you'll get to see most of what Oslo has to offer. However, I highly recommend that you travel a little bit further afield, because there's some amazing attractions that you absolutely must do before you leave the Norwegian Capital. But firstly; how to get here from the airport. Oslo is mainly served by two airports. The main of which is Oslo Gardermoen International Airport. This is the main airport that services
Oslo. When you arrive simply find one of these ticket booths, select your language and buy a ticket for Flytorget - this is the direct train that will take you into Oslo City Center without stopping. You'll reach Oslo Central Station within about 20 minutes from start to finish. If you're a cheap-ass like me and have flown in via Ryanair; you'll arrive at Sandefjord Torp Airport - which is hilariously nowhere near Oslo! It's actually a 2 hour bus ride away, and to buy a ticket for the bus - simply find this ticket machine, buy a ticket from there and literally go outside the airport and jump on the Torp Expressen Bus. It's literally outside the exit, you really can't miss it. And 2 hours later it will arrive at Oslo Central Station, which is right here on the map. Once you've arrived at Central Station,
I strongly recommend that you visit the Oslo Visitor Center - not only to pick up a free paper map but it's also your chance to buy an Oslo pass. This one pass allows you access to pretty much every museum in the city, and provides free public transport for the duration of the pass. When you visit any attraction, simply show them the QR code, they scan you in and away you go. And it's the same for the public transport - all you have to do is press the public transport section, which will generate a QR code which acts as your ticket. Trust me when I say that this will save you a whole boatload of money and a whole boatload of time, so I strongly urge you to buy one of these things and activate it just before you visit the first attraction or just before you use public transportation for the first time, as the time limit starts the moment you activate the pass. Whilst we're talking about public transport; Oslo’s transport network is incredibly efficient
easy to use and very user friendly. Simply fire up the Oslo pass and generate a QR code - scan yourself in and away you go. It's literally that simple. It allows you access to the Metro System, the on-street trams, the buses and even the boats, so you definitely get full value for money if you buy an Oslo pass. Anyway back to Oslo Central Station. Once you leave the station, you'll be greeted by this rather fetching silver tiger, and Thor's hammer, which is kind of cool. But you'll quickly notice that you're literally on the water and the first attraction we're visiting is literally within eyesight. The National Opera House. This is the country's foremost opera venue,
so if you're into opera or the ballet this is the venue to go to. However most people visiting the Opera House have no intention of actually seeing the opera. Instead what you can do is climb on its roof. Because of the shape of the building, it's possible to walk over the entire building, and you get some amazing views right here from the top. In fact you get some amazing views pretty
much anywhere! It's pretty kooky to be walking on the top of a building, but here in Norway that seems kind of normal. If you're visiting in summer on a nice sunny day like today, be sure to bring a pair of sunglasses with you, as you'll be blinded by the power of the sun reflecting from the floor. And if you do happen to venture inside it's beautifully designed, it looks like something from an architecture textbook, and even the toilets are really fancy in here. But once you've
taken in some amazing views, you'll find the next attraction on our list literally right next door. The Edvard Munch Museum. This is an art gallery filled with the works of Norway's premier artist: Edvard Munch. If you're not into art or not a fan of Edvard Munch, this is probably one that you could avoid. But if you have any interest in art, this is definitely worth visiting. The most famous work of art by Edvard Munch that you might have
heard of is this: The Scream. And believe it or not there's actually several versions of this, most of which are on display here in the museum but the most famous one is in a separate museum that will cover later in the video. I should probably point out that whilst this is a very lovely Art Gallery, very well organized and there's plenty to see and do, it's also home to an incredible rooftop bar. So if you have paid to go in; I recommend that you stop off at the roof for a quick drink before you go and take in some of the amazing views from up here. But if you don't want to pay to go inside; the Edvard Munch Museum, that's okay because you get to see some of his works free of charge around the vicinity of the building itself.
