Oslo Travel Forum

Hello

I am trying to choose between OSLO and Coppenhague as my next vacation destination...

Oslo is tempting because I like Jarlsberg cheese (like Wallace & Gromit, I plan my cheese vacation!) but I have heard rumors that this is an expansive city with the prices in restaurants being very high for simple dish like pizza and drinking is prohibitive!

Are there any "locals" here who could shed light on this? Is it truly that much expansive to dine in Oslo? The hotel as included a breakfast so there are only lunch and dinner left to worry about and of course I like to go to a place where there are good cheese dishes (do you have any recommandations????? favorite dishes???)

thanks and happy travelling

Alcohol (in pubs and restaurants) is pretty expensive, yes. Eating out *can* be very expensive (depending on what you're comparing the prices here to;o), but it doesn't have to be. You can have a decent lunch in a cafe for less than 100 NOK - but if you want a pint of beer with your food you'll usually have to add at least another 50.

As for good cheese dishes...erm... nah. Can't think of any. We tend to use the Jarlsberg cheese on sandwiches here... ;o)

I'm not a local on any of those cities but I've been to both and I think Oslo is expensive food wise (didn't try night life so I can't comment) but then I found the accommodations and the public transportation to be quite cheap than in Copenhagen.

Hopefully others will give you a better insight. Enjoy your trip!

Can't you do both?

Jarlsberg cheese is not the best reason to visit Oslo ... but you will miss out if you do not go. We felt so well taken care of by the locals, it is beautiful, and has so much to offer it is worth searching for accomodations within your budget ... you can always eat less expensive food. Don't know about inexpensive hotels.

Copenhagen has a very definite personality and also has the marina and many places to walk around and enjoy the buildings, doors, canals, statues, very nice.

Can you split time between both places?

If you plan your trip carefully, including your budget for foods, accommodation and transport, you will find out that not everything in this beautiful city is expensive. You can visit their website at www.visitoslo.com. There you'll find some tips for budget Oslo. However, if you want tips on first hand experiences, visit the Oslo pages of our VT members here on this site. A lot of our co-members have wonderful and practical ideas to survive Oslo on a small budget.

oslo can be cheap if you know where to go....i lived on 40 kr a day for 2 months one summer...stay away from typical tourist places like akerbryggen, karl johan street etc when you are looking for something to eat. For lunch go to the grocery store, get some bread, cheese etc and have a picnic lunch in one of the many park. you can also get the bbq (use one time then -trow away) for 10-20 kr and get your meat at the grocery store and have dinner also in the park(depending on the time of year your planing to come). we often grill/bbq in the summer night in the park
you can get a cheese burger at mc donald for 10 kroner, a meal at grønnland (area in oslo) from 49 kroner....etc
with a daypass on public transport (bus, tram, ferry ) take one of the boats for island hopping if the weather is nice , also a great place to bring packed lunch or a bbq
free bus to ikea....cheap dinner and you get to see where the local lives ;-)

... well, if you're in a hotel where they have a breakfast buffet, bring a baggie and make a sandwich and grab an apple for later - they (buffet people) usually don't care, as long as you keep it light - one little sandwich and an apple or other fruit.

you will find Jarlsberg in any Norwegian city. No cheese restaurants but there is a shop in Oslo spcializing in cheese, located Majorstuen. Try the most Norw of all, 'brunost' brown cheese, often mistakenly called 'geitost' goat cheese.