Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
locals, the fjord is a handy vacation getaway. Tourists can get a glimpse of
this island world by public ferry or tour boat. Cheap ferries regularly connect
the nearby islands with downtown (covered by Oslo Pass, transit tickets, and
Reisekort smartcard).
Several tour boats leave regularly from pier 3 in front of City Hall. Båt-
service has a relaxing and scenic 1.5-hour hop-on, hop-off service, with a
live-but-boring multi-language commentary, which departs from the City Hall
dock (175 kr, daily at 9:45, 11:15, 12:45, and 14:15; departs 30 minutes
later from Opera House and one hour later from Bygdøy; tel. 23 35 68 90,
www.boatsightseeing.com
)
. They won't scream if you bring something to
munch. They also offer two-hour fjord tours (250 kr, 3-4/day late March-Sept)
and a “Summer Evening on the Fjord” dinner cruise (395 kr; joyride without
narrationthatincludesa“shrimpbuffet”—justshrimp,bread,andbutter;daily
mid-June-Sept 19:00-22:00).
Bus Tours
—Båtservice, which runs the harbor cruises (above), also offers
four-hour
bus tours
of Oslo, with stops at the ski jump, Bygdøy museums,
and Frogner Park (340 kr, 2/day late May-Aug, departs from ticket office
on pier 3, longer tours also available, tel. 23 35 68 90,
www.boatsightseeing.com
)
. HMK also does daily city bus tours (200 kr/2
hours, 340 kr/4 hours, departs from TI across from City Hall, tel. 22 78 94 00,
www.hmk.no
)
.
Two different companies run
hop-on, hop-off bus tours:
CitySightseeing
Oslo (150 kr/all day, 16 stops,
www.citysightseeing.no
) and Open Top/Oslo
Sightseeing (220 kr/all day, 20 stops,
www.opentopsightseeing.no
;
both run
every 30 minutes, English headphone commentary, buy ticket from driver).
While these tours help you get your bearings, most of Oslo's sightseeing is
concentrated in a few discrete zones that are well-connected by the excellent
public-transportation network—making pricey bus tours a lesser value.
Guided Walking Tour
—The local guides' union offers 1.5-hour historic
“OsloPromenade”walks(150kr,freewithOsloPass;Mon,Wed,Friat17:30
in summer; leaves from sea side of City Hall, confirm departures at TI, tel. 22
42 70 20,
www.guideservice.no
)
.