And when you're walking around this Harbourfront, you'll find many people sunbathing, paddle boarding, walking along in the sunshine, getting married or even enjoying some waterfront saunas and jumping in the freezing cold sea afterwards. If you do want to use any of the saunas, simply go into one of them, pay your fee, get half naked and then proceed to jump in a hot box full of strangers and douse yourself in cold sea water after afterwards. Fun times! But even if you're not interested in that it's still a nice area to walk around anyway, especially on a nice day like today. If you're arriving on a cruise ship, you'll probably dock in at this point of the harbour, and around the corner from that, you'll find the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum. This is a pretty cool museum if you like history,
firearms and all the toys of war - you'll have a fantastic time in here. It's a pretty cool area to walk around even if you don't want to go inside. But one thing that you definitely do want to visit is this fortress high on a hill. Akershus Fortress This castle that overlooks the sea has some pretty amazing views all the way across Oslo. But the Fortress itself is actually quite cool to walk around. Inside the actual castle itself you'll find very Royal themed things, this Game of Thrones Throne made of weapons, and overall it's quite an interesting walk around Norwegian history. It's also here where
you'll find the Royal Mausoleum, the final resting place to the first ever King and Queen of Norway, a Royal Chapel, King Christian's room, the Prince's Chamber and my personal favourite; the Hall of Olaf V, which I think you'll agree looks absolutely stunning in a kind of medieval kind of way. All of this is definitely worth visiting. And by the way if you come during Oslo Pride, the city becomes incredibly busy. That said you'll have an amazing time! Oslo Pride generally happens outside this iconic building. Oslo City Hall. One of the noticeable landmarks here in the city of Oslo, with its red brick exterior and clock tower you can see this from miles around and when you do walk around Oslo City Hall, notice the details along the exterior. It's free to go inside, and once you do - you'll be met with
this stunning Great Hall. And apparently this is where they hold one of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies. It's definitely big and grand enough. But walking around City Hall, you'll appreciate the finer details that makes this building quite unique. I love the art on the walls, the fact that everything is kind of minimalist, and you'll also get to visit the City Chamber where the city council meet. Now you can take a free guided tour of the place, if you want to. However on the day that I visited, it was incredibly quiet and I just showed
myself around and it was definitely worth it. Whilst we're talking about the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Peace Prize Center is literally right next door. So if you are a fan of the Nobel Peace Prize you can actually go into this interactive museum and learn all about the awards and its recipients right here in this rather funky museum. Rather conveniently right next door to that, you'll come across The National Museum. This is another art gallery that has traditional works of art sculptures and famous paintings. That can't be the Mona Lisa, can it?! It's also
got some non-traditional art items and things that you wouldn't really consider to be art – well, I wouldn't anyway?! (Oh look, a ram!) But the most famous piece is another version of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”, and this is possibly the most famous version. According to this big security guard here, this is the most valuable painting in the world, far more valuable than the Mona Lisa. Overall, if you are an art buff or if you are a cultured person you will absolutely love the National Museum. Now at this point you've probably reached the area of Aker Brygge.
It's famous for its pier, its waterfront, and it's very many eateries. Especially on a nice day like today, it's cool to just relax whilst watching the world go by. It's also home to some very up-market shopping, and it's adjoined to several islands which are quite nice to walk around. The most expensive hotel in Oslo is also here, it's called ‘The Thief’. Located on Thief Island with this rather strange statue at the front if, you can afford to stay here, good for you. And once again and when pride is in town; every day is a party day! Walk a few minutes north of that, and you'll come across Norway's most Royal building.
The Royal Palace. This is traditionally home to Norwegian royalty, and the palace itself is set amongst acres of lovely greenspace. So even if you don't have any inkling to go inside, you can walk around the palace and the grounds free of charge. And that in itself is actually quite a nice activity to do. They've also got soldiers guarding the palace, very similar to what we have here in London, in Copenhagen, in Stockholm etc.
