We spent three weeks in Europe this summer and were able to see some beautiful areas of the world! While traveling, we spent a week in Oslo, Norway! This was an incredible city to visit and there were so many things that we were able to see and experience.
When spending a week in Oslo, there are so many things that you can choose to do. I am going to break down what we did, where we stayed, where we ate and some of the things that we regret doing.
If you are planning a trip to Oslo, Norway, I would recommend planning your days ahead of time. There are a few things that we did that required a reservation. We had to schedule a few things around the weather forecast because there were some days that it rained all day.
So, with that being said, this is what we did for a week in Oslo, Norway!
A Week In Oslo, Norway
We flew into Sandefjord, Norway which is about an hour and a half away from Oslo. We chose to fly here because of our flight route from Warsaw and it was a better choice. Since we were so far away from Oslo, we decided to rent a car. This would allow us to travel around Norway with ease and not have to rely on public transportation.
Kistefos Museum In Oslo
We got in early on Tuesday morning so we decided to go and visit the Kistefos museum! The Kistefos museum is a sculpture park about an hour outside of Oslo. This is where we saw The Twist which was one of my bucket list items to see. It is a stunning architectural structure to see in person and it was definitely worth everything I had heard about it!
We decided to go on our first day and head there directly from the airport. It was two hour drive after an hour and a half long flight so we were ready to relax a little bit and take our time admiring the scenery on the drive there. We didn’t know when we would go so we didn’t buy our admission tickets ahead of time. It was very easy to purchase them on site.
We had beautiful weather when we visited! I will be honest, we did not know that it was an outdoor sculpture park. We thought everything was indoors so we almost went on a rainy day. We are so grateful we had beautiful weather when we were there! They have a mixture of new and old sculptures to see throughout the park. They also have a lot of history about the ancient vikings of this area considering it was an old log mining location. We spent a good amount of time at the museum before heading to Oslo.
The bathrooms at Kistefos
If you visit here, you must use the bathrooms located in The Twist. I thought it was strange that they recommended these to us when we arrived but after using the bathroom, it made sense. The bathrooms are located beneath The Twist which is a structure over the river. They have a large window that gives you a gorgeous view of the river from inside the building.
They also have an immersive bathroom experience. It’s very hard to explain but they have strange audio messages playing to help relax you when using the bathroom. It was hilarious and weird at the same time.
I will warn you, the bathrooms are not clearly marked… I accidentally used the men’s bathroom and had no idea until I walked out and my husband looked at me funny and asked “why didn’t you use the women’s bathroom?”. It was mortifying but I reminded myself that I’m in Europe and most people don’t think twice about it haha!
Where we stayed in Oslo, Norway
We decided to stay in a hotel in downtown Oslo. There was a lot of back and forth on where we wanted to stay but we decided that ultimately it would be best to stay in the heart of the city. We stayed at the Hotel Verdandi. The location was wonderful and we had easy access to most of the city locations we planned on visiting.
While I loved the location, I didn’t care for the hotel itself. There was essentially no staff and the room was small. It felt more like an upscale hostel, which wasn’t the end of the world, it just wasn’t what we were expecting. There was also no parking at the hotel. This posed a large issue for us with our rental car. We had to pay $40 for overnight parking each day which we weren’t expecting and it was very difficult to find 24 hour parking options.
We try not to let the hotel rooms keep us from disliking a city or an aspect of a city because we don’t typically spend much time there other than at night. However, if we had questions, which we did, there weren’t many people that we could ask for help. That is really my main complaint with this hotel specifically.
Where to eat In Oslo, Norway
When we were looking for places to eat in Oslo, there were so many incredible options. I will be honest, we didn’t try a lot of Norwegian food. We considered it but the menus were not appealing at the places we found. The main Norwegian food that we ate were waffles! We ordered the most popular one which was a waffle with sour cream, strawberry jam and brown cheese. We were very skeptical but it was one of the most delicious things we have ever tasted for an afternoon treat!
Yokoso
We had two restaurants that we ate at and still talk about months after. The first one was Yokoso at Aker Brygge. This is one of the main strips of restaurants and shopping areas of Oslo. We ate the most delicious and fresh sushi and ramen here. I truly can’t explain how delicious it all was. We were very lucky to be able to walk up and get a table but I would recommend making a reservation if you have more than 2 people in your party.
This restaurant runs a little bit differently than most. You receive a tablet when you sit down that has the entire menu. You order as you are ready. We started with drinks and a few appetizers and sushi. Then, once they brought those out, we placed the order for our entrees. I personally loved this style. We didn’t have to wait on a waiter to stop by and check in and we were able to eat at our own pace without feeling like they needed us to hurry or leave soon.
Food
We ordered so much and loved almost every single thing! To start, we began with sushi and drinks. We tried the spicy tuna roll and the salmon sushi roll. The salmon almost had a fruity undertone to it and was one of the most incredible things I have ever tasted. We also tried the orange chicken which was very popular on the menu. We personally didn’t love it. They used dark meat which isn’t our favorite thing. It also didn’t match the style of food that we were ordering so that could have been another factor of us not liking it.
For our entrees, we ordered the pork miso ramen. Our first night, we ordered one and just shared it. When we went back the next night, we refused to share again haha! We both wanted one for ourselves! It had so much flavor and the pork was tender and delicious.
Drinks
For drinks, we tried different options! Paul Michael had a Norwegian beer which he really enjoyed! On the first night, I tried a Japanese mule which was made with saki instead of vodka. It was absolutely delicious! On our second night, I ordered a grapefruit gin and tonic. This was delicious and fun! Their gin and tonics are more of an experience. They brought out a tall cocktail glass with ice and gin as well as an additional bottle with grapefruit tonic water. You got to pour the tonic water in yourself so you could make it as flavorful as you wanted.
