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12 Hours in Oslo - Please help to come up a tour plan!


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Dear Board,

 

I am struggling to finish my homework for our two weeks Baltic capitals tour. I am running out of time, please help.

 

We will arrive Oslo Int'l airport at 8am and leave at 8pm (it's a flight stop-over). So I want to maximize our 12 hours here to have a glimpse of this wonderful city.

 

What are the MUST-sees in our time frame? Best route?

What is the best way getting around? Take train to the city? Get an Oslo card? Do the HoHo bus?

 

Any advises are appreciated!

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Agree with the Flytoget. Don't really agree with the HoHo bus. They don't run all that often, and you're limited to following their route. Oslo is not a very driving-friendly city, so it's much easier to cover longer distances by tram/subway/ferry.

 

So, if you really want to make the most of your 12 hours, I would suggest something like the following:

 

Catch the Flytoget into the city. You can pay by credit card right at the gate (just swipe your card, and press "Oslo Sentralstasjon" on the display). You can take whatever train is leaving next, because they all run to the central station. It will be either one or two stops, depending on whether you're on an express train or not (they alternate), but the stops are clearly announced in both Norwegian and English.

 

Arriving at the station, pass through the station to the front exit (straight out from the departures board, past the Burger King). Directly in front of the station is the Ruter transit office. You can buy the OsloPass there, which will cover most museum admissions as well as public transportation for the day.

 

As for what to see, what are you interested in? With a long day, I would personally consider these to be the highlights:

- Vigelands Park (art, outdoors)

- Folk Museum (history, architecture, outdoors)

- Viking Ship Museum (history)

- Fram Museum (history)

- Bygdøy ferry (harbor views)

- National Gallery (art)

- Karl Johans gate (architecture, city walk)

- Opera house (architecture, scenic view)

 

Depending on your tastes, interests, and ambitions, you could add in some of the following:

- city hall (art, architecture)

- Nobel Peace Center (technology, general culture)

- Tjuvholmen & the Astrup Fearnley Museum (art, architecture)

- Akershus Fortress (history, scenic views, outdoors)

- Grunerløkka (trendy district for local shopping and dining)

- Munch Museum (art)

- Norwegian Resistance Museum (history)

 

To visit the first list, I would suggest the following itinerary, starting from Oslo S (central station):

 

Start with Vigelands Park, which opens early and has a good position for morning sun. Take the Tram 12 from directly in front of the station and Ruter office (direction Majorstuen). The tram runs through downtown, past the city hall and waterfront, through the old residential neighborhood of Frogner before stopping right in front of the gates at the Vigelandsparken stop. If you don't want to take the tram, you can hop on the T-bane (subway - look for the big T in a circle to the left of the Ruter office when facing the station). You can take any westbound train to Majorstuen, exit the train and head to the right along the platform to exit the station onto Kirkeveien. Turn right and walk about 10 minutes west (along the tram line) to get to the park. The entire park is quite big, but the highlight is the collection of sculptures along the central axis. In exchange for studio space, Vigeland donated all of his work to the city, and his sculptures celebrate the human form in all walks of life (note that the sculptures are all nudes if that bothers you).

 

From Vigelands Park, catch a bus 20 in front of the gates, headed towards Skøyen. Get down a few minutes later at Olav Kyrres plass and switch to the bus 30 towards Bygdøy. That bus will drop you off at the Folk Museum, which houses old buildings from Oslo and classic farmsteads from around Norway. In the summers and on weekends there are a few cooking and craft demonstrations, but one of the main highlights is the classic wooden stave church. If you're not visiting more of Norway, this is a good place to see some of the classic architecture and farm styles.

 

The Viking Ship museum is just around the corner (or one stop on the 30 bus) and houses the iconic Viking burial ships along with related archaeological finds. The bulk of the country's viking artifacts are in the history museum (with limited English signage), and this small museum is dedicated just to the ships. They are an iconic visual from Norwegian culture, and especially if you have an OsloPass it's well worth at least a quick look.

