Oslo has around 720,000 people in the municipality and about 1.1 million in the wider urban area. Norway has 5.6 million.
The number that actually matters: roughly two-thirds of the municipality is protected forest and water. Oslo is a small city inside a very large green boundary, and that is the single most important fact about living in or visiting it.
The layout
Sentrum — the centre — runs from Oslo S at the eastern end of Karl Johans gate to the Royal Palace at the western. Fifteen minutes on foot.
Bjørvika, east of the station, is the new waterfront: the Opera House, MUNCH, the library, the Barcode towers. All built since 2008 on what was a container port.
Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen, west of the City Hall, are the older waterfront redevelopment.
Grünerløkka, north-east across the Akerselva, is the neighbourhood to spend a day in.
Frogner and Majorstuen, west, are the wealthy residential districts with Vigeland park.
Bygdøy, the peninsula to the west, holds the museums.
Nordmarka and the rest of the Marka begin where the metro ends.
The east–west divide
The Akerselva was historically the class boundary, and it still shows.
West of it: wealth, older money, higher property prices and longer life expectancy. East of it: the industrial districts, the immigrant communities, and most of Oslo’s cheap and interesting food.
Oslo discusses this openly — the gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest districts is a recurring subject in Norwegian politics, and it is measured in years.
The language
Norwegian, with two official written forms — Bokmål, used by the large majority and by Oslo, and Nynorsk, constructed in the nineteenth century from rural dialects. Both are official; the arrangement is a live political matter.
English is spoken by essentially everybody under seventy, fluently, and Norwegians will switch the moment they hear you struggle.
Worth knowing: å is “aw”, ø is like the French eu, æ is a flat “a” as in cat, kj is a soft “sh”-ish sound. So Grünerløkka is grewner-lukka, Bygdøy is big-doy, and Akershus is ah-kers-hoos.
Takk — thanks. Hei — hello. Skål — cheers. Ha det — bye.
The manner
Reserved, direct and unfussy. Norwegians do not make small talk with strangers and this is not coldness — it is a genuine cultural preference for not intruding. Nobody will sit next to you on a half-empty bus.
They are also, once a conversation starts, straightforward and helpful, and there is very little formality or hierarchy in how people speak to each other.
Janteloven — the Law of Jante — is the ironic name for the social norm against thinking yourself better than others. It is invoked constantly, half in complaint.
Punctuality is expected. Queuing is orderly. Shoes come off indoors, always, in every home.
Money and the state
Norwegian krone (NOK). Norway is not in the EU — it voted against twice — but is in the EEA and Schengen.
Effectively cashless. Card or phone everywhere.
Alcohol above 4.7% is sold only by Vinmonopolet, the state monopoly, with restricted hours and none on Sundays. See what you should know.
Where to start
Three days in Oslo for a route, getting around for the ticket that includes the ferries, and how much Oslo costs before you plan an evening.