Oslo is compact enough that almost any central address works, and expensive enough that price should drive the decision more than location does.
There is one structural quirk worth exploiting immediately.
Oslo is a business city
A large share of Oslo’s hotel demand is corporate — oil, shipping, finance, government — which means midweek is the peak and weekends are cheaper.
This is the reverse of most leisure destinations, and the difference is not marginal. A Friday-to-Sunday stay in a good central hotel can cost substantially less than the same room on a Tuesday.
July is also cheap. Norwegian business stops for the fellesferie, the common holiday, and the city empties of the people who fill the hotels.
The centre — Sentrum
Around Karl Johans gate, Oslo S and the City Hall.
For: everything is walkable, the trains from the airport arrive here, and the concentration of hotels means competition on price.
Against: it empties in the evening and on Sundays. The area immediately around Oslo S and Brugata has a visible drug scene — Oslo’s approach is public-health-led and the open selling around the station is longstanding. It is not dangerous in the sense of violence against visitors, and it is unpleasant, and it is the thing people comment on.
Two streets in any direction and the character changes completely.
Bjørvika and the waterfront
The new district around the Opera House and MUNCH.
For: the newest hotels, the best rooms, the fjord, and the Opera House roof as your local park.
Against: it is new, it is corporate, and there is not much street life. Also expensive.
Grünerløkka
For: the best neighbourhood in Oslo to actually be in. Restaurants, bars, coffee, the river walk, and a twenty-minute stroll or a five-minute tram into the centre.
Against: fewer hotels and more apartments. Noisier at weekends on the main streets.
The best choice for a second visit, or for anyone who would rather eat well than be near a station.
Frogner and Majorstuen
West of the palace.
For: quiet, handsome, residential, five minutes from Vigeland park, and on the metro to the forest.
Against: it is the wealthy part of town and there is very little happening at night. Good for families and for anyone who wants to be near the trailheads.
Tøyen, Grønland and the east
For: cheapest, most mixed, best cheap food in the city, and a short tram ride in. The Botanical Garden and the Natural History Museum are here.
Against: rougher around the edges than anywhere else on this list, and further from the fjord.
Genuinely good value and where a lot of Oslo actually lives.
Out of town
Nesodden, across the fjord, is twenty minutes by a ferry that runs on a standard Ruter ticket. Staying there is much cheaper, the crossing is beautiful, and you are committing to a boat timetable.
Along the metro lines to the north and west, rooms cost less and you are near the forest.
What to check
Breakfast. Norwegian hotel breakfast is enormous — cured fish, cheeses, waffles, the lot — and it is often included. Where it is not, it costs a great deal. Given the price of eating out here, an included breakfast is worth more than it looks.
Whether there is a kitchen. Apartments and aparthotels are common and, given supermarket prices against restaurant prices, a kettle and a fridge change your daily spend meaningfully.
Air conditioning. Most Oslo buildings do not have it, because for most of the year they do not need it. In a July heatwave that is a real problem, and heatwaves are becoming less unusual.
Blackout blinds. In June it does not get properly dark. If you sleep badly in light, check.
The short version
- First visit, two or three nights: the centre, and book a weekend.
- Eating and drinking is the priority: Grünerløkka.
- Best rooms, newest, fjord: Bjørvika.
- Value: Tøyen or Grønland.
- Quiet, family, or heading to the forest: Frogner and Majorstuen.
Search across them on the hotel page.
What Oslo accommodation actually costs
Hotels here are expensive in absolute terms and less outrageous than the city’s reputation suggests, particularly at weekends and in July.
Hostels are good, clean and well run, and Oslo has several central ones. Given restaurant prices, a hostel with a kitchen changes a trip’s economics more than the bed price alone suggests.
Apartments and aparthotels are widespread and are the value option for three nights or more.
Camping is a genuine option. Ekeberg Camping is on the ridge above the city with a view over the fjord, on a tram line, open in summer. And allemannsretten — the right to roam — permits wild camping in the Marka, at least 150 metres from any house, free, entirely legally, twenty-five minutes from the centre on the metro. Norwegians do this.
Two seasonal warnings
Midsummer light. In June the sun sets around 10.45pm and it never gets properly dark. If light disturbs your sleep, confirm the room has blackout blinds — many do not, because Norwegians are used to it.
The Holmenkollen Ski Festival in March and the 17 May Constitution Day weekend fill the city. Book well ahead or move your dates.