 

Taking the 30 bus a bit further to Bygdøynes, it drops you in front of the Kon-Tiki, Fram, and maritime museums. The Kon-Tiki museum can be interesting if you're a Heyerdahl fan, but many people don't care for the style of the museum. The maritime museum focuses mostly on boats and ship models. The Fram museum houses the Fram polar exploration ship, which is open for visitors, and the displays around the walls detail Arctic and Antarctic explorations. Norway has a strong history of polar expeditions (not just Amundsen).

 

Next to the Fram museum you'll find the Bygdøynes ferry pier, where you can catch a boat back to downtown across the harbor. The ferry is covered by the normal transportation system and passes and can make for a pleasant little harbor cruise along the way. It will drop you off right in front of the city hall.

 

If you walk past the city hall, you'll find yourself in the city center, including the central street of Karl Johans gate. A few blocks further is the National Gallery, which is home to Munch's famous "The Scream" as well as other works by Norwegian artists (I love Harald Sohlberg) and a few pieces by the big international names. The highlight is certainly the room of Munch's paintings, which show a representative sampling of his works over time.

 

Back on Karl Johans gate, you'll see the royal palace at the west end, and following the street back towards the central station you pass the National Theater, the university (currently being renovated), Stortinget (the parliament), and the Oslo Cathedral. Much of the street is pedestrian-only, making this the focus of the city center.

 

South of the central station is the new opera house, which also serves as a large public space. You can walk right up onto the slanted roof of the building for nice views of the city and waterfront. Besides the opera itself, of particular interest to architecture buffs is the new "barcode" strip of buildings next to the station - one of the newest additions to Oslo's modern architecture portfolio.

 

Ending at the opera puts you in a good position to catch the Flytoget back to the airport.

 

Of course that's just one itinerary idea, and you can add/remove any sights that interest you. The http://www.ruter.no website has a trip planning tool to help you figure out how to get from place to place and how long it might take. And I'm happy to make any more specific suggestions or answer questions if I can.

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Agree with the Flytoget. Don't really agree with the HoHo bus. They don't run all that often, and you're limited to following their route. Oslo is not a very driving-friendly city, so it's much easier to cover longer distances by tram/subway/ferry.

 

So, if you really want to make the most of your 12 hours, I would suggest something like the following:

 

Catch the Flytoget into the city. You can pay by credit card right at the gate (just swipe your card, and press "Oslo Sentralstasjon" on the display). You can take whatever train is leaving next, because they all run to the central station. It will be either one or two stops, depending on whether you're on an express train or not (they alternate), but the stops are clearly announced in both Norwegian and English.

 

Arriving at the station, pass through the station to the front exit (straight out from the departures board, past the Burger King). Directly in front of the station is the Ruter transit office. You can buy the OsloPass there, which will cover most museum admissions as well as public transportation for the day.

 

As for what to see, what are you interested in? With a long day, I would personally consider these to be the highlights:

- Vigelands Park (art, outdoors)

- Folk Museum (history, architecture, outdoors)

- Viking Ship Museum (history)

- Fram Museum (history)

- Bygdøy ferry (harbor views)

- National Gallery (art)

- Karl Johans gate (architecture, city walk)

- Opera house (architecture, scenic view)

 

Depending on your tastes, interests, and ambitions, you could add in some of the following:

- city hall (art, architecture)

- Nobel Peace Center (technology, general culture)

- Tjuvholmen & the Astrup Fearnley Museum (art, architecture)

- Akershus Fortress (history, scenic views, outdoors)

- Grunerløkka (trendy district for local shopping and dining)

- Munch Museum (art)

- Norwegian Resistance Museum (history)

 

To visit the first list, I would suggest the following itinerary, starting from Oslo S (central station):

 

Start with Vigelands Park, which opens early and has a good position for morning sun. Take the Tram 12 from directly in front of the station and Ruter office (direction Majorstuen). The tram runs through downtown, past the city hall and waterfront, through the old residential neighborhood of Frogner before stopping right in front of the gates at the Vigelandsparken stop. If you don't want to take the tram, you can hop on the T-bane (subway - look for the big T in a circle to the left of the Ruter office when facing the station). You can take any westbound train to Majorstuen, exit the train and head to the right along the platform to exit the station onto Kirkeveien. Turn right and walk about 10 minutes west (along the tram line) to get to the park. The entire park is quite big, but the highlight is the collection of sculptures along the central axis. In exchange for studio space, Vigeland donated all of his work to the city, and his sculptures celebrate the human form in all walks of life (note that the sculptures are all nudes if that bothers you).

