Getting around Oslo is unusually simple for a European capital, because one operator runs everything and one ticket covers all of it. Understanding that in the first hour saves both money and a great deal of standing at machines.
One ticket, everything
Ruter operates the metro, trams, buses and the local ferries under a single zone system, and a 24 hour or seven day pass in zone 1 covers the whole city including the island boats. Buy it in the app before you get on anything.
The point most visitors miss: the fjord ferries to Hovedoya, Lindoya and Langoyene are ordinary public transport, not excursions. The tourist fjord cruises leaving from the same waterfront cost many times more for a similar view.
The metro goes skiing
Line 1 climbs from the city centre up to Frognerseteren at 470 metres, passing Holmenkollen with its ski jump on the way, and the journey takes about half an hour. At the top there is forest, a view over the whole fjord, and in winter, snow and a toboggan run back down.
A capital city where the underground takes you to a ski slope is genuinely rare, and it costs the same as any other trip on the pass.
Walking and cycling
The centre is compact and the waterfront from Aker Brygge past the Opera House to Sorenga is entirely walkable in under an hour. The Opera roof is designed to be walked on and you should.
City bikes run from spring to late autumn and are taken away for the winter, which tells you something about the conditions.
Winter
Public transport keeps running and is well managed, but daylight is the constraint rather than snow. In December the sun is up for about six hours, so an itinerary planned around daylight needs to be compressed into the middle of the day.
Studded winter footwear is sold everywhere and is not an overreaction. The pavements ice up and the hills are real.
Practical
- The airport express from Gardermoen takes about 20 minutes; the ordinary regional train takes 25 and costs considerably less.
- Card payment works on everything. Cash is nearly obsolete.
- Taxis are expensive even by Oslo standards. Public transport is the default, not the economy option.
- Ferries to the islands run frequently in summer and on a reduced schedule the rest of the year.
The scope of this page
Transport in a city we do not work in. This agency arranges bookings in Athens and Mykonos only, has no presence in Norway or anywhere else outside Greece, and no one there represents it.
The page exists because a very large number of Norwegian travellers pass through Greece each summer. For that end of the journey, see Athens.
