Christmas season highlights

Looking to take a city break before Christmas this year? With traditional Christmas markets, beautifully decorated neighbourhoods, first-class Christmas food, an abundance of holiday concerts and great local shopping, a pre-Christmas trip to Oslo guarantees plenty of cosy moments and heart-warming memories.

Charming, safe and walkable, yet large enough to offer a wide variety of experiences: Oslo makes it easy to create your perfect Christmas-themed weekend. Here are some suggestions for your itinerary.

Lively Christmas markets

Oslo's many Christmas markets are filled with holiday joys of many kinds.

The large Christmas market in Spikersuppa, right in the city centre, is open every day from 8 November. The market's charming shopping streets are filled with exciting gifts, delicacies, clothes, toys and much more, while the food stalls serve everything from traditional Norwegian donuts and roasted almonds to churros and Indian street food. Make sure to ride the market's iconic Ferris wheel for a great view of the Christmas-decorated city centre!

Magical holiday music

Christmas time is synonymous with Christmas concerts in Oslo. You'll find everything from orchestras to amateur choirs and local bands offering great musical experiences in the weeks before Christmas.

If for you, Christmas spirit goes hand in hand with human voices working together to perform beautiful Christmassy songs, we have good news. The event calendar if filled with local choirs and more professional vocal ensembles from mid-November until 22 December.

Top-notch Christmas food

Good meals are an integral part of the holidays, and some of Oslo's most traditional eateries really bring Norwegian Christmas fare to new heights. Time to sit down in good company and enjoy traditional holiday flavours in a stress-free environment! 

High above Oslo, with a beautiful view of the city and surrounding areas, Restaurant Finstua at Frognerseteren offers solid Christmas courses served in a friendly, traditional atmosphere. Their popular Sunday Chrismas buffet is perfect for families.

Hotel Bristol has cultivated Christmas spirit in the centre of Oslo for almost 100 years. At their restaurant Bristol Grill, Norwegian holiday favourites like ribbe (pork ribs or pork belly, bone in) and pinnekjøtt (dry-cured ribs of lamb) are prepared to perfection.

Lofotstua is a fun and informal alternative for all you lutefisk-lovers out there. In fact, lutefisk (cod cured in lye, in case you wondered) is the only item on the menu in December. Rumour has it that the restaurant fills up quickly these days, so make sure to reserve your table well in advance.

Lutefisk is also served at Lorry, a landmark among Oslo's restaurants, along with ribbe, pinnekjøtt and other interesting holiday favourites such as herring and smalahove – sheep's head.

Local Christmas shopping

Christmas shopping in local shops at Grünerløkka, Frogner or other charming Oslo neighborhoods is a popular December ritual - and a great opportunity to shop sustainably and support local businesses. Strolling between one-of-a-kind niche shops with beautiful window displays, perhaps with coffee or a good lunch along the way, certainly boosts the Christmas spirit.

You’ll have no shortage of ideas for unique and sustainable gifts ideas in clothing, food, toys, books, design and other nice things for your nearest and dearest. Oslo's many museum shops are also good places to look for something special.

Unique holiday roadtrips

Oslo surely is a nice place to be during the holiday season, but the region that surrounds the city also offers a great selection of authentic Christmas experiences.

A Christmas visit to Hadeland Glassworks is a cherished tradition for many Oslo region natives – and we hope you'll add it to your holiday favourites, too. The glassworks is Norway’s oldest industrial company in continuous operation, and an excellent choice if you're looking for some quality Scandinavian design to bring back home.

In addition to a large indoor Christmas market, Hadeland Glassworks offers a nice selection of family activities on weekends. With horse and carriage rides, children's workshops and meet-and-greets with Santa's little helpers, chances are you'll want to spend the whole day here.

The Royal Modum Blaafarveværk was established in 1773 to extract cobalt from the mines in the area, which was used in blue dye for porcelain and glass industries all over the world. In December, what's now a museum opens its doors for Christmas preparations in historic and peaceful surroundings.

Blaavarveværket's café Bødtkerkroa is a great place to sample traditional Norwegian Christmas meats, rice pudding and holiday cookies (you can buy some to go, too). There are three gift shops on the premises, including one that sells signature cobalt-coloured glass products.

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