Is Oslo a nice city to visit?

I'm going to Oslo for two days in July and I can't wait! But I'm hearing mixed reviews about the city, in your opinion is Oslo good for a city break?
Thank you!

Yes.

its bit late if we tell you anything bad as you are already going!

It is indeed lovely but can be a bit of a shock to the pocket for people from our part of the world, especially if you like a drink...

I would recomend it highly, for me it is the Nordic city with the most attractions.

Oslo is nice, for a city with 600' people it's got the feeling of a small town. Nice, friendly, clean, lots of parks and water..... Expensive, though, but if you avoid the worst tourist traps it's not too bad. Don't buy the 'Oslo card', get the day pass for local transport instead.
Make sure you visit the viking ships - for sheer beauty!!! And don't miss Vigelandsparken - free.
Enjoy Oslo!

Oslo is a very nice city with a ton of culture in it to visit. Definitely a city worth visiting, just don't stay for too long. It is small and easily covered in just a couple days (three days max, visiting most worthwhile museums / attractions), and if you stay any longer you'll find yourself either bored or broke.

The Viking Ships Museum for me house some of the most beautiful things ever made by man, and is certainly a 'must see' for me.

I have just returned from Norway and visited Oslo twice. I had a great time both times. There are a multitude of museums to satisfy most any taste and I would recommend a visit to Vigeland Park. Pick a hotel close to the Sentrum and you won't have any problems getting around. The Tourist Information staff was very helpful.

Personally, I didn't like Oslo that much. There are nice areas and not so nice areas (around Oslo S train station). I found it to be extremely expensive and I too got fed up of being harassed by beggars. I am however a little biased because I visited Bergen and Trondheim beforehand and found these cities to be far nicer in comparison. I'm sure Oslo is fine for a short city break but take plenty of cash!

Isn't it quite suspisious that posters with unknown handles appear with just derogarory and negative things to say about people and places?

And they do not appear to post much......................Just sayin' mind.

When what the person is saying is quite true then not really suspicious, just because it is your Nordic highlight it is certainly not mine.

@BiffLoman I have to agree with you. Posters like richiavo and johnthefinn are posting for no reason. I mean richiavo's posts were pointless and didn't help me in any way what so ever.

I would also like to thank everyone who has commented so far, its been really helpful :)!

I'm not sure if BiffLoman's comment is also directed at me? I'd just like to say that it's my opinion and it's not my intention to bad-mouth Oslo as parts of it are beautiful. The area I stayed in was not nice (the Anker hostel, as I was backpacking). If someone had warned me about this area I would have stayed somewhere else in the city. The reason I haven't made many postings is because I started using this forum before I went traveling. Since I've returned you will see I have made quite a few on the Scandinavian thread trying to pass my knowledge on to others.

I just wanted to say that I asked what everyone thought of Oslo, so good and bad opinions of Oslo are welcome :).

I'm a little surprised those other comments have been disputed or caused annoyance...I'm certainly no 'fly-by-night' poster here, but, for the record, there is no doubt that there are a ceratin amount of 'druggies' and 'ladies of the night' in the vicinity of the centre...

I stayed on the Innvik boat-hotel on the harbour, not far from the new Opera House, and my Oslo friend refused point-blank to come down and meet me there or anywhere near...later on I discovered why as there were guys 'shooting-up' whenever I was coming and going...but I'm not complaing about that as I knew before I booked what to expect...also, there were prostitutes at various junctions on the way into town (I was tapped up 3 times on the way home) which surprised me after reading of the new laws which I was led to believe had driven them off the streets?...

But, as I wrote in #3, Oslo is indeed lovely but I don't see the point in not expressing the whole picture...

The Oslo railway station area is one of the shittiest places in Scandinavia, even the whole of Western Europe. As many others have said, and one disputed, there's plenty of whores and drug dealers/users around, to the point of being really annoying. It quite surprised me, as the area was also patrolled by police who didn't really seem to care. Maybe the idea is to keep the "business" in a small area so as not to overly pollute the whole city.

