Now if you follow me on Instagram. You will probably have seen that I was away last week. My first business trip of the year was up in the Nordic mountains. Which was amazing! We were 200kms north of Oslo airport in the area of Trysil which borders Sweden, doing lots of fun driving in the snow. But seeing as I was in Norway, a country I’ve never been to before. I decided to take advantage of adding an extra day to the trip to go off and explore Oslo on my own before flying home. So here is how to spend 24 hours in Oslo alone.
Now I’ve never done this before. I’ve flown on a plane on my own before. But never spent any real length of time in a country on my own that wasn’t for work. So this was a first. But I’d definitely do it again.
My trip started on Friday afternoon. After saying goodbye to everyone else at the airport, I hopped on the Oslo Express and headed into Oslo city. Now, this was probably the easiest way to get into Oslo itself. As the airport is about 40kms north of the city. The train is incredibly easy to find and a single adult ticket costs 196kr which works out to be around £17 each way. And it only takes 20 minutes to get into Oslo Central Station. Which is a bonus.
Once I arrived at Oslo Central Station. It was time to find my hotel. Luckily enough the hotel I booked was only a five-minute walk away, so the location was great. I stayed for one night at the Clarion Hotel Oslo which is in the Barcode Project part of Oslo. And I would definitely recommend it. It’s a little bit further out than some other hotels. But it has a tram stop literally right outside and is a two-minute walk from the Royal Opera House. You can see my full review of the hotel here.
My first night in Oslo was pretty chilled. The weather wasn’t great. And it being January, it does gt very dark pretty early. But I went for a wonder around the Oslo City shopping centre. Which is right next door to the station. Picked up some snacks and dinner – a burrito and Sprite that cost me the best part of £25! But that’s Norway for you. I then headed back to the hotel to enjoy a drink in their hotel bar before calling it a night.
Day two was much more productive. I got up pretty early to enjoy breakfast in the hotel. Pancakes with Nutella and strawberries obviously. Before heading out for a walk up to the Palace. Now from the hotel, the walk is around 25 minutes. You can get a tram. But seeing as the rain had stopped, I decided to do the walk. Which took me right through their main shopping street. Which is filled with the usual high street subjects, as well as local Norwegian shops.
The Palace is really easy to find, it’s literally at the end of the main shopping street. And although it looks a lot like Buckingham Palace, there aren’t huge gates restricting the view. You can literally walk right up to the Palace. Which is a fun lovely. Around the Palace are the Palace gardens, which are very pretty and full of fun things.
After the Palace I decided to head down by the Fjord in the Tjuvholmen neighbourhood of Oslo. This is a really fun place full of cool bars and restaurants where you can sit and enjoy the view of the water. Unfortunately, the day I went it was a very misty view. But I imagine in the summer it’ll be lush.
After taking a walk around Tjuvholmen it was time to walk back along the water to the Royal Opera House and back to the hotel to pick up my luggage. And then head back to the station to get to the airpot. My 24 hours flew by! And if I had an extra day, I definitely would have headed to the Old Town. Which has the location of Edward Munch’s The Scream. Which you can also see at the National Gallery in Oslo.
But overall I did enjoy my 24 hours in Oslo alone. I have to say, one of the best things about Norway is how friendly every is. And also how easy everything is to find. All the directions are in Norwegian and English. Which helps as my Norwegian is nonexistent! Plus as a solo traveller, I felt incredibly safe in the city.
So that’s how to spend 24 hours in Oslo alone. Have you been to Oslo before? Would you head there on your own?
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