A Tour Guide’s Guide – The Best Summertime activities in Oslo
People sometimes ask me on our Oslo tours where else in the world I would like to live, and I always have a tough time answering, because honestly, Norway is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. People on our Oslo bike tours and Oslo walking tours often tell us how blown away they are by the natural beauty of this place. Now, I’m definitely biased, but if you see Norway, any time of year, I’m positive you’ll agree. Norway gets four distinct seasons, so the activities available to you change depending on what time of year you visit. The city has a ton of events and happenings all year around. Let’s go on an Oslo bike tour to explore some of the things you can do during the warmer months in Oslo.
We’re on an Oslo bike tour, it’s a beautiful mid-May day. We bike along the water to the peninsula Bygdøy where we stop at the royal farm. The barn doors are opened and dozens of cattle pour out onto the fields, jumping and bucking from pure happiness! The “Kuslipp”, or “Cow release”, is when they let the cows out onto the fields for the summer. You’ve never seen happier animals in your life, as they jump and run around like they’ve been, well, locked inside all winter. We’re doing an Oslo walking tour on May 17, the national holiday of Norway. I, the guide, am wearing my “bunad”, which is the beautiful Norwegian national costume. Our Oslo tour walks past a procession of thousands of kids, almost all the primary schools in Oslo, who are walking along the main street to the royal palace. Everyone is waving Norwegian flags and congratulating each other on our national holiday. On an Oslo walking tour in June we walk to the Akershus Fortress, inside of which is the yearly medieval festival! There are jousting competitions, leatherworking stands and smithing stations, juggling troupes, storytellers and authentic bronze cannons firing blanks! Everyone is dressed in medieval garb and having a blast.
It’s summer and we’re on an Oslo bike tour around the city. We go past people eating waffles with brown cheese in the brilliant sunshine. When our Oslo tour reaches the royal palace, there’s a royal guard going around to all the guards outside the palace handing out cups of water in the heat. There’s a music festival going on, “Musikkfest Oslo” and music is being played wherever we go on our Oslo bike tour. “Mela” is another music festival that happens in summer, along with “Tons of Rock”, a rock and metal festival. At the end of our Oslo tour, we stop by Aker Brygge and park our bikes, jump in the water and sunbathe for a bit before heading back.
Norway is getting more and more popular as a tourist destination and for very good reason! Any time of year is a great time to visit, and summertime is no different! Hope to see you on an Oslo tour!