Oslo Shopping

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Oslo is the best place in the country for buying anything Norwegian. Popular souvenirs include knitwear, wood and ceramic trolls, cheese slicers, boxes with rosemaling, gold and silver jewelry, items made from pewter, smoked salmon, caviar, akvavit, chocolate, and geitost, the sweet brown goat cheese that can be found in just about every Norwegian kitchen. Norway is famous for its colorful hand-knit wool sweaters, and even mass-produced (machine-knit) models are of top quality. Prices are regulated, and they are always lower than buying a Norwegian sweater abroad.

Prices in Norway, as in all of Scandinavia, are generally much higher than in other European countries. Prices of handmade articles, such as knitwear, are controlled, making comparison shopping pointless. Otherwise, shops have both sales and specials—look for the words salg and tilbud. Almost all shops are closed Sunday (by law, only shops 100 square meter or smaller can be open).