Even if recently opened in Oslo, the Crossroads club offers a timeless music in a timeless bistro/pub surroundings right at the beginning of the famous party area in Oslo, Grünerløkka. The main focus of the bar is on blues music and everything derived from it, especially the cozy atmosphere suggested by the rhythms pouring from the speakers.

If you manage to make it there for a live event on Thursdays or Saturdays, the music would be performed on the stage in the background and you might get lucky to see quite some talented blues artists, local or international.

It’s said that one of the best local cooks – Even Christiansen -prepares the dishes – and I personally find it more reliable to eat in a place with a very limited choice of food. I would know each is treated with more care. The menu is an interesting blend of meat dishes (burgers, t-bone, ribs) next to some surprising southern inspired spices or side-dishes. But what I can recommend you is the chocolate burger server for dessert. That was one amazing experience for my taste buds and I’m drooling again at the thought of it.

Don’t hesitate to come in, regardless if you’re a blues enthusiast or not. It will take a lot of effort not to have a good time at this club. But watch out that it is closed on Mondays.

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The Crossroads Club | Bars, Music, Restaurants (Varied) | Daily 3 meals NOK 350
Maridalsveien 3 | +4723697335
Tue – Wed 15:00 – 01:00, Thu 15:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sat 15:00 – 03:30, Sun 15:00 – 02:00

A multi purpose arena/sport complex that offers increased amounts of fun both during the summer and the winter. In the warm season it hosts a roller-blade practice ground for all ages, while in the winter it turns into an ice skating rink, with a special track for speed skating. It is also a place where one can practice inner bandy and that actually hosted few editions of the World Championships. The way the hall is built also allows it to host soccer games. The venue usually opens in November for skating and they are listing their schedule on this link.

During both seasons, Valle Hovin is one of the largest concert venues in Oslo, able to hold about 40k people, both standing and seated. Among the names that held concerts there I could mention Pink Floyd, Metallica, Rammstein, U2, Michael Jackson, AC/DC. And I personally believe that a big advantage of this venue is its proximity to the city center, only few subway stations away from the Central Station. That is Helsfyr Subway station. There’s also few busses taking you right next to the entrance, but I recommend the subway for the very busy events when the traffic around the area is almost impossible due the flow of people on streets.

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Valle Hovin | Music, Relaxing | Skate rental NOK 40
Valle Hovin | +4722722818
Mon 11:00 – 22:00, Tue – Wed 10:00 – 22:00, Thu 15:00 – 22:00, Fri 14:00 – 20:00, Sat 10:00 – 16:00, Sun 11:00 – 16:00

Kafe Asylet is a place with history in the center of the city. As the name says, it used to be an asylum (for kids), hence the building has a certain aspect and atmosphere with its two floors and huge backyard. In the summer, that backyard is an ideal place to go for a drink with your buddies, since you can find plenty of long tables suitable for big groups.

The inside of the bar is best suitable for winter days I’d say. That’s because of the lovely fireplace where there’s always a piece of wood burning making it smell like winter. One can find both tables for two, since a fireplace on the background can be quite the perfect setting for romance, or long tables suitable for noisy happy evenings.

Food is served even if the choices are not too varied, but it’s one of the few places where you can have a taste of some Norwegian meals. And I do recommend the delicious cakes. The crew in the bar is made out of some of the friendliest I saw in Oslo.

If you’re into art, the place offers a display of paintings on its walls and they are for sale. They may be very strange at times, but well, that’s art. But they totally add to the charm.

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Kafe Asylet | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Norwegian) | Draught beer NOK 58
Grønland 28 | +4722170939
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 00:30, Sat 12:00 – 00:30, Sun 12:00 – 23:00

Oslo is blessed with a huge amount of lakes that surround it, plus a decent coast line and to all these nature has added a beautiful river that somewhat cuts the city in two and offers great relaxing places all along.

It’s one of the best places to go for a picnic with friends, play outdoor games, take long or short walks, enjoy the waterfalls (that freeze in the winter and become very beautiful sights), feed the birds, run. And once you get bored of all these, you simply walk few minutes and mainly end up in a region with bars or shops since plenty of these have been built on the streets parallel to the river, especially in Grünerløkka.

The river starts up at the lake Maridalsvannet and flows all the way down to th fjord ending its journey next to the Opera house. The walk along this ‘green lung’ (which can be started at any point and it would still offer enough beauty) gives you the chance to admire old factories, mills and buildings, making it a visual history lesson.

My favorite spot along the river is the Møllerfossene where a huge waterfall forms at ‘the top’ and a bunch of tiny ones at the bottom of the big one. Plus the river walk by torch lights with the occasion of the Autumn equinox.

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Akerselva | Relaxing | Free
Akerselva
24 hours daily

‘Good evening. My name is Samuel, I will be your waiter for tonight and I will also be performing on stage’ – this is how our waiter introduced himself. And this is what he and the rest of the crew did for the rest of the night. Wearing various stage outfits, they brought the orders in between their performances on stage (or all over the place), that involved singing, dancing, acting, a bit of magic. Each short scene has its own theme represented by adequate costumes, songs and scene settings: Paris, Middle East, Ghosts, acrobatics.

This was a way different kind of dinner and experience for me. It was captivating to watch those who, a few minutes earlier brought your plates to the table and later are up on stage revealing their talents. Or just put on your 3D glasses and watch a short projection. So, I actually just realized I hardly remember the taste of the food. It seemed delicious, but you just don’t remember it after such a crazy night.

And after the show on the stage is over, the tables in front are quickly removed, turning the area in a dancing ring (which includes the stage). Or you can enjoy a break outside where the landscape is breathtaking due the waterfall at Mølleparken. Just remember to book in advance!

