Oslo, the capital city of Norway, has a population of 630,000 people. It is a clean and quiet city that has an international reputation for having both a high standard of living and a high cost of living.

The city has a lot of green space and it’s full of museums ( all national museums are free on Sundays). From my experience, Oslo doesn’t appear to be overly hectic as the downtown area isn’t conducive for driving.

Here are a few of the major sites located in the downtown area:

*The Royal Palace

*Parliament

*View from the Akershus Fortress

A few notable things involving Oslo:

– Although sit-down meals are very expensive, there are a wide variety of cheaper options to eat on a budget. There are numerous ‘kiwi’ supermarkets located throughout the city along with plenty of kabob shops offering large pita wraps for 10$cdn. If you want to go really cheap, there are plenty of 7 elevens as well.

– Beer is sold in every supermarket but anything over 8% can only be purchased in national liquor stores. Alcohol is also heavily taxed and this revenue goes directly to programs that fight alcoholism. Keep in mind that you are not allowed to purchase beer after 630pm on Saturdays and not at all on Sundays. I learned of this at about 7:30 on a Saturday….

–  Apparently recreational drug use is on the rise and I recently read that Oslo is the meth capital of Europe.. Maybe just getting drunk isn’t so bad….

– Skiing is the national sport in Norway. However, during the summer it’s popular to play a type of game using a frisbee and a garbage bin. It’s some sort of frisbee/golf combination and I’ve seen all age groups playing this game.

– I rode the tram 5 or 6 times and didn’t see anyone get checked for a ticket so this is an easy way to save money if you’re open to a little risk.

– After being under Denmark and Swedish rule for over 600 years, Norway became independent in 1905.

– The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo at City Hall (below).

*I’m not too sure what this is (above) but it’s awesome..

Overall, I found Oslo to be a very nice city that isn’t as monetarily intimidating as its reputation would have you believe. Stick to the supermarkets and kabob shops and Oslo won’t break the bank!