Despite living in Norway for many months aboard Dirona, we never reached Oslo. The farthest east we sailed was Farsund (where we were frozen in the ice for several weeks). We finally reached Norway’s capital as part of our trans-arctic trip across the top of the planet. The ship would depart from Svalbard, and rather than take the cruise ship company’s chartered flight from Paris, we decided to travel there ourselves a couple of days before the trip. The best routing was through Oslo, so we took the opportunity to finally spend some time exploring the vibrant city and had a fantastic time.
The architecture in Oslo is a mix of striking modern spaces and historic structures. Many of the older buildings date from 19th century, with some standing since the 1600s.
The city is also full of public art, ranging from whimsical to formal.
Appealing restaurants and bars abound, many with water views.
And with its location on Oslofjord, boats and ships of all shapes and sizes ply the waters to ports near and far. Norway has a particular impressive modern ferry system, and we saw several examples here. We also caught site of the modern electric tour boat Vison of the Fjords that we’d first seen in Songnefjord back in 2018.
We stayed at the fabulous boutique hotel The Thief, built over Oslofjord in downtown Oslo. From our balcony we could see small boats in the channel below and the ferries passing nearby in Oslofjord. We started each day with a workout in the Their Gym and ended with a drink on their wonderful rooftop terrace, with sweeping views to the city.
We spent our first day in Oslo exploring the area near our hotel, a neighborhood full of appealing restaurants and bars. Many of those pictured earlier were here. Prominent in the skyline are the twin brick towers of Oslo’s 75-year-old city hall where, besides supporting city business, the annual Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held. The exterior includes an astronomical clock and many sculptures, including one high up of Harald Hardråde, Norway’s king from 1046 to 1066, and several depicting the craftsmen who constructed the building.
On a hill above Oslofjord, visible from our hotel, stands the medieval Akershus Fortress. Believed to have been built starting in the 13th century, the castle protected the royal residence for centuries, surviving several sieges. The fortress remains a military area today, but much of the grounds and buildings are open to the public.
A little beyond the fortress, to the east, is Oslo’s iconic Opera House, designed to provide a new public space while housing the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. The roof of the building is built at an angle, in tiers, allowing pedestrians to walk up to the top and take in the 360° views to Oslofjord and the city. It’s a marvelous creation.
The following day, we took the ferry across Oslofjord to spend the day at Bygdøy. Known as Museum Island, Bygdøy is home to five national museums. We visited the Fram Museum, focusing on polar exploration and housing the original Fram; the Kon-Tiki Museum, showcasing Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl’s famous expeditions; and the Norwegian Maritime Museum.
On our final day in Oslo, we walked just under an hour to the fantastical Vigeland Sculpture Park and Museum, showcasing the art of Gustav Vigeland. Spread over 80 acres (32 hectares) the park includes 212 bronze, granite, and wrought-iron sculptures and is the largest sculpture park in the world by a single artist. Vigeland’s work focuses on the human lifecycle and often includes multiple intertwined human figures along with Norse mythology. We’ve never seen anything like it.
To return to the area of our hotel, we walked through Slottsparken, a public park that surrounds the Royal Palace. The grounds are beautiful, with much public art.
We continued east along Oslo’s main thoroughfare, pedestrian-friendly Karl Johans Gate, past the Parliament, National Theatre, and Oslo Cathedral.
Arriving back at the waterfront, we just managed to fit in a quick visit to the Nobel Peace Center before it closed for the day. Detailing the history of the Nobel Peace Prize, the center showcases each prize winner since the first one in 1901. A moving artwork was “A Message to Humanity” by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, where 1,000 handcrafted interlocking wooden pieces convey testimony from survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Visitors exit under “Forget-me-not,” giant blue flowers by acclaimed artist duo Kosovar Petrit Halilaj and Spaniard Álvaro Urbano.
We stayed in Oslo at the Thief for one night after a cruise ended there and had mixed feelings about it. Very modern and artsy but not as practical as we prefer. Our room had dark walls and minimal lighting, not ideal for our old eyes. Gloomy in a way. The bathroom sink and counter were in an island outside the bathroom in the bedroom, I guess it allows two people to get ready at the same time but we didn’t love it. But the hotel was fun and the views over the water were terrific.
We took a ferry to Museum Island and loved the museums. Fascinating to experience how people existed on old ships.
I forget the name of the restaurant we had dinner in near the hotel but it was superb. We walked along the waterfront to get to a another museum and Oslo is a lovely, walkable city, at least in the summer. I wish we had the time to go to the sculpture park you toured — it looks wonderful.
Surprising that your itinerary was so similar to ours. We liked the hotel but probably because we are suckers for great views and good restaurants in the area and they do have both. The rooms are quirky and, as you said, not 100% designed for convenance.
Thanks for passing along your experience John.
I worked with a Norwegian manufacturer of reverse vending machines in the late 2000s (they were actually based near Oslo, in Asker), and I still clearly remember how incredibly different that environment felt compared to the rest of the “Western world” — and even compared to most European cities.
1) People and work culture
The first thing you notice is how down-to-earth and relaxed people are. Even at corporate HQ level, after 4 PM it’s basically over — family time starts, including for senior management. Coming from Italy, that felt almost surreal at the time.
2) Dinner hours
I was invited to dinner and, thinking like an Italian, assumed I still had plenty of time before heading there around 8 PM. I quickly discovered dinner was at 430 PM.
3) EVs before EVs were mainstream
This was around 2008, and I remember seeing many people charging EVs directly on the street, free of charge. If I remember correctly, that policy lasted until roughly 2019–2020 before paid charging became more common.
What struck me was the strategic intelligence behind it: first create the infrastructure and incentives, then demand naturally follows. A very “Norwegian” long-term approach, and probably one of the real foundations behind Norway’s EVs density success story.
4) Breakfasts and bread
Have you enjoyed Norwegian breakfasts ? Absolutely fantastic. I still remember the incredible variety and quality of breads. Even butter tasted different !
Norway is a wonderful country for long list of reasons. We just loved our short time there. The one thing I find hard to bear is the idea of taxing all the money you have ever made and saved repeatedly every year. I’m a strong supporter for paying tax on purchases. I’m fine with paying tax on earnings. But paying tax repeated on all savings each year feels unreasonable. Otherwise, one of the most beautiful and most comfortable countries in the world.
True, the net wealth tax has always been an issue, but i suspect more for you and me, foreigners, than the Norwigians themsleves.
I think the issue is not so much on the 1% tax itself on “real wealth”, but on the mechanism.
That tax hits the “valuation”. Say you build a startup that is “valued” 100M, you may not have any cash, but you’ll be taxed 1M. That is creazy actually.
Said that, i really never met many norwegians complaining, except young entreprenaurs, the mood there is a lot like “Fine. But look what we get”. And thay are really right.
Well said Raffaele!