If you’re looking for some action-packed adventures in Europe, then look no further than Scandinavia! With its beautiful natural landscapes, rich history, vibrant cities, and welcoming people, this area is well worth your time.
Oslo is one of the best tourist destinations in Northern Europe. It boasts spectacular views of both land and sea, as well as interesting museums and sites.
It also has incredible nightlife that keeps locals and tourists busy all hours of the day and night. Many consider it to be the most entertaining city in the world!
But why should you add Oslo to your list of top destinations? Here are six reasons why.
1. Visit during winter or spring
If visiting between December and April, you will enjoy the truly stunning scenery. The Norwegian landscape changes seasonally depending on weather conditions.
During autumn and summer, there are often heavy rains which create impressive waterfalls and lush green foliage. These shades perfectly match the rest of the year when the snow starts melting away.
Winter brings white, pristine scenes with lots of glistening reflections off everything around you. This creates very pretty pictures that serene photographers could admire for hours upon hours.
2. See unique sights
When traveling to Oslo, make sure to take at least two days to explore. You can start by heading out onto the town beach for some sunbathing before exploring the nearby parks, mountains, and islands.
Find a good location to eat
Finding great places to eat in any city is tricky, but doing so while you’re there for business can be even harder! Luckily, with the right tools, this process is made much simpler. Most major cities have at least one restaurant that is well-known and has excellent reviews, so why not use that as your base?
By using local food community sites like Yelp, Google+, and Facebook, you will find it easy to research potential restaurants before heading out. You may also know some people who work at restaurants, or at least of their favorite dishes, so ask around to learn more about the area cuisine and what types of establishments offer them!
If nothing quite strikes you then do what we did and pick somewhere close by and within walking distance. If possible, choose something that offers takeout too since you won’t need much space or equipment to enjoy it.
Enjoy the nature
There are many ways to enjoy the natural beauty of this city-state. You do not have to spend lots of money or take expensive tours to experience it, nor does walking around outside your house count!
Oslo is situated in an extremely beautiful area with vast amounts of forests, mountains, lakes, and other geographical features. Many people visit these areas during their stay to explore and find new things to do.
Some popular destinations include Geiranger which has beautiful scenery due to its surrounding fjords as well as Voss where you can go hiking or skiing. If you like winter sports there is also Lillehammer which has good-quality snow!
There are many museums and sights within the city that are interesting to see, such as The Museum of Natural History and Oslomuseet which both feature various exhibits and landscapes.
Visit the city
There are many things you can do in Oslo, but no matter what kind of traveler you are, there is one place you must visit at least once during your trip to this beautiful European capital – Grunge Museum.
Grace Jones was never really considered part of the punk movement, but she definitely belongs here! Her collection includes pieces that show her love for 1970s glamour and flashy clothes.
She has lots of leather jackets, some with fur trims which make them even more glamorous. She also features some very interesting jewelry like large earrings or necklaces made out of fake diamonds. This all works well together to showcase how much money she loved buying expensive junk.
If you’re looking to add some grunginess to your style, these items could be good additions to buy. For example, Grace’s black leather jacket is still in great condition almost thirty years later so it would look pretty authentic.
Diversify your spending
Even if you’re traveling for business, it is not necessary to spend every night of the trip at an expensive restaurant or hotel. There are many ways to enjoy yourself without wasting money!
There are often free things to do that don’t cost much, and staying in cheaper accommodation can save lots of money in the long run.
You can find cheap hotel rooms by checking out sites like Hotels.com, Booked.net, and Lonely Planet’s website. You can also check out some great tips here for how to stay in budget-friendly accommodations in our article: How To Stay In Budget Accommodation In A City.
Many cities offer tours and experiences designed to give visitors the chance to see all of the area’s highlights while meeting new people. These organized trips usually include transport, entry fees, and meals, so they can be a lot more affordable than going alone.
Alternatively, there are always museums and attractions close to where you’ll be staying that you can visit. Some even have tour packages available, which make it easy to explore beyond the basics.
Come with plenty of money
While not as expensive as in some other European cities, traveling in Norway can be very budget-friendly if you are aware of your spending habits.
Oslo is a popular destination for international tourists so there are many hotels, restaurants, attractions, and transport services available to accommodate all budgets.
Many sites and apps have lists of how much things cost in Oslo which makes it easy to compare prices before heading out.
There are also several ways to get cheap or free travel around the city. The local tourist board has information about these programs on its website.
The safety of the country
This is one of the most debated issues when it comes to traveling in Europe. Some say that you are totally safe walking around at night, while others insist that this isn’t always possible.
Norway has some of the highest rates of gun ownership per capita in the world. There have been several high-profile shootings here including an attack on young adults celebrating New Year’s Eve.
In 2017 alone there were eight deadly shooting incidents across the county. These ranged from two people shot outside a restaurant to someone firing shots into a hotel room where a group was staying for a music festival.
While these events are shocking to those who experience them, they’re unfortunately not very rare. They occur with about 1-in-four attacks happening within the city limits and one every 2 months somewhere in the country.
Many experts believe that the availability of guns makes Norway more prone to violent acts. People use weapons to do things like shoot target practices or collect them as souvenirs. When you add up all these guns, it creates a sense of normality surrounding weapon usage.
This can create feelings of security even if the individual doesn’t actually feel protected by the law. It also raises questions about how many guns civilians should be allowed to own.
Know the history
The history of Oslo is very interesting, full of many events both good and bad. Unfortunately, most people’s knowledge of this historical figure ends here!
Oslo has some significant past events that shaped who it is today. Some were positive like when King Magnus Eriksson settled in what would become Oslo in 993 or when Christian missionaries arrived in 1190. Others were negative like when Per Alstanhaug was brutally murdered in her apartment in 1906.
Many more important things happened in between these two dates including; Kristian Birkeland experimenting with nuclear energy, Alfred Nithard writing about how Alexander the Great conquered Persia, Otto von Bismarck creating his first cabinet, and William Shakespeare writing several plays.
Know the culture
The next thing you’ll want to do is learn some of the local languages, which are almost all spoken in this beautiful city. Norwegian is the most common language, but there are several others that people speak here.
Oslo has many different cultures mixed together so it can be difficult to tell who belongs to what group.
The best way to find out if someone is part of a certain community or not is by simply being yourself and interacting with people around you. You will eventually meet someone else like you and that person may introduce you to other individuals in their circle. By asking about them, getting their opinions, and observing how they interact with everyone, you will know whether they belong to that group or not!
City maps are very helpful when trying to determine where people live and spend time. They show areas and landmarks as well as routes for daily commute trips. This gives an indication of who lives close to work and what districts they usually visit.
