Oslo downtown and River Walk: 4 hours

Starting downtown, we'll see major downtown sights including the Royal Palace, Parliament, City Hall, and Karl Johansgate, Oslo's main street. Then we will walk through the Æreslunden Cemetery where Henrik Ibsen and Edvard Munch are buried. Next, we pass Oslo's oldest existing building, the Old Aker Church and continue down Telthusbakken, a street with quaint, old wooden houses dating from the 1700 and 1800's and walk along the Akerselva River. The whole river walk is close to 10 kilometers, but we will do a shorter, representative portion where we'll see old factory buildings that were powered by the river, waterfalls, fish ladders for salmon and tranquil forest landscape. Leaving the river, we enter into the Grünerløkka district, built in the 1800's to house the River's factory workers. Grünerløkka was considered a slum area as recently as the 1980's. Today it is a trendy area with lots of shops and cafes. After walking through Grünerløkka, we follow the meandering Akerselva back to downtown Oslo.

This tour can start and end from any downtown hotel, cruise ship terminal or central point. The order of our tour may vary according to the starting point, but we will see these sights: The Royal Palace Norwegian Parliament Oslo City Hall Karl Johansgate, Oslo's main street Akerselva River walk, with waterfalls and old factories Telthusbakken, with quaint, old wooden houses Trendy Grünerløkka District Æreslunden Cemetery (Henrik Ibsen and Edvard Munch graves) Old Aker Church We can cover all of these sights walking at a leisurely pace (about 6-7 kilometers). But I can arrange a private car for part of the tour, if you think there may be too much walking. There is also a tram that goes from Grünerløkka to the city center. The tour can be extended by one hour to include the Oslo Opera House and the new National Museum or the Akershus Fortress area and Resistance Museum. It is also possible to extend the tour to hike further up the Akerselva River. Request a customized tour.