Trattoria Popolare
The second restaurant that we fell in love with was Trattoria Popolare. We ate here for lunch and sat outside on the patio. It was such a relaxing and fun way to spend the afternoon. They serve Italian food and have a beautiful, laid back atmosphere. Perfect to visit during a week in Oslo!
We started with an order of both bruschetta options to start with. The tomatoes were so crisp and delicious. They didn’t serve it on bread which was different than what we were expecting but I would still recommend ordering it.
For our entree, we ordered and shared the Ravioli con Patate, Salvia E Ragu. This is their specialty ravioli dish. It is ravioli filled with their ragu of the day. It was filled with the most tender meat we have ever tasted. Paired with their delicious and light ravioli sauce, it was one of our favorite meals of the trip!
What to do when visiting Oslo, Norway
Saunas in Oslo, Norway
One of the most popular things to do in Norway is to try the saunas and cold plunge into the fjords. There are so many options to choose from, especially in Oslo, Norway. Since we had a week in Oslo, we looked around for different sauna companies to try.
We decided on Oslo Badstuforening saunas. They are located near the Opera house but far enough removed from all of the tourists. We went in the afternoon of our second day in Oslo because that was the earliest time slot we could get. It was amazing!
They have options for shared saunas and private saunas. We chose to do the shared saunas because it was cheaper and you had the option of jumping around from each sauna. You have an hour and a half of sauna and swim time which is a perfect amount of time. We had a blast trying out the different saunas and swimming in the fjord with the view of downtown Oslo.
This is another activity that I would recommend booking in advance if you can. They have a lot of openings throughout the day but it is very popular and time slots fill up fast. Once we knew more of our schedule for certain days, we booked it for the early morning to start our day. This is what I would recommend for two reasons. First, it is much less busy earlier in the morning so it is quieter and much slower paced which is so relaxing. Second, is that it is an incredible way to begin your day. We felt so relaxed for the remainder of the day when we started our day this way.
The National Museum in Oslo, Norway
We had one day in Oslo where it rained all day long. This was the perfect day to visit the National Museum. This is a three story museum that takes you through history. The first level has the history of art, design and fashion of the world. The second floor is filled with art from various artists. But, this is where you can see The Scream by Edvard Munch!
Tim Wendelboe Espresso Bar
One of the most unique places we visited was Tim Wendelboe Espresso Bar! Tim Wendelboe was voted Barista of the World in 2006 so this was a must! There is only one coffee shop to visit in Oslo, Norway and it is worth the visit.
The building is small and expect a line out the door but it is definitely worth the visit! We ordered the popular cappuccino al freddo which was a shaken cappuccino served in a martini glass as well as a coffee flight which was a sample plate of their four fresh coffees. It was a beautiful space and the coffee was very delicious!
I have two tips before visiting the espresso bar. First, get there early if you can. The tourists from the cruise ships know all about it and they get there quickly after they dock. Second, eat something before you go. We drank a lot of coffee with the flight on an empty stomach and it hit me hard. It was a lot of caffeine on an empty stomach. I would recommend grabbing a snack before hand.
Other Coffee Shops We Loved In Oslo, Norway
We visited two other coffee shops during our trip and truly loved both of them. The first one was Kaffebrenneriet Radhusplassen. This was right down the street from our hotel so it was perfect to grab a morning coffee!
The second coffee shop that we loved was Baker Hansen which is actually a bakery. They serve delicious coffee drinks and have amazing pastries. We stopped here on a rainy day and just sat and enjoyed the atmosphere. They also sold jam which was something that we fell in love with in Oslo. Oslo, Norway has the most incredible jam and we were so excited to find a local vendor that sold it.
Final Thoughts On Oslo, Norway
We thoroughly loved our time in Oslo, Norway. The city is so clean and there are so many areas and places to visit. It is extremely easy to navigate, especially on foot. We rented a car and ended up walking everywhere.
Our One Regret in Oslo, Norway
Our one issue that we regretted was renting a car. We planned to take a day trip to Flam, Norway to experience a sauna in the beautiful fjord area there but we ended up getting an electric car. While we love the green initiative, we didn’t feel like it was realistic to have an electric car to drive through the mountains of Norway. The charging stations took a long time and we got scared of getting stuck somewhere for long periods of time waiting on a charge.
The city of Oslo doesn’t have the best parking situation. We struggled finding a 24 hour parking lot that also offered charging stations. For a country that pushes electric cars, we were stunned at the lack of resources to actually support them.
Other Sites To Visit In Oslo, Norway
Aside from that, we loved Oslo, Norway. I talked about some of our favorite places we visited but other sites that we got to see were the Oslo City Hall which was one block away from our hotel. Other sites were The Royal Palace, The Oslo Opera House which was hosting the Red Bull Cliff Diving Championship and was so exciting to watch!
I truly can’t wait to visit Oslo, Norway again and be able to explore more of Norway. I fell in love with the scenery and the atmosphere of the country. It is a beautiful area of the world and if I’m being honest, Oslo is just the beginning of the beauty of this country. I would highly recommend planning a visit!
This is just one of the many incredible trips that we have taken this year! We got to explore Warsaw, Poland while we were there and it was incredible! Another one of my favorite trips that we’ve taken, and is probably my most popular blog post, is the Amtrak Coast Starlight. We spent 24 hours in Seattle and hiked Angels Landing in Zion National Park. This year has been a whirlwind but I am beyond grateful that I have the ability to share our experiences with you!