 

From Vigelands Park, catch a bus 20 in front of the gates, headed towards Skøyen. Get down a few minutes later at Olav Kyrres plass and switch to the bus 30 towards Bygdøy. That bus will drop you off at the Folk Museum, which houses old buildings from Oslo and classic farmsteads from around Norway. In the summers and on weekends there are a few cooking and craft demonstrations, but one of the main highlights is the classic wooden stave church. If you're not visiting more of Norway, this is a good place to see some of the classic architecture and farm styles.

 

The Viking Ship museum is just around the corner (or one stop on the 30 bus) and houses the iconic Viking burial ships along with related archaeological finds. The bulk of the country's viking artifacts are in the history museum (with limited English signage), and this small museum is dedicated just to the ships. They are an iconic visual from Norwegian culture, and especially if you have an OsloPass it's well worth at least a quick look.

 

Taking the 30 bus a bit further to Bygdøynes, it drops you in front of the Kon-Tiki, Fram, and maritime museums. The Kon-Tiki museum can be interesting if you're a Heyerdahl fan, but many people don't care for the style of the museum. The maritime museum focuses mostly on boats and ship models. The Fram museum houses the Fram polar exploration ship, which is open for visitors, and the displays around the walls detail Arctic and Antarctic explorations. Norway has a strong history of polar expeditions (not just Amundsen).

 

Next to the Fram museum you'll find the Bygdøynes ferry pier, where you can catch a boat back to downtown across the harbor. The ferry is covered by the normal transportation system and passes and can make for a pleasant little harbor cruise along the way. It will drop you off right in front of the city hall.

 

If you walk past the city hall, you'll find yourself in the city center, including the central street of Karl Johans gate. A few blocks further is the National Gallery, which is home to Munch's famous "The Scream" as well as other works by Norwegian artists (I love Harald Sohlberg) and a few pieces by the big international names. The highlight is certainly the room of Munch's paintings, which show a representative sampling of his works over time.

 

Back on Karl Johans gate, you'll see the royal palace at the west end, and following the street back towards the central station you pass the National Theater, the university (currently being renovated), Stortinget (the parliament), and the Oslo Cathedral. Much of the street is pedestrian-only, making this the focus of the city center.

 

South of the central station is the new opera house, which also serves as a large public space. You can walk right up onto the slanted roof of the building for nice views of the city and waterfront. Besides the opera itself, of particular interest to architecture buffs is the new "barcode" strip of buildings next to the station - one of the newest additions to Oslo's modern architecture portfolio.

 

Ending at the opera puts you in a good position to catch the Flytoget back to the airport.

 

Of course that's just one itinerary idea, and you can add/remove any sights that interest you. The http://www.ruter.no website has a trip planning tool to help you figure out how to get from place to place and how long it might take. And I'm happy to make any more specific suggestions or answer questions if I can.

 

Hi kaisatsu,

 

Thanks again for the info.

 

I just have a question about how much currency we need.

 

Assume to buy the train tickets, passes etc, credit card will be accepted (I would like to charge as much as possible to CC). But if we want to get a drink, buy a pastry, eat a causal lunch, do we have to use cash or CC is widely accepted there? I heard, Norway is expensive, so for our family of four, just roughly, how much cash do you think we should exchange to cover these small spending? I don't want to end up with a lot of local currencies since we have no plan in the near future to visit again.

 

Many thanks!

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Dear Board,

 

I am struggling to finish my homework for our two weeks Baltic capitals tour. I am running out of time, please help.

 

We will arrive Oslo Int'l airport at 8am and leave at 8pm (it's a flight stop-over). So I want to maximize our 12 hours here to have a glimpse of this wonderful city.

 

What are the MUST-sees in our time frame? Best route?

What is the best way getting around? Take train to the city? Get an Oslo card? Do the HoHo bus?

 

Any advises are appreciated!

 

Take a look at Rick Steve's book, Scandinavia. Also Google Oslo Tours, I know SPb Tours has some tours there, also Alla Tours.

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Hi kaisatsu,

 

Thanks again for the info.