Be sure to watch The Changing of the Guard ceremony which happens at various times during the day. If you want to go for a tour inside you have to buy your tickets in advance and queue up right here. Photography and videography is strictly forbidden inside the palace itself, and they actually force you to lock away your phones, cameras and electronics in a locker before you actually start the tour. So I don't have any footage of the inside, but trust me when I say it is absolutely amazing and it's definitely worth the money. Book a tour if you're interested in that sort of thing. As you walk away from the Royal Palace,
you'll come across this main atreet that blazes right through the city center. This is Karl Johans Gate. It's a beautiful street, very similar to the Champs Elysees in Paris. It's a wonderful place to saunter around in the sunshine, explore some of the green spaces and flowers, chill out amongst the fountains, and it's also a great place to go souvenir shopping, because you never know what you might find in one of these shops. Whether it's trolls, or bears, or Norwegian themed goods. You certainly won't struggle to find it here. And as you can imagine, it's also home to some very
interesting attractions. The Historical Museum which for some reason was closed for renovations when I visited. It's home to the National Theatre, a great place to check out a play or a show. It's actually a lovely venue inside, but if you don't have a ticket to view any show, have a walk around the building because it's quite nice. Be sure to check out
the statues of Mr Ibsen and Mr Bjornson. And a few hundred yards away you'll come across this. The Norwegian Parliament building. This is where the Norwegian government meets and does its business. The building itself is quite nice, and if you're interested - you can take a free of charge guided tour around the Parliament building. But you do have to queue up for it, and they only allow 30 people in at a time. You have to queue up right here around the back of
the building and if you're person number 31 - tough luck, no tour for you! I recommend that you queue up 45 minutes before the allotted time, in order to guarantee your spot. If you're one of the lucky ones that actually does manage to get into the Parliament building, you'll get this amazing guided tour. It's very historical and the tour guide will explain everything from the history of the building to the history of Norway itself. And you get to walk around some pretty funky rooms,
complete with some very funky artwork on the walls. But no rooms are more impressive than the actual Parliament chamber itself. It's very very red and gold, very Regal, you get to learn a lot about how the Norwegian Parliament works. And this alone is worth coming onto the tour to see. You get some picture opportunities right here, it's definitely worth about an hour of your time. If you walk back towards Central Station, you'll come across the two most famous churches in all of Oslo. The first is Oslo Cathedral - very nice inside especially if you like this sort of thing, and a couple of streets away you'll come across St Olav’s. It's definitely a lot more colourful in here than in the cathedral,
but overall a nice church indeed. So believe it or not, that's everything that you'll see if you walk in a big giant rectangle around Oslo. But there's many other attractions that I urge you to do that's slightly outside this rectangular area. Before I show you all of those attractions, let's talk about food. There's no shortage of places where you can eat here in Oslo. The things I recommend that you try are Freya brand chocolate - very very tasty! Ice
cream in weird flavours, this happens to be salty liquorice ice cream. It's an acquired taste but definitely worth a go if you're adventurous. If you're on the outskirts of the city, you might bump across Syverkiosken. This is the last hot dog stand in all of the city, they serve a particularly unique hot dog with something called a Lompe on the top of it. Topped with fried onions and a plethora of other things, it is absolutely amazing and it's definitely worth the detour! But if you want to try food without walking all the way around the city, I recommend that you visit Oslo Street Food. It's an indoor foodie market where you can try literally any form of cuisine that you fancy. And the people here are super friendly and the food here
is absolutely amazing, so be sure to stop off here if you're walking past it. Right, so now that you've had your food (or salty ice cream in my case!) it's time to visit Oslo’s most infamous park. This is Frogner Park. The park itself is a lovely manicured greenspace, you'd expect nothing less from the Norwegians. But the most famous part is this … The Vigeland Sculpture Park. This is an area of the park that displays the works of Gustav Vigeland; Norway's Premier sculptor. And to say that the sculptures are a little strange is a little bit of an understatement. When you walk through this boulevard,
