If youโre after a city get away with an infusion of โScandi coolโ look no further than Norwayโs capital of Oslo. We spent a full 2 days there over Midsommer (22nd-25th of June) where the sun barely sets and the city scarcely sleeps. Think sleek tree lined streets, light linens, flower beds in full bloom and locals sunbaking on any spare patch of grass they can find. This is Oslo summer and itโs a vibe! If it was like this all year round, we would seriously consider moving there. Alas, the 22 hours of sunlight the Norwegians enjoy from June-August is sadly replaced with 22 hours of darkness over winter. Such a stark contrast between seasons however does make the Oslovians experts at making the most of the warmer months while they have them. Almost every venue was overflowing with patrons spilling out onto the street, every park full of picnicking locals, and every corner adorned with inbuilt spots to sit and enjoy the view. ย
Olso is definitely a diverse, inclusive and multicultural city. We happened to be visiting during pride month, and we were pleased to see there were pride flags, events and pop-up stalls smattered throughout the city. This was no more evident than in the bohemian suburb of Grunerlokka or โLokkaโ as the locals call it. We also noted an array of multicultural cuisine, with a variety of Asian, Indian and European and Middle Eastern restaurants and pop-ups.
If you canโt tell already, we had a great stay and definitely recommend you consider Oslo as a summer destination. Continue reading below to read more about some of the things we enjoyed. This isnโt a โcomplete guideโ, but more a sample of some top picks to help fuel your Oslo travel inspiration.
Why we loved Grunerlokka:
For the Victorians amongst us, Grunerlokka is to Oslo what northside suburbs of Fitzroy and Collingwood are to Melbourne. If that doesnโt mean much to you, we would best describe Grunerlokka as a hive of activity for students and artistic types. This is where youโll find that one of a kind vintage shirt and thrift your way along the Sondagsmarkedet (Sunday street market). We walked past a handful of DIY clothing sales in the squares, locals battling it out for the title of Ping Pong Champion and โtoo-good-looking-to be-trueโ young families enjoying an afternoon walk in the park. We stayed right in the centre of the action just off Olaf Ryes Plass and would definitely recommend staying close by to enjoy everything that Grunerlokka has to offer. The main square of Olaf Ryes Place is an excellent spot for people watching over a picnic.
As if often the case with trendy pockets of big cities, Grunerlokka was once an industrial, working class area of which remnants remain today. There are old factory mills strewn along the riverside (which were once powered by the running water of the river). Now more gentrified, we saw one such factory has been turned into apartments right near our favourite park Grunerhagen. As nightfall approaches (although never truly arrives), head to Grunerlokkaโs most iconic music venue โBlaโ. Apparently its quite the institution, having supported numerous up and coming Norwegian acts over the years and still presents live music acts each week. Great vibe in summer!
The coffee culture is Oslo is incredible
We had high hopes for the coffee culture in Oslo and thankfully we werenโt disappointed. After multiple coffeeโs a day, we can safely say Oslo now has a place in our โtop Coffee culture citiesโ in Europe.. itโs that good! A quick google search of good quality coffee in the city opened up a whole network of specialty coffee roasters waiting to be explored. Our coffee bible became kaffekartet.noโs 2024 Oslo Coffee Guide which has put together (in their opinion) the best 12 coffee venues across the city. Whilst we didnโt get to them all in our short stay, we managed to sample at least 3 plus a few of our own finds.
- Supreme Roastworks: Situated in Grunerlokka this place serves up one of the smoothest flat whites and seems to be a favourite amongst local families in the area.
- Kuro: Down the road from where we stayed, this would easily become our โlocalโ if we lived there. Sit on the benches outside and people watch on a sunny day or browse the records inside as the weather turns.
- Lille Oslo Kaffebrenneri: Easily our top pick from the coffee shops we sampled. This place has a darling courtyard out the back where you can set yourself up with a good book or just enjoy the hum of summer. ย
- Tim Wendelboe: Recommended by a fellow Melbourne coffee snob we knew we were in for a treat here. On a summers day treat yourself to their signature Cappucino Al Freddo served in a martini glass.
- Fuglan Coffee Roasters: On our way out to explore Osloโs โOld Townโ we stumbled across Fuglanโs home made cinnamon and cardamom buns
A couple of other places that we walked past and would have loved to return to, but unfortunately ran out of time were The Coffee Roaster (located in an old fire station) and Papegoye (FKA Neongrut). Ant thereโs no doubt many, many more that we missed!
Don’t miss the Oslo food markets:
Osloโs well established foodie scene draws parallels to that of Copenhagen. If youโve got money to spend there is no scarcity of high-quality restaurants to enjoy including Michelin Star establishments. While our travel style is more โbougee on a budgeโ we didnโt get to many of these places ourselves, however a top recommendation from a friend who spent 6 months in Oslo is Smalhans North West of the CBDโ likely worth a visit if youโre after something a little more upmarket.
