Please share your experiences of Oslo.

[PhaseFour]

I'm considering booking a holiday to Oslo for next summer with two teenagers, and am keen to hear of anyone's experiences of things to do / places to visit, the best way to travel around etc.

My budget is quite modest, so if you know of any reasonable cafes to eat, and places to visit for free, I'd really appreciate it. Also, if you paid to go to some museums / attractions, did you feel that they were good value for money?

Accommodation I am confident to sort, but everything else - I'm clueless!

Also, how did you manage if you don't speak the language? Thanks.

We loved Oslo! Everyone spoke perfect English, and it’s almost entirely cashless. Even the walking tour we did had a card reader for tips! I think the city hall was free and beautiful. I’d recommend the free walking tour too (though tipping is expected) for ideas of things to do. We loved the area by the water with the opera house and library - which I think are also free. We got the train from the airport and used the tram to get around the city.

Thanks for replying & for the advice. That's good to know - I was abit concerned about not speaking the language.

Food and drink are very expensive for what they are - last time I was in Oslo alcohol was around £10 per pint but coke etc was £3 per bottle. A pizza restaurant for 2 adults and 2 children under 10 cost over £100 so you will probably need to self cater most of the time and bring a box of wine with you if you like an occasional drink! Supermarkets are readily available and public transport is cheap, easy and reliable.

The Fram museum is well worth a visit. Are you planning to spend the whole time in Oslo or will you be going to other places in Norway?

I went with my 5 year old last month and it was brilliant. I was ready to find it horrendously expensive but didn’t really (although that might be because I’m used to London prices). We stayed near the central station and could walk to a lot of places. We bought an Oslo Pass (I think it’s called) which gives you entry to lots of museums, travel on trains/metro/trams and some discounts. It’s a really easy city to get around. Our favourite thing to do was to explore the urban beaches and swim in the fjord; there are a couple in the main tourist areas plus you can get a boat to some of the smaller islands.

Overall, I highly recommend. I actually started exploring whether we could move there on our way home!

Pleasant waterfront. We enjoyed it but it was awash with electric scooters!

We used to live there, and I take the kids back every spring for a long weekend visit.

Get the Oslo Pass through their app. Takes all the stress out of getting around and you can get in most places free.

Take a boat ride from aker brygge to the folksmuseum (boat and entrance free with Oslo pass). Fram museum is also over there and my teen and nearly teen loved both. Lots of places for a picnic in the Folksmuseum.

Get the metro line 1 train from nationaltheatre to the end of the line a few stops past Holmenkollen. It's a beautiful walk of a few kms back down to Holmenkollen Ski Museum which is also excellent for kids/teens.

We always stay in Scandic Solli. Easy short walk from Nationaltheatre, city centre, Frogner and aker brygge. Great hotel, fairly cheap for Oslo with an immense buffet.

Get the flytoget train from the airport as its free for kids so works out cheaper than the slower public train. You can book online in advance.

When we were there last the Egon chain of restaurants were doing free kids meals with every adult meal, so worked out pretty good.

We also ate at Bastard Burger near Frogner as my teens liked the name 😂 Lots of fun selfies and it was a really nice burger and vibe. Also quite cheap for Oslo.

Good luck and have fun! You can't beat Oslo for a city break with kids.

I spent a day and a half there on the way to somewhere else with a teenager and we loved it!
The Munch museum was well worth it visit, really enjoyed that, plus there was amazing views from the top floor. Otherwise we strolled around the waterfront, saw the palace and did a little shopping.

We were there in January, so just walking around in the snow was a novelty for us.

I really liked it. Took wine. Mathallen food hall was nice. Viking Ship Museum and neighbouring Folk Museum. Some reasonable restaurants at Akker Brygge and the resistance museum in the fort. Munch museum was closed when we went. The ski jump and the sculpture park. Didn't find food prices TOO bad (compared to Belgium) but wine was eyewateringly expensive. Nice to wander along the waterfront. We went in Feb and it was bracingly cold - would like to go back in the summer to do some boat trips on the fjord.

Our highlights were the Fram museum, Ekeberg sculpture park (which was peaceful and had an amazing view) and the Munch museum.
Freddy Fuego Burrito bar serves good food, very reasonably priced. Fiorentino did huge slices of pizza very cheaply.

Just as a random suggestion - there’s a very reasonably priced overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo if you wanted to consider a two centre holiday.. The ferry costs no more that a budget hotel and you get a berth.

If your kids like sledging I really recommend going in winter, such a February half term. Then you can ride the 2km Korketrekkeren sledge run, it’s amazing and my teenager loved it (as did I!) DM me if you want info on getting to it, sledge hire etc.