you'll come across very suggestive statues, this statue of a guy beating up another guy, Judo I think this is?! And one of the most famous works: “the angry baby” where people rub his hand or his little penis for good luck. I think I might just rub the hand, it's probably safer?! But it gets weirder, because right at the top of the staircase here is this giant monolith comprised of sculpted naked bodies. I'm not really sure what to make of this, it all seems very very erotic, but you know, each to their own I guess? It's also here that you'll find lots of statues of naked women, this guy performing the Heimlich manoeuvre, and I'm not even sure what this is?! But overall it's actually quite a fun, almost bemusing walk around a park. Certainly one of the strangest parks I've been to, but definitely a lot of fun. And I recommend that you get here before the busload of tourists arrive. Because once they do, you won't be able to get near anything, kind of like this. If anyone knows why this man is kicking this baby like a football, please write it
in the comment section below. And if you thought that was cool and strange there's yet another park that's even stranger than that. This is Ekeberg Park. Located on the south side of Oslo, it's once again home to some lovely green spaces with some really lovely views over Oslo Harbour. Some of the buildings are quite quaint, but that's when it gets weird. Because you'll find all of these statues that seemingly don't make sense. Some of them are cool, some of them are quite scary, and I've no idea what's going on here?! But if you do have time I urge you to check this out. So let's now hop on a boat, and visit this
south area of the city. Where you'll find some of the most famous museums, not just of Norway, but of all of Europe. My personal favourite out of all of these is the Norwegian Folk Museum. This is what's known as an ‘open air museum’, and even though they've got some indoor exhibits, which some of them are quite interesting. Most of the museum is located outdoors. The best way I can describe it is that it's an actual old style Norwegian Village, complete with actors and actresses in costumes role playing what life was like back in the day.
It's actually pretty cool to walk around and it's pretty surprising that people actually used to live like this. I really do like the fact that you can ask these people anything, and they'll explain to you how life was like back in the day - even though they probably weren't alive back then?! This is also an opportunity to try Norwegian Lefse. It's kind of like this traditional pancake they serve it with butter and it's absolutely delicious! I had an amazing time walking around the traditional wood huts, the wooden churches, exploring the farmland, exploring people's houses - overall it was definitely an insight as to how traditional Norwegian life actually is. This was by far the most fun I've had in a museum in a long while, and if you only have time to do one or two museums - I recommend that you put this at the top of your list. Right next door to that you'll find the Viking Ship Museum.
If you want to learn all about Vikings this is a pretty cool museum to go to. It's currently closed for renovations until 2025, but if you are into Vikings and stuff like that this should definitely be added to your list. This section of the map right here is home to three of the museums that you've probably heard of. The first is the Maritime Museum. If you want to learn all about the maritime history of Norway, this is pretty fantastic. Right next door you'll find the world famous Kon-Tiki Museum, which displays the one and only Kon-Tiki raft.
Can you believe a whole bunch of people actually cross the Pacific Ocean in this thing?! I mean, that's pretty amazing! This is a basic balsa wood life raft that managed to cross an entire ocean, and you get to learn about the amazing story behind it, and of the film and TV adaptations behind it. So if you think you've seen this before, you probably have. The next museum up is The Fram. And you guessed it; this is the actual Fram that sailed around Antarctica. Considered to be the toughest and most hardest wearing ship back in its day, it's pretty cool to climb aboard and see what like life was like when discoverers were trying to discover everything south of the Equator. Life on board was definitely a lot more sparse than you think, and this museum exhibit is definitely an eyeopener. You'd never realize that all of this stuff was on the ship and how difficult it actually was out there.
