hellomoe

Hello!

My husband and I are planning a slightly impromptu 3 days in Norway in November, flying to Oslo from Paris. We'd like to stay somewhere not all new and shiny (such as downtown Oslo), but somewhere more scenic and traditionally norwegian (my husband's family is entirely norwegian, but we've never been). Fjords, sweaters, and trolls galore, you know ;-)

If you can recommend somewhere to stay in Oslo, or easily accessible from Oslo, that would be great. Planning this trip pretty quickly and would like to book airbnb or cheap hotels sometime today.

Thanks!

dyoll

Lillehammer - http://en.lillehammer.com/ Easily accessible by direct train from Oslo airport (might of course depend on which airport).
November is definitely off-season - dark, cold, and wet. You have perhaps an over-romanticised view of Norway at this time of year. Oslo would offer you far greater choice of hotels, restaurants, and things to do and good public transport if you want to use AirBnB and the cheaper hotels.

nytraveler

Oslo is not a large city - not is it especially new and shiny - although of course it isn;t in the deep countryside. It is very manageable on foot and I would focus on the city given the potential for not great weather that time of year - with royal palace, museums, etc.

Also, just so you know Oslo is situated on a fjord.

Frankly we found the norwegian countryside to be dreary even in Sept (lots of scrub oak and ground cover type plants - not beautiful, heavily wooded rolling countryside interspersed with farms and orchards that you find in NY).

Yes, there were some cute town with wooden stave churches - but then you would have to pick a town specifically for that. And yes, fjords are gorgeous but best seen by boat

historytraveler

I'd stay in Oslo for the reasons mentioned above. Lovely city. Take a day trip out to Bygdoy.

RM67

Oslo is an attractive city with tree lined avenues of grand old houses, converted warehouses on the quay, plus the peninsulas like Bygdoy have an almost villagey feel with beautiful cottages. No need to feel you are in some shiny modern nightmare if you don't want to (though there is some decent modern architecture too, and I am a fan of 30s-60s and modernism in general).

I really need to take issue with Nytravelers repeated assertions that Norway is not a beautiful country - this is just not true. There are a some flatter areas in the south, but much of the country is rugged and mountainous, twisty hairpin roads, towering waterfalls and beautifully bleak valleys - it's not just the fjords themselves that are attractive.

nytraveler

Well we all have our likes and dislikes. To me bleak and beautiful are antithetical.

hellomoe

Thanks so much for the replies. Dark, dreary, and cold is to be expected (we're from Minnesota so we can deal with that)... it's my husband's favorite weather, unfortunately for me! You all have me feeling better about Oslo in general, though I think we train out of the city as well.

If anyone has recommendations for food or anything else, I'll take them. Pickled herring and the like aren't for me, but the husband eats it up.

HappyTrvlr

Downtown Oslo is not new and shiny. Beautiful setting too.

historytraveler

I'd have to say Norway is the most beautiful country I've been to, and I've been to all the European counties. That said, I did visit in May.

Unfortunately, I only had a couple of nights in Oslo, and I ate at my hotel the first night after a very long train ride and delayed arrival. The next evening at a French Bistro. Both were good. I'll see if I can come up with the name of the bistro. I have Scandinavian ancestry but don't eat fish.

nytraveler

Yes, there is a lot of fish but you can get around the herring (I don;t eat it). Lots of Salmon - which is delicious and tons of other nice fish and seafood. Not big on beef - but chicken is OK to - and you may well find reindeer on the menu.

menachem

and Pizza Grandiosa, kebab, sushi, etc.