Oslo tours and excursions

Oslo tours

Bus and boat tours

Båtservice Sightseeing A/S offers a comprehensive choice of bus and boat tours of Oslo. These range from a 50-minute boat tour on the fjord to a seven-hour ‘Grand Tour’ which combines bus and boat. The company also offers a three-hour evening cruise in July and August. Departures are from Rådhusbrygge 3. Stromma offers a hop on hop off bus tour. There are 18 stops on the tour and you can get tickets valid for either 24 or 48 hours. You can also combine Stromma’s hop on hop off bus and boat tours in one 24-hour ticket.

Telephone: +47 2335 6890; +47 223 32 000
Walking tours

Oslo offers a wealth of walking experiences, whether you’re looking for a quick spin around the city centre or something lengthier. Free Tour Oslo offers daily free and private tours in English and Spanish. There are two free tours in English each day, one which covers the city and the other focuses on Oslo’s East Side. The daily Spanish tour takes in the city. The meeting point for all tours is The Tiger, Jernbanetorget. Oslowalk offers four different themed walks each day, which include the city centre, riverside and Vigeland Park.

Excursions from Oslo

Holmenkollen

One of the most recognisable sports arenas in the world, the Holmenkollen stadium in the hills to the northwest of Oslo is one of Norway’s most popular tourist spots. The stadium plays host to Nordic skiing events every winter; a brand-new ski jump opened in 2010 and featured at the 2011 FIS Nordic World Championships. The ski jump is also home to the world’s oldest ski museum, which documents the sport’s 4,000-year history. To get there, take the Metro (T-bane) line 1 (Frognerseteren) from central Oslo and get off at Holmenkollen station. From there, the stadium is a 10-minute walk away.

Telephone: +47 2 292 3200.
Nordmaka wilderness area

A 430-sq-km (166-sq-mile) stretch of verdant pine and larch forest dotted with cerulean lakes, Nordmaka has more than 450km (280 miles) of marked ski trails during winter and a network of colour-coded hiking and biking trails in the summer. Svarttjernshøgda, at 719m (2,358ft), is the park’s highest peak and offers a real challenge for climbers. DNT Oslo og Omegn (tel: 2282 2800; www.dntoslo.no), Skiforeningen (tel: 2292 3200; www.skiforeningen.no) and Friluftsetaten (tel: 02180 2180, in Norway only; or +47 21 80 21 80 from abroa; www.friluftsetaten.oslo.kommune.no) have a number of basic but comfortable huts available for anyone who fancies an overnight expedition. Nordmaka is 17km (11 miles) north of Oslo.

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