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Wallmans | Restaurants (Seasonal) | 4 course & show NOK 845
Mølleparken 6 | +4723226590
Sun – Thu 18:15 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 18:15 – 02:00

One of the most representative buildings for Oslo, the ‘Rådhus’ houses the City Council, city administration, and art studios and galleries. It is located in the main touristic harbor of the city with a lovely view from its stairs. And actually those stairs are used by a lot of skaters and skateboarders to learn new tricks, so you get more of a show than the view over the city.

The building where The Nobel Peace Prize is presented to the winner on 10th of December each year is full of architectural details, huge wall paintings and tapestries, exquisite furniture, statues, from one end to another so a trip around it is a sightseeing it itself. And don’t forget to check the collection of gifts that the city has received from all over the world.

On top of it there is a  carillon that plays its multitude of bells every day on the hour from 07.00 to 00.00.  Concerts are regularly played on the carillon during the summer. On this page one can read in English about the building, its history and functionality and find out some more numbers and technical details.

Also in the square located in front of the building and on one side, there are few beautiful fountains where kids play in the warm summer days.

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Rådhuset/City Hall | Art & culture | Free
Rådhuset | +4723461200
09:00 – 18:00 daily

Every year on December 10th the peace prize is awarded inside the Oslo City Hall. The history of the event itself, plus a lot of inspirational exhibitions that trigger communications on themes such as peace, war, resolving conflicts – all these have a home inside the peace center located few meters away from the City Hall.

Until the mid 80s the place was used as a railway station actually and then as various press centers, therefore its experience is in the field of communications. The exposition in the main hall seems to be mainly dedicated to the winner of the previous year, with information about his or her life and work.

The Nobel peace Center’s interior has been recently redesigned to offer a high tech experience where you can interact with certain objects, read information on smaller or bigger devices and even get your photo taken with the Norwegian prize winner, Fridtjof Nansen, and have it printed as souvenir. A list of current exhibitions can be found here.

Speaking of souvenirs, I recommend a visit in the center’s gift shop since they have rather special peace related objects, including some lovely handcrafted jewelry. The center offers tours in English as well and it can be interesting to hear information from the back stage of the Nobel prize awards.

Make sure to check the Opening hours page since there are several Free entrance days during the year.

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Nobel peace Center | Art & culture | Adults NOK 80
Nobel Peace Center | +4748301000
1 Sept – 16 May, Tue – Sun 10:00 – 18:00 daily

The Fram museum, with its triangle shaped like building and the polar bear greeting you at the entrance, is the perfect place to learn about expeditions to the North or South Pole and Greenland as they were explored by Norwegians who are now local heroes.

In the middle of the museum there is the world’s most famous polar ship, the Fram, from 1892 which has been preserved with its original contents and everyone is welcome on board to walk all over and see how life was on it. All over the walls you see maps, pieces of history, books, clothes, medical and other use objects, food, tools, you name it that have traveled to these extreme places and make you understand the craziness of the explorers.

There is also a small selection of animals from the Polar region, but I find those impossible heavy objects much more fascinating. Not to mention the view you have from the museum’s windows or terrace over the Oslo harbor, making it perfect for a drink/snack before oyu head back to town in the boat that stops right next to the museum.

Here you can check the exposed collections, and here is a list of exhibitions.

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Fram museum | Art & culture | Adults NOK 80
Bygdøynesveien 36 | +4723282950
Jan – Feb & Nov – Dec Mon – Fri 10:00 – 15:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 16:00 | Mar – Apr & Oct 10:00 – 16:00 daily | May & Sep 10:00 – 17:00 daily | Jun – Aug 09:00 – 18:00 daily

I enjoy walks in nature, good food or a movie, a party, but I also find it difficult to refuse to try anything that doesn’t always fit in everyday life’s activities. Especially for someone who’s way over 15 years old.

Megazone is the place to experiment with paintball, indoor lasergames (paintball without paint, but with laser and in a dark room), rodeo, obstacle race, a sumo fight or a gladiator fight.

I was lucky to gather a big bunch of friends and we had 30 minutes of laser fight – which felt like max 5 since it was way too fun to chase everyone around in that SciFi like room. Then we went on to riding those mechanical bulls and being thrown on the soft rubber mattresses, followed by an obstacle race in which you had to crawl under, jump over, run through various obstacles and reach the button with the color of your team. We ended up in hilarious big sumo suits, pushing each other off a round soft carpet.

The place was packed with kids, and me and my friends were a bit out of place that afternoon, but that didn’t diminish the fun at all. You also need to keep in mind that Megazone can organize birthday parties as well as company team building events, so they’re probably used to handling people of all ages. And they’re also very helpful in the unfortunate events of injuries, which a few of us had…

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Megazone | Relaxing | 1xLasergame NOK 120
Møllergata 24 | +4722988550
Mon – Fri 14:00 – 22:00, Sat 11:00 – 23:00, Sun 13:00 – 21:00

The Holmenkollen area in Oslo has been a ski recreation zone since the late 19th century with the main landmark being the Holmenkollen ski jump. Currently it is probably the most visited and famous spot in the city.

The resort ski museum with objects, images and videos from all editions of winter Olympic Games, skis dated hundred of years back, equipment that belonged to famous sport people or royal families. I read about the countless types of ski-wax or ice/snow types, went all the way up in the tower and tried the ski simulator.

In the summer you can hike around the area through the beautiful and relaxing forest, visit the chapel built in 1903 or simply move along to other locations around Oslo. Be sure you have checked the tracks and their availability.

In the winter, a lot of cross country ski tracks start here.

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Holmenkollen | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Holmenkollen
Oct – Apr 10:00 -16:00, May – Sep 10:00 – 17:00, Jun – Aug 09:00 – 20:00