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Norway : Oslo - September 2009

Country Code: Dial for Norway

Oslo is a chilled out, green capital where nothing is more than a short bus ride away. And despite its diminutive size, there’s plenty to do, including this month’s Oslo Operafestival (4-13 September, operafestival. no), with performances in front of parliament and in bars. Gwladys Fouché is all ears

Getting around

Gardermoen Airport is 48km north of the city centre.

Bus: A shuttle bus leaves the airport every 20 minutes, taking about 40 minutes to reach central Oslo. A single ticket costs €15/NOK 120.
Train: The Flytoget express train leaves Gardermoen airport every 10 minutes and takes about 20 minutes to reach the city. A single ticket is €20/NOK 160.
Taxi: A journey to the city centre costs approximately €70/ NOK 560 and takes about 45 minutes.
Tourist information: The main office is near Central Station in the Trafikanten Service Center, 1 Jernbanetorget (tel. , visitoslo.com).

CITY CENTRE

Most of the city’s highlights are located in Oslo’s compact centre.

Sleep soundly – Business travellers on a budget should head to Thon Hotel Astoria (21 Dronningensgate, tel. , thonhotels.no, rooms from €80/NOK 693).

Culture vultures – No visit to Oslo is complete without admiring Edvard Munch’s existentialist masterpiece The Scream at the Nasjonalgalleriet (13 Universitetsgata). Say hello to King Harald V at the royal palace, or Slottet, perched at the top of Karl Johans Gate. At the other end is the bright yellow Stortinget, Norway’s parliament.

Dance the night away – Macy Gray plays Rockefeller Music Hall (16 Torggata), Oslo’s premier rock venue, on 15 September. See rockefeller.no for further details.

Shop til you drop – Nordic design fans can stock up on sleek kitchen gadgets in the basement of department store GlasMagasinet (9 Stortorvet).

GRØNLAND

East of the train station, Grønland is a vibrant area that’s home to the city’s immigrant communities.

Sleep soundly – The towering Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel (3 Sonja Henies Plass, tel. , sas. radisson.com, rooms from €172/ NOK 1,496), a two-minute walk from the airport train terminal, affords fabulous views of the city.

Culture vultures – Ida, the perfectly preserved fossil that’s our earliest known ancestor, is an awe-inspiring sight. Admire it at the Can We Forgive Darwin? exhibition at the Zoologisk Museum (1 Sars’ Gate/Monradsgate), which takes place until June 2010.

Dance the night away – At chilled-out lounge-bar Café Con Bar (11 Brugata) DJs play anything from hip-hop to pop on Fridays and Saturdays. At other times, it’s a good place to kick back with a coffee.

FROGNER

Elegant and sedate, Frogner is where Oslo’s well-heeled have lived ever since the playwright Henrik Ibsen made the area his home in the 1890s.

Sleep soundly – The classically elegant Rica Hotel Bygdøy Allé (53 Bygdøy Allé, tel. , rica.no, rooms from €146/NOK 1,275) is conveniently located in the heart of Frogner.

Culture vultures – Ibsen’s former home has been restored to its Victorian grandeur and is now the venue of the fascinating Ibsenmuseet (26 Henrik Ibsens Gate). Further west, Vigelandsparken (main entrance on Kirkeveien) is a beautiful sculpture park featuring 212 statues, created by Gustav Vigeland in the first half of the 20th century.

Must eat – Blow the budget at Le Canard (4 President Harbitz Gate, tel. ), Oslo’s only restaurant to be awarded two Michelin stars. Eyvind Hellstrøm dishes out excellent Norwegian-French fare at Bagatelle (3 Bygdøy Allé, tel. ), when not terrorising hapless cooks on his TV reality show.

Shop til you drop – Filippa K (17 Skovveien) specialises in sleek, upmarket womenswear. At Koma (34 Hegdehaugsveien), owner Marte Krogh handpicks vintage pieces and mixes them with clothes by modern designers such as Chloé.

TJUVHOLMEN

The latest development in Oslo’s renovated dockland, Tjuvholmen is a fun area to eat, drink and be merry.

Must eat – Bølgen & Moi Tjuvholmen (5 Tjuvholmen Allé, tel. ) does modern Norwegian cuisine with an Asian twist, such as fried tuna with soy butter. The ultra-sleek Tjuvholmen Sjømagasin (14 Tjuvholmen Allé, tel. ) does fish and seafood, such as king crab from the Barents Sea.

Must drink – Watch crowds of chic Norwegians go by from the terrace at Café Solo (1 Bolette Brygge). Flukt (1 Olav Selvaags Plass) claims to have Norway’s first ‘wine machine’, allowing customers to taste dozens of vintages using a pre-paid credit card.

Compiled by Gwladys Fouché