Hotels in Oslo, Norway

A little about Oslo...

Oslo is the capital and largest city of Norway. It is also a municipality, and a county of its own. The city of Oslo was established as a municipality on 3 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was separated from the county of Akershus as a county of its own in 1842. The rural municipality of Aker was merged with Oslo on 1 January 1948 (and then transferred from Akershus county to Oslo county).

The population of the city proper is 548,617 (as of January 1, 2007).[1] The city area extends into the surrounding county of Akershus, its agglomeration totaling 839,423[2], and its metropolitan area, also referred to as the Greater Oslo region (Stor-Osloregionen) and which extends beyond the city boundaries, has an estimated population of 1,121,020 citizens (2005) and a land area of 6,920 km². Oslo has a current annual growth exceeding 15,000. The city centre of Oslo is situated at the end of the Oslofjord from where the city sprawls out both to the north and to the south on both sides of the fjord giving the city area more or less the shape of a U. In the entire Oslo Fjord Region there is a total population of about 1.7 million.

The urban municipality (bykommune) of Oslo and county (fylke) is the same entity. Of Oslo's total area, 115 km² is built-up and 7 km² is agricultural. The open areas within the built-up zone amount to 22 km².

Shoppings:
There are four main shopping areas in Oslo:

Grønland is one of the city's most trendy areas. The most multicultural places in Oslo where you can find all kind of food and clothes from around the world. There are some of the most popular desi shops in Grønland.
The downtown close to the main pedestrian street 'Karl Johans gate', including stores like Steen & Strøm and Glassmagasinet -- a smaller version of stores like Macy's or Selfridges, as well as some large shopping centres (Oslo City and Byporten)
Bogstadveien/Hegdehaugsveien, starting behind the Royal castle stretching up to Majorstuen, with upscale shopping, the more famous designers as well as typical high street shopping. The nearby Frogner is among Oslo's most exclusive areas.
Grünerløkka has stores by modern designers among placed the large parks, as well as numerous bars and restaurants. Grünerløkka is "Oslo's Greenwich Village": formerly a working class area, it is now one of the city's most trendy areas.

Universities:
University of Oslo (Universitetet i Oslo)
Oslo University College (Høgskolen i Oslo)
Norwegian School of Management (Handelshøyskolen BI)
Norwegian School of Information Technology (Norges Informasjonsteknologiske Høyskole)
Oslo School of Architecture and Design (Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i Oslo)
Norwegian University of Sport and Physical Education (Norges idrettshøgskole)
Norwegian Academy of Music (Norges musikkhøgskole)
Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology (Det teologiske Menighetsfakultet - MF)
Oslo National Academy of the Arts (Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo KHIO)
Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Universitetet for Miljø og Biovitenskap-UMB) located right outside of Oslo
Norwegian Military Academy (Krigsskolen)
Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (Norges Veterinærhøgskole)
Oslo Academy of Fine Arts (Statens kunstakademi)
Oslo now has over 50 schools, colleges and universities in itself alone.

Transports:
Oslo Sentralstasjon is the main railway station in Oslo. From there, there are connections in the directions of: Trondheim, Bergen, Stavanger, Stockholm (Sweden), Gothenburg (Sweden) and Copenhagen (Denmark). In 2004 Norwegian trains were Europe's third most punctual national train company. During winter in particular, weather conditions such as snow and blizzards may cause delays and cancellations on the routes crossing the central mountains.

Oslo Airport, Gardermœn served by high speed train (Flytoget)
Sandefjord Airport, Torp (in Vestfold county about two hours, or 110km away)
Moss Airport, Rygge (In Østfold couty, 60km away)

There are daily ferry connections to Kiel (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Frederikshavn (Denmark) and Nesodden.

Public ferries run daily to and from the islands scattered in the Oslo harbour basin.

The public transportation system in Oslo is managed by the municipal transport company Oslo Sporveier. This includes metro, tram, bus and ferry, but not the local train lines, which are run by the state railway company NSB. All public transport in Oslo operates on a common ticket system, allowing free transfer within a period of one hour with a regular ticket. Tickets also transfer to the local and inter-city trains, unless you intend to cross the city border. In 2004, 160 million journeys were made using public transport, of which 85% was handled by Oslo Sporveier's own subsidiaries and 15% by private bus and ferry operators under cost-based contracts.