Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
but it's the core of the city, as Pic-
cadilly Circus is to London. Most
Oslo hotels and restaurants are
here, as are almost 50 museums and
galleries—enough to fill many a
rainy day. The most interesting
include Akershus Castle, the His-
torical Museum, and the National
Gallery.
The streets Drammensveien and
Frognerveien lead northwest to
Frogner Park (Frognerparken),
whose main entrance is on
Kirkeveien. This historical area is
the site of the Vigeland Sculpture
Park, which displays some of Gus-
tav Vigeland's masterpieces.
The Old Town (or Gamlebyen )
lies south of the Parliament Build-
ing (the Stortinget) and Karl Johans
Gate. This section contains some of
the city's old-fashioned restaurants,
along with the Norwegian Resis-
tance Museum and the Old Town
Hall. A stay here is the same as stay-
ing in central Oslo (see above). The
only difference is that the streets of
the Old Town have more old-fash-
ioned Norwegian flavor than the
more modern parts of central Oslo.
Aker Brygge is Oslo's newest
neighborhood, an excellent place
for dining and diversions, but not
for hotels since it is sadly lacking in
many of those. For sights along the
waterfront, it's the best place for
long walks to take in the port life. It
emerged near the mouth of the
Oslofjord in the old wharf area for-
merly used for shipbuilding yards.
Fueled by oil wealth, steel-and-glass
buildings now rise from what had
been a relatively dilapidated sec-
tion. Some of the best shops, the-
aters, restaurants, and cultural
attractions are here, along with
apartments for such well-heeled
owners as Diana Ross.
The main attractions in eastern
Oslo are the Botanisk Hage
(Botanic Garden), the Zoological
Museum, and the Munch Museum
in Tøyen—little more is worth see-
ing here. Unless you're interested in
seeing those sights mentioned, you
might skip eastern Oslo. However,
thousands of visitors head here just
to see the Munch Museum (p. 123).
The West End is a chic residen-
tial area graced with some of the
city's finest hotels and restaurants.
It's a more tranquil setting than the
center, which we prefer, and only
15 minutes away by public trans-
portation. Many visitors who stay
here don't mind the short commute
and prefer this area to the more
traffic-clogged center. However, for
walking and sightseeing, central
Oslo and its port is more alluring.
There is little to see in the West
End unless you like walking up and
down pleasant residential streets.
Farther west—6km (about 4
miles) by car but better reached by
car ferry—is the Bygdøy peninsula.
Here you'll find such attractions as
the Norwegian Folk Museum, the
Viking ships, the polar ship Fram,
and the Kon-Tiki Museum. Break
up your sightseeing venture with a
meal here but plan to stay elsewhere.
The suburb of Frogner begins
.8km ( 1 2 mile) west of Oslo's center
and stretches for a mile or so.
There's a good hotel and restaurant
here, called Frogner House (p. 90).
Unless you specifically want to stay
at this hotel, you might skip this
section of the city.
Lying behind the S-station, the
main rail station for Oslo, is the
Grønland district, where many
Oslovians go for ethnic dining.
There is little of sightseeing interest
in this ghetto-like area. Many
refugees from Pakistan and India,
among other countries, fill the area;
however, the town's best Indian and
Pakistani restaurants lie within
more upscale neighborhoods.
Come here for affordable dining,
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