Oslo
Oslo is the capital and most populous city of Norway.
It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of 724,290 in 2025, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,110,887 in 2025, and the metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1,546,706 in 2021.
Getting to Oslo
Oslo is served by two airports: Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, Sandefjord Airport Torp. Oslo Airport is the largest of the two and is the main international gateway to Norway. Most internet flight booking sites will show flights to both airports when searching for Oslo Airport. Make sure to check the actual airport from the search results before booking.
Worth seeing
Architecture in Oslo may at first seem dull. Compared to Stockholm and Copenhagen, downtown Oslo has much less historic architecture. Most of the historic buildings are located along the Parliament-Palace axis (upper part of Karl Johan Street). This central area and the public buildings there were designed after Oslo became the capital of Norway in 1814.
- 01Viking Ship Museum and Historical Museum
Huk aveny 35 (Bygdøy), postmottak@khm.uio.no.
Things to do
Visit the local city district Grünerløkka, (tram 11, 12 and 18 to Nybrua, Schous plass, Olaf Ryes plass or Birkelunden, tram 17 or bus 30-31 to Heimdalsgata or Birkelunden, or bus 21 to Sannergata). A part of the city filled with cafés, bars, small fashion and designer shops, nice parks. The river Akerselva runs on the west side, with a selection of (well hidden) bars, clubs and cafés nearby.
- 01Øyafestivalen
Where to eat
There are a lot of both expensive and cheap places to eat in Oslo. The cheapest restaurants are Asian restaurants which, in many cases, serve good food at low prices. Check the menus on the door. Even though you should always use your eyes (and nose) in any food establishment, Norwegian Food and Health regulations are very strict and enforced effectively, so eating out in Oslo is safe.
Getting around Oslo the local way
- Get inThe train station is linked to the airport via free shuttle buses that takes 8 min Several small Polish minibuses serve flights to and from Poland.
- Get inOslo is connected to Denmark and Germany by car ferry.
- Get inYou may also want to consider Color Lines high-speed boats from Larvik (2 hours south of Oslo on E18, or easily reachable by hourly Vy train) or Kristiansand (4½ hours south of Oslo on E18, or reachable on five daily trains or near-hourly buses) to Hirtshals (Denmark).
- Get inThe train station in Kristiansand is close to the ferry quay, while in Larvik the quay has been moved to a location which is a bit of a trek from the station.
- Get inBe aware of passenger ferries and container ships approaching and leaving the inner harbour and the Filipstad and Sjursøya terminals.
- Get aroundOslo has a comprehensive public transport network, consisting of trains, metro, trams, buses and ferries.
- Get aroundPaper tickets can only be purchased on buses and ferries.
- Get aroundAll fares are valid across all modes, including trains, metro, trams, buses and ferries.
From Wikivoyage: Oslo, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Leonhard Lenz (CC0), Wikimedia Commons.
