Why you have to visit Oslo right now!

How often have you found yourself in endless lines to see a touristic sight? Well- in Oslo, you don’t have to!

Avoid big crowds

Want to avoid a bunch of tourists on your travels? Oslo is the perfect place to meet locals, skip long lines and see more! Oslo is a beautiful and calm city- even called too quiet at times. If you decide to travel to Oslo during a holiday, you are in for an even calmer city. A capital to practice slow living, beautiful surroundings, good food and excellent coffee. Oslo is a place that varies in beauty during the different seasons, but autumn is truly a good time to go.

Amazing architecture

These days, Oslo is an up-and-coming city and growing in numbers of residents. The structure of the city is constantly under development, new buildings are arising and eateries, cafes and shops are constantly popping up. There isn’t really a better time to visit Oslo to experience new, fascinating buldings.

Go for a stroll on top of the opera house (which is made to look like an ice berg) and gaze upon the iconic barcode buildings to get a glimpse of Oslo’s future. If you find any locals you can start a discussion about the development of Oslo and wether they should build in the height or expand out in the woods. You won’t find many locals who are positive on either of the suggestions. Norwegians tends to frown upon change.

Buildings must see includes the Barcode, the Opera House, Astrup Fearnley museum, Statoil building, Akrobaten bridge and holmenkollen ski slope.

Buildings to come includes Lambda- the new Munch Museum, the new national museum, the new Deichmans library, Fjord city and Bjørvika will also contain a lot of new buildings and amazing architecture in the future. Read more here.

Old & New

Oslo has a magnificent mix between the old and the new. Akershus Fortress is one of Oslo’s oldest buildings and dates back to the 1300s, whereas Bjørvika is a great example of the modern Scandi architecture. The mix between old and new is found throughout the entire city and is a huge part of Oslo’s character. Frogner, Bislett and Torshov are full of the older apartment blocks with a charming pop of color to the city landscape.

Oslo has a long and varied hisitory with both Sweden and Denmark and was actually called Christiania up until the 20th century, thanks to the Danish-Norwegian Renaissance king Christian IV. ‘The Old City’ (Gamlebyen) is where the city of Oslo used to lie- and Oslo was actually the name of a district in Christiania at the time- until it burnt down. Oslo has many great museums that covers it’s vast history including Akershus Fortress, the Viking Ship Museum, Fram Museum and Kon Tiki Museum.

Food Scene

The food scene in Oslo has never been bigger and is expanding as we speak- or as I write. It has been an explotion of varieties in both Nordic food, asian food and many more wonderful cuisines! It has everything to do with the majority of people moving and settling down in Oslo, especially from other cultures or from locals that are well travelled and wanting to use their inspiration from the world to introduce new and exciting cuisines to Oslos thriving buzz.

Be sure to walk down to Mathallen- Oslo’s food court. A meeting place for both locals and tourists to enjoy food from all over the world.

Places to eat includes Grunerløkka, Aker Brygge, Grønland, St.hanshaugen and Central Oslo.

If you are a serious foodie and got the money for Maaemo, make sure to book a table in advance- Norways first 3-michelin starred restaurant.

Slow living in Oslo

Oslo is a relaxing city. Take time off, sit down at a coffee shop and just be. Find a beautiful spot along the Oslo Fjort- or take the boat to one of the islands and enjoy the sunshine and beautiful views. Oslo is a city that acknowledge that you need to slow down your pace, take in the surroundings and relax. Take a stroll through one of Oslo’s many parks like Vigelandsparken or Ekebergparken and soak up the unhurried atmosphere of the city.

Easy and safe to travel in

Oslo is both easy and safe to travel in. If you are planning on hitting a lot of museums- the Oslo pass is a good option as it provides access to over 30 museums as well as the public transport system. The locals have excellent English skills and are extremley willing to help with directions and other advice you may need- at least if you aproach the younger generation.

A breath of fresh air

Despite the oil, Norway focuses a lot on renewable energy which is crearly visible throughout the city with all the Teslas and other electronic cars on the road – easily noticable by the “EL” at the start of their number plates. The air in Oslo usually feels like you’re in the middle of a national park, rather than in the middle of a capital city, and water from the tap competes even the most expensive bottled water.

Plenty of things to do during summer

Oslo is incredible during summer with all kinds of outdoor activities including island-hopping in the fjord, concerts, hiking and cycling, to name just a few. As soon as the sun is out, people are outside enjoying the weather. Scandinavians tend to appreciate every ray sunshine they possibly can.

..And during winter!

Even though being very cold, Oslo is incredible during winter. When the snow begins to fall and sets it starts to feel like a winter wonderland. Skiing can be done only 20 minutes with the metro. Enjoy a hot drink and see how the people transform the city into a bastion of winter sports activity thanks to the crisp cold and white snow.

Visit Oslo recently made a stunt called “The Great Escape” with two Kiwis from New Zealand to promote the city and why you should chose to visit Oslo vs any other city.