Identity card
Formalities Valid identity card or passport.
Time difference : none.
Currency Norwegian krone. 1 e = 8.1 NOK (Sept 2014).
Area code : +47.
How to get there
SAS operates 22 weekly services between Paris and Oslo, as well as 15 daily weekday services from Stockholm and Copenhagen.
Tel.: 0825 325 335 (bookings); 01 46 93 28 55 (groups) - Internet: www.flysas.com
Air France offers 21 flights a week between Paris and Oslo.
Tel: 36 54 or +33 (0)892 70 26 54. Internet: www.airfrance.fr
Norwegian offers seven flights a week to Oslo.
Tel: +47 67 59 30 00. Internet: www.norwegian.com
Hotels
Hotel Continental
Norway's only Leading Hotel, the Continental was opened in 1898 in an Art Nouveau building. In the 1930s, the owners acquired 12 paintings and lithographs by Munch, a regular visitor to the hotel. Today, copies of these works, jealously guarded in safes, are exhibited in attractive lounges. 155 rooms recently or soon to be renovated.
Stortingsgaten 24/26. Tel: +47 22 82 40 00 - Email: booking@hotelcontinental.no - Internet: www.hotelcontinental.no ; lhw.com
Rococo and rock'n'roll: the Grand Hotel d'Oslo combines
a late 19th-century charm with a very contemporary arty bent.
Gran Hotel
Located on Oslo's main thoroughfare, in line with the Royal Castle, the Grand Hotel has been one of Oslo's flagship establishments since 1874. During recent renovations, the owners gave Norwegian designers carte blanche to redecorate 13 rooms inspired by Nordic traditions. Not to be missed: 575, poetically named the Artic Room, or 654, the Ibsen Suite, a tribute to the great playwright born in Oslo.
Karl Johans Gate 31 - Tel: +47 23 21 20 00 - Email: grand@rica.no Internet: www.grand.no
The Thief
Opened in January 2013, this member of the Design Hotels family has it all. Contemporary spirit, works of art and 116 magnificent rooms that are colourful, soft, sometimes daring, but always cosy... A place that is truly in tune with the times.
Landgangen 1 - Tel: +47 24 00 40 00. Email: stay@thethief.com - Internet: thethief.com; www.designhotels.com
Grims Grenka
This 65-room hotel is one of the city's first design hotels, divided into two themes: summer and winter. The atmosphere is hushed and a little dark, but there is a lovely roof terrace where you can enjoy a drink in the evenings from June to September.
Kongens Gate 5 - Tel: +47 23 10 72 00 Internet: www.firsthotels.no
Restaurants
The Theatercafeena historic table in the capital
one of Edvard Munch's favourites.
Theatercafeen
Arctic fish all year round, langoustines in spring, moose and reindeer in autumn: the menu is very Norwegian, despite the Viennese café spirit of this legendary Oslo venue, a former haunt of Edvard Munch, whose lithographs - copies, unfortunately - adorn the walls.
Stortingsgaten 24-26 - Phone: +47 22 82 40 50 - Email: bord@theatercafeen.no Internet: www.hotelcontinental.no
The Kafé Celsius terrace allows you to appreciate the
the mild temperatures of long summer days.
Kafé Celsius
A large terrace with a fountain in the middle, Italian-inspired dishes based on local produce and a very Scandinavian atmosphere, which is best enjoyed in summer and autumn, when you can sit outside and enjoy the gentle sounds of the city.
Rådhusgt. 19 - Tel: +47 22 42 45 39. Email: post@kafecelsius.no Internet: www.kafecelsius.no
Café Skansen
In a pretty yellow building, on a square shaded by lime trees, you can enjoy the famous smorbrod on wooden or stone boards. Everything is deliciously presented and fresh every morning. Matjes", or herring, is king.
Rådhusgt. 32 - Tel: +47 24 20 13 11. Email: post@cafeskansen.no Internet: www.cafeskansen.no
Ekeberg Restauranten
It's a truly idyllic place, a magnificent white functionalist building from the 1920s, perched at the top of a hill in the middle of a forest, in a sculpture park. On summer days, you need to book a table on the terrace overlooking the Oslo fjord. And, not to be underestimated, the food is very good, especially the seafood.
Kongsveien 15 - Tel: +47 23 24 23 00. Email: post@ekebergrestauranten.com Internet: www.ekebergrestauranten.com
Information
Norwegian National Board of Trade and Tourism - innovation Norway
Tel: 01 53 23 00 50. Email: paris@innovationnorway.no Internet: www.visitnorway.com
Visit Oslo
Fridtjof Nansens plass 5 - Tel: + 47 81 53 05 55 - Email: info@visitoslo.com Internet: www.visitoslo.com
Franco-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce
Oscarsgate 27 - Tel: +47 22 42 57 00. Email: ccfn@ccfn.no Internet: www.ccfn.no
Ubifrance Oslo
Holtegaten 29 - Tel: +47 23 33 33 60 Email: oslo@ubifrance.fr Internet: www.ubifrance.fr/norvege
Practical guides
Oslo, Wallpaper, Phaidon City Guide (2012).
Oslo Cartoville, Gallimard (2014).