Our go to for tasty bites and (relatively) cheap eats was definitely Osloโs plethora of food markets and pop-up food truck stalls. We sampled a few bits and bobs from Mathallenโs multicultural indoor food market (think Lisbonโs timeout market on a smaller scale) and enjoyed a delicious falafel wrap overlooking the water at Vippaโs food market on a leisurely walk back from Akker Brygger.
We definitely noticed the foodie scene in Oslo is multicultural and varied, much like the people. Another open air food market we walked past and would have loved to sample but didnโt get around to was Olso Street Food. The beers were flowing and this place was absolutely pumping!
Another good find a 10-minute walk from where we stayed was the aesthetic Babbo Collective Ovrefoss โ this coffee shop/bakery by day becomes a lively restaurant/wine bar by night. Sitting in a photogenic pocket of the city we sat outside and watched locals go about their Sunday evenings. As an added bonus, they have a deal on Sunday nights where you can order a drink from one of the open bottles of wine or a main meal using left over ingredients from the week for 100NOK (which at the time of writing equates to just under $15 AUD.) This was a relatively โinexpensiveโ way to enjoy some of Olsoโs finer food scene without the extravagant price tag.
Finally, if we ever have the chance to visit Oslo again weโll be stopping by Hrimnir Ramen for a feed. We didnโt eat here ourselves but we walked past it on multiple occasions and every time it was overflowing with locals. Our assumption is that if the locals keep coming back it must be good.
Note: Oslo isnโt a great โbudget friendly cityโ. If you are looking to save money supermarkets are likely to be your best friend. We found the cost for Australians to be around 30-50% higher than back home, and some Americans we met mentioned it was even expensive for them to travel here. Budget accordingly.
We love Oslo’s sauna culture:
A trip to Norway wouldnโt be complete without experiencing Scandinavian sauna culture. This was one of the things we were most looking forward to trying in anticipation of our trip, and after having experienced it for ourselves we would say itโs a MUST DO for your upcoming trip. While saunaโs are reported to have originated in neighbouring Finland, the Norwegianโs have adopted it as their own claiming numerous health benefits โ both physical and mental. We booked an afternoon sauna experience with KOK overlooking Oslofjord and the Opera House at their Langkaia location. There are various options available including shared saunas, private saunas and even private boating saunas that float out into the middle of the fjord if youโre looking to level up. We chose the cheaper shared sauna option, which was still just as beautiful and pleasantly social with 6 others on board. Overall you get 90 minutes to enjoy frolicking between the sauna room (approx. 80 degrees Celsius) and then jumping into the refreshingly icy fjord. If youโre lucky enough to pick a sunny day you can even do some sunbaking on the roof while sipping on a Norwegian beer. Click here to see the prices and booking for KOK (https://koknorge.no/en/) โ note this isnโt a sponsored post.
Check out Oslo’s city centre:
The image that comes to mind is one of an iceberg seamlessly rising out of the water. The building itself is unique in that visitors can walk from the front entrance all the way up to the roof via its sloped walkways and has won multiple architectural awards. While this part of the city is definitely the most touristy (especially given there were a number of cruise ships that arrived for the day), its busy for a reason and we would still stay its worth seeing for yourself.
Once youโve admired the view from the top of the Opera House you can walk a little further to the Munch Museum which houses Edvard Munchโs famous โThe Screamโ and just outside is a little man-made โbeachโ where you can sit overlooking Oslofjord. Sleek, sophisticated and effortlessly cool โ the true Scandinavian way.
Should I visit Oslo’s old town?
Oslo on the whole is a modern city, with its stylish Opera House and relatively built up (although still beautiful) CBD. We were interested to see Osloโs โOld Townโ and decided to make the trek to see it on our last morning there. We came across some 1000 year old ruins from Osloโs first cathedral and two main streets that are cute, but without much really happening. Unless youโre a real history buff you could probably give this part of the city a miss.
See some of Oslo’s cutest streets:
On our last night in Oslo we swung past two of the most idyllic streets weโve come across on our travels – Telthusbakken and Damstredet. These streets are worth the visit, only 5 minutes apart from each other, 10 minutes from Grunerlokka and 5 minutes from iconic bar/music venue Bla. Interestingly, despite their beauty they werenโt โtouristyโ at all. In our opinion, theyโre more worth your time than the true โOld Townโ both being nostalgic in an โold town wayโ and easier to get to.
Don’t miss the waterfall in Oslo:
Did you know there is a waterfall located in the heart of Oslo? Situated in Grunerlokka, we stumbled upon this beautiful waterfall after a morning walk along the beautiful river. Voyenfallene, is located on the edge of Grunerlokka, and is definitely worth checking out.
If youโve made it this far youโre likely as excited to visit Oslo as we were during our stay! We hope this guide has given you a good place to start your Oslo itinerary.
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