@grahamphelan my first post was tongue in cheek you said you had already booked so why ask if somewhere is nice if you wanted to know about the city then ask more specific questions, as for the second post some people love somewhere so much they will not hear a bad word about it, a poster who has only made just over 100 comments has a go at someone because they have made a correct comment about a city but it is only their 6th post. And as you can see lots of other people have backed him up with their comments

If you arrive in London at the International Railway Terminal at St Pancras, and walk out into the street, you in a very horrible area indeed, especially if you walk in the wrong direction. I walked out of Amsterdam Station straight into the adjacent red light area, which many people no doubt do deliberately, but that was not my intention. In Lisbon we saw people shooting up in narrow alleys leading down from the old town to the new town, and only a short distance from either. These are general urban issues, and don't make London, Amsterdam and Lisbon less worth visiting. But these cities have lived with these issues for a long time, and handle them to some degree, whereas in Oslo it is relatively novel, at least on its present scale, and it will take time for Oslo to learn to deal with it.

I'm sure Oslo is worth visiting for a short city break, but in the same way as over 100 other cities in Europe. But for me it comes a very long way down that list. Even just in Norway, like a previous poster, I'd prefer to have that time in Bergen or Trondheim. I don't rate Scandinavia for its cities.

@richiavo Your posts are pointless as they don't contribute to the post in any way what so ever. Everyone else has said what they like/didn't like about Oslo, but you said nothing basically encouraged others not to comment because I'm already going. That is what my point is! And the second time you came back to comment it was just to cause trouble anyway. I would also like to say that going to Oslo was a birthday present for me and I asked this question just to get peoples' opinions of Oslo to see what the good and bad things about the city were so I could avoid the bad and check out the good things while there. Why else would I post this? Sometimes you just need to use your common sense, and don't tell me what to ask!

Yes i do think #23 has hit the nail on the head there in talking about common scense, and Oslo is like all capital cities you will undoubtly find what you are looking for.

I was mainly looking for history, culture, interesting area's, things to do & places to go, perhaps i did have something of a blikered view, but i did find them an enjoyed my times there.

Hi There!
Me and my best friend are planning a long weekend holiday in Oslo. We are planning to go there in August. Buf after reading these comments I started to questioning that idea.
We found a flat in city centre / main station, but according to the previous comments it will not be safe :(
could you please give us more information.

We like modern art museums, art galleries and local designer stores.
Except from these we prefer to hang around with locals like locals. We loved to drink and we love the nightlife.

So we appreciate you related comments.

Cheers from Istanbul!
cey

We found a flat in city centre / main station, but according to the previous comments it will not be safe :(

It will most likely be very safe unless you behave like a complete twat (for example get blind drunk) or get very unlucky (as you can anywhere)...

For modern art, go to the Astrup Fearnley Museum (http://afmuseet.no/en/blogg). I don't know about art galleries since I don't care about that kind of thing. You can find interesting shops in Grünerløkka (Markveien specifically).

During the ten years I have lived and worked in Oslo, I have never felt unsafe walking home by myself at night. That being said, our presence of beggars, prostitutes and drug dealers is beyond sad!

Fortunately, Oslo has some nice sights too. The Vigeland park and Grünerløkka have been mentioned. If you want to see more of "green Oslo", the walkway along Akerselva is worth checking out. If you want a great view of the city, go to Grefsenkollen (east) or Holmenkollen (west). If you happen to have sunny and nice weather while you are in Oslo, some nice islands (Hovedøya, Gressholmen, Langøyene) can be reached easily by boat from the pier near Akershus fort. The area around Akershus fort is also quite nice to check out.

Oslo (and the rest of Norway) is expensive. There are some decent and cheap Asian restaurants east of Youngstorvet ("Hai" and "Far East" are two of them). The cheapest drinks you can get are in the supermarket: On nice summer days, people bring drinks and food and hang out in the parks. Not a bad way to enjoy long summer evenings...

Have a good trip!

As an Oslo native, I would recommend you to stay off the central station/lower Karl Johan area, not because it's dangerous but it's simply not very interesting and yes, it's less pleasant at night. I never hang out in this part of the centre, except when travelling in and out - and to visit the opera (to walk on the roof and sit in the sun).