And by the way to visit all of these museums, you can take a bus but it's much easier to take a boat to and from Aker Brygge, and whilst we're talking about boats once you've reached Aker Brygge, you can transfer onto a completely different boat and explore the islands around Oslo. If we go back to the map, you'll notice that there's four or five residential islands just off the coast of Oslo. And yes you can take a cruise around Oslo if you want to, but I find that using the normal commuter boats will get you to these islands much cheaper and faster and you get time to explore the islands at your own leisure. The first island you'll come across is Hovedøya. It's a very picturesque island, home to a few hundred people, it's home to this disused monastery, this lovely park space and beautiful views of Oslo from its waters. It definitely seems like a world away from Oslo City Center. The next island: Lindøya has these rather colourful houses. I can imagine that it's
very picturesque in the summer and it's absolutely freezing in the winter time. It's also home to this church on the water, very very picturesque! You can also visit Nakholmen, Bleikøya & Gressholmen, and it's very very similar to Lindøya. I would have loved more time to explore these islands. But as time was running out and the weather was turning sour, I decided
to hop onto the next boat back to Aker Brygge. Bobody beats the Norwegians in winter sports, and if you have time, I urge you to take the tram up to the Holmenkollen area of the city, where you'll find this the Holmenkollen Ski Jump. This is one of the most fearsome ski jumps in all of the world and after looking at this video footage, you'll see why. It's every bit as terrifying as it looks right here on camera. And when you come during winter time, you'll find people ski jumping off
it. But as it's summer and there's no snow around, you can do other things such as go in virtual simulators and walk around the ski jump itself. But if I you, I’d take the lift right up to the top of the ski jump, where you'll get some amazing views over the ski jump and over Oslo itself. It's
super cool and terrifying at the same time. And if you do want to go off the ski jump but it's not snowing you can choose to zip line down the damn thing, which is exactly what I did! After paying your money and being strapped up they, literally send you hurtling down the ski jump. Now admittedly this is possibly the closest thing I'll ever get to actually jumping one of these things, but it was pretty amazing! Even if you're scared of heights, I recommend that you do this because it doesn't feel at all unsafe or unstable and the fact that they let me record this on my mobile phone was a massive bonus. Definitely worth the extra expense! If you're staying at the Scandic hotel right next door, lucky you - because this is one of the nicest hotels that I've ever seen in my entire life. Please note if you are visiting this area, it's up high on a hill so you're going to have to do a little bit of climbing in order to get up here in the first place. Overall guys, if you're a fan of culture, Norwegian royalty,, things to do in a nice chilled out vibe full of friendly people, then Oslo is definitely the city break for you. I urge
you to add this to your bucket list, book a trip right now, I guarantee you won't be disappointed! Okay Ninh, I'm sold - what do I need to do? Well you need to come here to Oslo. As mentioned in the beginning of the video, Oslo is served by two major airports - Oslo Gardermoen and Sandefjord Torp. From Gardermoen airport, it's literally a 20-minute train ride from the airport to Central Station. From Sandefjord Torp, it's a 2-hour bus ride to Oslo bus terminal, which is connected to Oslo Central Station. I recommend that you buy an Oslo Pass, because it includes unlimited public transportation on the trams, the metro, the buses and the boats.
Getting around Oslo is simple enough. At every stop or every station, there's helpful maps to direct you on your way. Alls the sign are in Norwegian and English so you'll be absolutely fine. And if you're ever stuck just ask somebody because Norwegian people are incredibly helpful.
If you're looking for a place to stay, I recommend staying somewhere in the Sentrum area. However hotel prices can be quite pricey, so if you're looking for savings consider staying outside the Sentrum area and using public transportation to get in. And speaking of pricey, unfortunately for you Norway is quite an expensive country. So things
that you would consider to be normally priced are incredibly expensive here in Norway, particularly food, drinks and attractions. So be prepared to spend lots of money when you're here in Oslo. Is there anything else I need to know? Yes, the spoken language here is Norwegian. But most Norwegians learn English and Norwegian fluently at school, so if you're an English speaker you'll be absolutely fine. All the signs are in Norwegian and English and if you are stuck please don't
hesitate to ask somebody for help. If you're on a super tight budget, I recommend that you keep an eye out for any supermarkets such as Narvesen and Rema. They can be a lifesaver if you don't have much money. Oslo is an incredibly pleasant place to visit during the summertime. However when it's winter, it's bloody freezing!
So bear this in mind and dress accordingly depending on the time of the year. And finally the currency here is the Norwegian Krone. If you don't have any currency on you you should be absolutely fine so long as you have a contactless credit card. I urge you to bring two, just in case one of them fails. If you have enjoyed this episode, please be sure to like share and subscribe. Comment on that comment section below,
and if you have an ideas that you might think would make a good video - tweet them at me. And if I get enough suggestions I'll make a video about it. But guys thanks very much for watching, and we'll see you in the next episode. Ninh Ly – www.ninh.co.uk - @NinhLyUK
2024-07-16 00:07
