# Tell me about being a tourist in Oslo, Norway **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 9, 2011, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-a-tourist-in-oslo-norway/574023 "2011-03-09T08:40:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-a-tourist-in-oslo-norway/574023/1 "2011-03-09T08:40:18Z")
I’m thinking about going to Oslo for a few days in late April. I’d be going for [Inferno Festival 2011](http://www.infernofestival.net/festival/news.aspx), but have no idea what else there is to do. ---
**Author:** ![Elvis\_Chimney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/50afbb/32.png) [@Elvis\_Chimney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvis_Chimney)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-a-tourist-in-oslo-norway/574023/2 "2011-03-09T13:07:32Z")
Practical information from Black Debbath [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgZ886M6jZA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgZ886M6jZA) Depends what you like to do really. Your username suggests that you might be interested in the Ski museum and Ski Jump at Holmenkollen. If you like art then the Edvard Munch museum at Tøyen is excellent, also the Vigeland sculpture park. The Viking Ship museum is also worth a visit if you’re in to that sort of thing. Have a beer at some of the Rock bars ( I liked Last Train on Universitetsgate and The Garage on Grensen), wander around town feeling thoroughly depressed by how fit and attractive Norwegians are. Go to seriously dodgy nightclubs on Rosenkrantzgate. The Streetwise guide to Oslo is good - lots of decent information, particularly if you’re on a budget (and if you’re not Bill Gates, chances are you’ll find Oslo pretty expensive). [http://www.use-it.no/](http://www.use-it.no/) ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-a-tourist-in-oslo-norway/574023/3 "2011-03-09T13:31:55Z")
> [@Elvis\_Chimney](#): > > If you like art then the Edvard Munch museum at Tøyen is excellent, also the Vigeland sculpture park. The Viking Ship museum is also worth a visit if you’re in to that sort of thing.[http://www.use-it.no/](http://www.use-it.no/) I second all these things. The Kon Tiki museum with the original raft and also Nansen’s Fram (historic polar exploration ship) are both near the ship museum, too. I managed to stay on a [ship converted into a hotel](http://www.easyvoyage.co.uk/experts/ms-innvik-251691) which was permanently moored in the harbour and was very central. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-a-tourist-in-oslo-norway/574023/4 "2011-03-09T19:51:33Z")
Thanks folks! No ski jumping for me (I’m old & somewhat broken), but the museums sound great. I’m still fit as a fiddle, so maybe mostly I’ll just smile and laugh at how much I stand out with my dark skin and hair! I just hope everyone can see me (I hear the average height over there is close to my own 6’4")! ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-a-tourist-in-oslo-norway/574023/5 "2011-03-12T05:15:37Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > maybe mostly I’ll just smile and laugh at how much I stand out with my dark skin and hair! In Oslo? Yeah, good luck with that. 😛 [Norwegian](http://www.dagsavisen.no/multimedia/archive/00032/17mainytt_32567q.jpg) [kids.](http://squallyshowers.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/bestevenner1.jpg) [Norwegian](http://www.lyricsbird.com/artist/gallery/MariaMena/MariaMena_6355.jpg) [chicks.](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3544/3454744993_2ea60dc682_z.jpg) [Norwegian](http://gfx.dagbladet.no/labrador/132/132538/13253844/jpg/active/960x.jpg) [dudes.](http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2011/1/21/1295612326889/John-Carew-007.jpg) [QUOTE=Wiki] An estimated 27 % of Oslo’s population consists of immigrants (about 160,500 inhabitants), predicted to increase to between 44% and 51% around 2030. […] Pakistanis make up 20,812 of the city’s inhabitants, followed by Somalis (10,780), Swedes (9,250), and Poles (8,854)—these being the four largest ethnic minority groups. Other large immigrant groups are people from Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Turkey, Morocco, Iraq and Denmark. [/QUOTE] [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo#Demographics) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-a-tourist-in-oslo-norway/574023/6 "2011-03-12T05:20:15Z")
Excellent news, **MB**! That means I won’t be stuck eating lutefisk! ---
**Author:** ![A.Gwilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@A.Gwilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Gwilliam)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-a-tourist-in-oslo-norway/574023/7 "2011-03-12T12:06:08Z")
I have no idea what there is to see and do, but I do know one thing: Take money. Lots and lots of money. Oslo is going to be damned expensive for an American! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-a-tourist-in-oslo-norway/574023/8 "2011-04-06T01:52:07Z")
I’d noted this thread a while ago but forgot to respond to it, so when I saw it during a search I thought to pop in and warn you - fully half the hotels in Oslo are **closed** for easter between the 15th and the 26th so I’d recommend getting a reservation in soon, if you haven’t already. 🙂 Not that Oslo is likely to be full during easter - most Norwegians go to their cabins in the mountains or to skii resorts. (I work in a hotel in Oslo that’s closed, or I’d help you out.) As a tourist, I’d avoid eating or shopping at Aker Brygge if I could. The restaurants there are very good, but they’re priced expensively _for Norwegians_. And that’s just going to seem _nuts_ if you’re from abroad. (Though if money’s not an issue, DS Louise is one of my favourite restaurants in Norway) That said, it’ll hopefully be spring by the time you arrive\*, and walking by the docks and eating ice-cream or having a beer on one of the piers is a good way to while away an early afternoon before the concerts start. Ever been to Norway before? If you want to try Norwegian cuisine, such as it is, I’d probably recommend going to Stortorvets Gjestegiveri, Café Christiania or one of the many, many fish restaurants. Your hotel will mostly likely have copies of _Dining_ in the rooms which’ll have excerpts from the menues of pretty much any worthwhile eatery in Oslo. - Well, I would say that. I’ve got two tickets to Venice for the easter, so I’m hedging my bets here. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-a-tourist-in-oslo-norway/574023/9 "2011-04-06T03:29:31Z")
> [@Elvis\_Chimney](#): > > If you like art then the Edvard Munch museum at Tøyen is excellent, also the Vigeland sculpture park. The Viking Ship museum is also worth a visit if you’re in to that sort of thing. > > \ > > attractive Norwegians This is what I remember.