In addition to the Viking Ships, I personally like Folkemuseet in the same area (Bygdøy) on a sunny day (old buildings, folklore, see how apartments were furnished in 1920s etc). In summer you're able to take a boat to Bygdøy (to the Kon - Tiki - Museum)

In summer, a boatride out to the islands, for a picnic is a must - at least for people living in Oslo. The metro/bus pass is valid, and you could even go "island hopping"

If you go to the Vigelandspark, and it starts raining or something, you could visit the city museum- Bymuseet which is right there and is free and somehow cute.

There's also a "Pop Centre" http://www.popsenteret.no/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArtId=111&mid=226 which currently features an exibition of Norwegian metal...

In terms of neighbourhoods, I enjoy strolling around the more multicultural Grønland in addition to Grünerløkka; the former has cheaper food and drinks and the latter has all the designer shops and coffee shops etc.

You could visit the cemetary where national poets etc are buried, "Vår frelsers gravlund", and walk through the old quirky back street Damstredet with colorful wooden houses.

I slso recommend walking along the river - Akerselva, like us locals, e.g. up from Grønland right beside the metro stop - and up to the neighbourhood Sagene - the former industrial centre.

For modern art, in addition to Astrup Fernley, there's the Museum for Samtidiskunst, and Henie Onstad gallery outside of the city center. Also, for art and cultural events, you could check www.underskog.no</strong> - the daily calendar offers some of what's on the more or less underground scene, and many things free.

Nightlife is (yes expensive) good around Youngstorget (Mono, Internasjonalen, Bonanza, Hells Kitchen, Tilt etc, in addition to concert venues such as Rockefeller and Sentrum Scene.) and Grünerløkka (Ryes, Parkteateret, Schouskjelleren, Bar Boca, Blå - fun and free concerts on Sundays etc) Grønland, - and more upscale around Bogstadveien/ Solli plass. In summer, bbq and drinking in the parks is equally fun - and cheaper.

I visited Oslo a few weeks ago and can understand why people have mixed feelings about the city. It does have some areas which don't seem as nice and have a few dodgy looking characters, although I wouldn't say it feels any more unsafe than other cities. I think the reason people comment on it more is that these areas are more obvious in Oslo than other places because they're in the centre and it's where people arrive. It's also perhaps something you wouldn't expect from Oslo because it's known as such a wealthy place, so maybe it shocks people a bit.

However I enjoyed walking round Oslo in the day time and would recommend visiting. As mentioned in the previous posts there are some great museums to visit and I also enjoyed looking round the national gallery. The waterfront is being redeveloped and has a nice atmosphere in the evening time. It is an expensive place but i guess you go expecting that. I wouldn't spend more than a few days there for that reason and because the city isn't huge. Some of the prices for drinks seem ridiculous which puts a bit of a dampner on the night life in my view, although maybe i'm just a bit tight with my cash! It probably also didn't help that i'd been paying so little in Poland and Lithuania a few days earlier. But if you're willing to part with you're money then there are plenty of places to go.

PrincessOfPenguins , Settledrunner and juliemagnhild thank you for your comments and recommendations :)

I need another favor... Could you please help me to find out the places on the movie : "Oslo, August 31st", if you watched that movie?

the cafe that Anders sit alone / The park that he felt asleep / / the bar and the club that they wnet and finally The pool which will be emptied on September 1st...

Thank you in advance!

cheers
cey

Edited by: bambee

I am a Brit who has lived in Oslo now for almost 5 years. Its a great city to visit, small, compact, easy to WALK around everywhere, has tons of parks, gorgeous islands and sea just in the heart of the city, nice museums, good festivals in the summer, lots of great bars and clubs.

Negatives. The obvious. Its bloody expensive. And there are lots of beggars, drug dealers and prostitiutes, but you can avoid them pretty easily and they dont pose any real threat.

Have a great time and be sure to go to Youngstorget for a good night out. Lots of great bars like Revolver, Mono, Hells Kitchen, Villa, Bonanza, Internationalen, Tilt, Robinet and Nomaden. Something to suit everyones taste!