 

I just have a question about how much currency we need.

 

Assume to buy the train tickets, passes etc, credit card will be accepted (I would like to charge as much as possible to CC). But if we want to get a drink, buy a pastry, eat a causal lunch, do we have to use cash or CC is widely accepted there? I heard, Norway is expensive, so for our family of four, just roughly, how much cash do you think we should exchange to cover these small spending? I don't want to end up with a lot of local currencies since we have no plan in the near future to visit again.

 

Many thanks!

 

You should be able to use a credit card just about anywhere. If you're visiting museums, hopefully you won't need to worry about pay toilets (which typically cost 10-20 NOK and only take coins). Most cafes and restaurants accept card. There are a few places that can't accept foreign cards, but more places do than don't. If you have an ATM card that you can use in case you need cash unexpectedly, I would say you wouldn't need more than 100 NOK in cash, if that. Thinking about it, I haven't paid for anything in cash in weeks.

 

If you do want to carry more cash just in case, I can give you some price ideas... A simple coffee at a convenience store runs around NOK 20, and an espresso drink at a cafe around 35-40. A bottle of water or soda from a convenience store is around 25 and I think it's around 16 from a grocery these days? At a restaurant, a soda can easily cost 30. A fast food value meal is around 75, and an inexpensive main dish at a restaurant would be 125-150.

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We spent two hrs at the folk museum --it is a fascinating place on a nice day.

This summer there is a retrospective of Munch's work at both the Munch museum and the National Gallery.

The city hall is well worth a quick visit.

We walked over 7 miles and ran out of steam to visit Vigeland at the end of our day.

We found the Oslo card to be of great value and easy to use.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Yes, as always, great info and suggestions from kaisatsu. From the New Zealand Herald (where we are going to be cruising in Jan.-Feb. 2014), I noticed this story headline: "Norway: Humanity - harsh and sweet". Plus some more of my pictures from this wonderful and unique park are included below.

 

Here are some of these story highlights that focuses mostly on Vigeland Park: "They're possibly the most artistically embarrassing public statues in the world. They're also among the most popular. Vigeland Park in Oslo, just a couple of kilometres from Norway's Royal Palace, draws thousands of visitors each year. Mostly they come to stare at Gustav Vigeland's astonishing figures, the whole range of human life presented in stone and metal. There are nearly 200 sculptures, comprising 600 granite or bronze figures, in the park's 40ha. All were modelled by the Norwegian artist, whose museum, with over 1600 more statues (and his ashes) is just five minutes' walk away. Vigeland also designed the park's layout and setting. He was versatile. And obsessive and abrasive. It took years of often-vindictive debate before Oslo Municipal Council, in 1922, approved plans for a sculpture park which would express the struggles and aspirations of humanity from birth to death. The result is astonishing in concept, amazing (and sometimes appalling) in execution. Walk through the big iron gates, and you're on a broad avenue leading to a bridge on whose parapets over-lifesize and often over-blown bronze figures are mounted. The children, here and in the playground below, are more conventional and appealing. Across the bridge rises a big fountain, in the middle of which a ring of giants supports a huge bronze bowl. Like everything else in the park, it's heroic in scale - 120mx60m of stone. From its centre soars the monolith, a 14m-high slab of Norwegian granite weighing 180 tonnes. The 121 writhing, creeping, struggling figures on its surface took three carvers 15 years to complete. Whether you see Vigeland Park in the long, bright Northern summer light, or when its statues are deep in snow, there's no denying its drama. It may make you shiver with delight or shudder with distaste, but it certainly lingers."

 

Great summary and details on this park that we enjoyed so much during our visit to Oslo. From the full article, there are many more aspects connected with this park, the artist, etc.

 

Full story at:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=10895499

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 113,025 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here are some of my visual samples from wonderful Vigeland Park with its wide variety of outdoor sculptures in a super, wonderful setting that is a highlight for Oslo.:

 

1A-Oslo-VigelandPk.jpg

 

 

1A-Oslo-VigelandParkFount.jpg

 

 

OslVigPdKids.jpg

 

 

OslVigPkIronGate.jpg

 

 

OslVigPkSunDial.jpg

 

 

1A-Oslo-VigParkStat6.jpg

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