If you happen to have a Norwegian friend, perhaps a native of charming Bergen, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about Oslo: “Osloites are the Milanese of Norway,” “Oslo is a brand-new city, trying to copycat the Swedes,” “everyone’s a rich kid living the city’s excesses,” “they’re all spendthrifts”. There’s only one way to verify if there’s any truth to these stereotypes: spend our proverbial 24 hours in Oslo. On the express train from the city center to the airport, a mere forty-minute ride, these stereotypes already seem to dissolve. What the Norwegian film The Worst Person in the World portrays rings truer: there are many Oslos within one, and sometimes all it takes is crossing a neighborhood to find yourself in another city, another life.
Grünerløkka and the Traditional Houses
There’s no doubt that winter in Oslo, where the low northern light lasts only a few hours and the wind blows icy cold, represents a different dimension compared to the summer city with its endless days. But whether the sun is mild or the rain is pouring, the day must begin in Grünerløkka, an alternative neighborhood that, while gentrified, maintains a deeply Norwegian pace. The ideal is to gather over a cup of tea on colder days, when the streets are exceptionally quiet and free from the signs of neglect that often characterize creative districts in other latitudes. Once a working-class area, Grünerløkka today hosts the usual suspects: vintage shops, independent bookstores, artisan bakeries, and coffee shops whose names already echo legends in the hearts of hipsters, like Tim Wendelboe. Here, the worship of coffee becomes almost an ascetic ritual: light woods, essential lines, a clean Scandinavian aesthetic that leaves room only for the taste of the heavenly beverage and the fragrance of the roast.
From there, it’s a short stroll towards the Akerselva, the river that cuts the neighborhood in two, leading to Café Blå, a cultural space where jazz and electronic music blend to produce unexpected combinations. A few more steps, and the first traditional Nordic houses appear; we are on the streets of Damstredet and Telthusbakken, which, with their 18th and 19th-century wooden homes and courtyards full of fairy lights, plants, and Trolls, evoke an atmosphere straight out of a Nordic tale.
The Port and the National Gallery
With caffeine levels replenished, the real exploration of the city can begin. It’s best to start from Oslo’s port, near which stands the new National Museum of Norway: a building that encompasses three, having unified the museums of contemporary art, modern art, and design. Designed by the architectural firm Kleihues + Schuwerk, the National Museum of Norway overlooks the capital’s waterfront and spans 54,600 square meters, making it the largest art museum in the Nordic countries.
The slate building houses approximately 400,000 works, and its L-shaped plan incorporates the site’s pre-existing structures, creating a central paved courtyard that naturally opens onto the surrounding streets and the Nobel Peace Center building, originally a railway station. Inside, the permanent collection reinterprets eras with a focus on themes of modernity. For example, the social dimension of women emerges prominently not only in its domestic sense, but also representing the pleasure of reading, culture, and outdoor leisure. Orientalist works are accompanied by panels that invite reflection on the historical context, and the permanent collection itself is not treated as immutable; instead, works rotate according to the themes the museum deems most urgent at any given moment.
From Oslo’s port, various boats depart for the fjords, available for day trips or longer cruises, while just a short walk away stands Akershus Fortress, begun in 1299 by King Håkon V, expanded during the Renaissance, and now also home to several museums, including those of the resistance and the armed forces. After gazing upon the city from the fortress walls, one can continue through the inner streets, eventually stumbling upon the historic Engebret Café, Oslo’s oldest restaurant, opened in 1857, where traditional Norwegian cuisine is served. A little further, the splendid tea shop A.C. Perchs Thehandel, in business since 1835, offers over 150 varieties of tea in an elegant and intimate setting. For a coffee or matcha latte pit stop, the elegant vintage café in the area is Spor av Nord, where pastries and baked goods are served in a bright, pastel-colored environment.
MUNCH Museum and Opera House
From the commercial area, visitors can easily walk to the Opera House, designed by the prestigious Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta and inaugurated in 2008. Characterized by inclined surfaces of marble and white granite, the building integrates public spaces, a main auditorium, and an architecture that blends natural elements of oak wood and stone with modern technologies.
Climbing onto the building’s roof, it’s impossible not to appreciate (or criticize, depending on taste) the Barcode. This complex of buildings was designed to resemble a barcode with 12 skyscrapers of varying heights, featuring empty spaces that allow light and views of the fjord to pass through. An eyesore or a consecration of Oslo’s architectural rebirth? We are already near one of the city’s most iconic landmarks: the MUNCH museum. With its 57-meter height towering over the waters, the inclined gray building is truly impossible to ignore. Designed by the Spanish Estudio Herreros, it is an imposing tilted tower clad in shimmering recycled aluminum. A concentration of lightness and sustainability, the building houses 11 galleries, terraces, and public spaces, offering visitors a vertical journey through Edvard Munch‘s art.
Here, the legacy of Norway’s symbolic painter is continuously reinvigorated and recontextualized through a thematically curated collection or temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. As the northern light fades, always low during winter hours, it’s the right time for a sauna – the best way to immerse oneself, literally, in Norwegian culture without actually taking a dip. The numerous floating saunas not far from the museum are ideal for the bravest, ready to brave the icy waters.
Tjuvholmen and the Astrup Fearnley Museum
Finally, returning to the port area, it’s worth venturing towards the so-called Fjord City, the project that developed the Tjuvholmen area, a kind of island reinvented through hyper-contemporary architecture and a luxury experience.
It is here that the Astrup Fearnley Museum stands, designed by Renzo Piano, housing one of Scandinavia’s richest private collections of contemporary art. Its angular rooms, with their unexpected geometries, compel curators to devise inventive and non-linear solutions; outside the windows, large glass panes and wooden walkways recall the deep connection with the sea and navigation that has always characterized Oslo. The ideal evening concludes with a warm meal in one of Tjuvholmen’s many restaurants: smoked salmon, gravlax, cod, Skrei, Lutefisk, Fårikål, Pinnekjøtt (lamb dishes), or even a delicious stewed reindeer. Forgetting all stereotypes, after 24 hours in this city, you’ll already be eager to return.
