Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
that still survive. Then the tram goes uphill, past the
House of Oslo
(a mall of
20 shops highlighting Scandinavian interior design; Vikatorvet stop) and into
a district of ugly 1960s buildings (when elegance was replaced by “function-
ality”). The tram then heads onto the street Norwegians renamed
Henrik Ib-
sens Gate
in 2006 to commemorate the centenary of Ibsen's death, honoring
the man they claim is the greatest playwright since Shakespeare.
After Henrik Ibsens Gate, the tram follows Frognerveien through the chic
Frogner neighborhood.
Behind the fine old facades are fancy shops and
spendy condos. Here and there you'll see 19th-century mansions built by ar-
istocratic families who wanted to live near the Royal Palace; today, many of
these house foreign embassies. Turning the corner, you roll along the edge of
Frogner Park,
stopping at its grand gate (hop out at the Vigelandsparken stop
for Frogner Park and Vigeland statues).
Ahead on the left, a statue of 1930s ice queen Sonja Henie marks the arena
where she learned to skate. Turning onto Bogstadveien, the tram usually be-
comes #11 at the Majorstuen stop.
Bogstadveien
is lined with trendy shops,
restaurants, and cafés—it's a fun place to stroll and window-shop. (You could
get out here and walk along this street all the way to the Royal Palace park and
the top of Karl Johans Gate.) The tram veers left before the palace, passing the
National Historical Museum
and stopping at the
National Gallery
(Tullin-
løkka stop). As you trundle along, you may notice that lots of roads are ripped
up for construction. It's too cold to fix the streets in winter, so, when possible,
the work is done in summer. Jump out at
Stortorvet
(a big square filled with
flower stalls and fronted by the cathedral and the big GlasMagasinet depart-
ment store). From here, you're a three-minute walk from the station, where
this tour began.
(See “Welcome to Oslo Walk” map,
here
.)
