Friday - Christmas market, Christmas lights and Christmas songs
Check-in:
Stay at a central location close to everything. Thon Hotel Terminus, Thon Hotel Rosenkrantz Oslo and Thon Hotel Astoria are located in the city centre, close to restaurants, shops and Christmas markets.
Afternoon:
Start at Spikersuppa and Jul i Vinterland, Oslo’s largest Christmas market. Buy mulled wine, ride the Ferris wheel and eat at the stalls, selling everything from doughnuts and crêpes to Indian and Mexican street food. The market is open daily from early November to early January, with the exception of Christmas Eve. If you want to visit more Christmas markets, we've put together some tips in Get into the Christmas spirit in Oslo.
Dinner:
Book a table at Katla on Universitetsgata. Icelandic chef Atli Mar Yngvason prepares dishes with Asian and Latin American flavours and the kitchen is built around open fire and grill.
Evening:
Stroll along Torggata and around Youngstorget, both festively decorated with Christmas lights. Continue to Raadhuset Bar near City Hall, a 1,200 square metre game hall with shuffleboard, darts, billiards, table tennis and karaoke. Book a game or karaoke room in advance and get ready to sing some Christmas songs. If you work up an appetite, the kitchen serves tacos, burritos and nachos.
Saturday - holiday shopping, lunch and sauna on the fjord
Breakfast:
Start the day with our award-winning breakfast - you'll need plenty of energy for an activity-filled day.
Late morning:
Walk or take the tram to Grünerløkka. Around Markveien and Thorvald Meyers gate, you'll find design shops, second-hand shops and coffee bars. Split up and hunt for Secret Santa gifts with a fixed budget and then meet again for lunch.
Lunch:
Mathallen by Akerselva has over 30 speciality shops, cafés and eateries under one roof. Buy food from each of their stalls and eat at the tables in the middle of the hall, where everyone can sit together.
Afternoon:
Head down to Langkaia and book a sauna at Oslo Badstuforening. They have two saunas, one with views of the Opera House and the other overlooking Hovedøya. Both have a changing room and shared jumping and diving tower. During the day, they offer drop-in sessions daily between 7 am and 7 pm and in the evening, you can rent one of the private saunas for the entire group. Warm up, jump into the fjord and repeat. A Santa hat is optional, but strongly recommended. If the sauna is full, KOK Oslo also has floating saunas on Langkaia, where each sauna can accommodate ten people.
Dinner:
Have dinner at Mamma Pizza Osteria on Dronningens gate, where two Italian brothers from Bologna make pizza using a family recipe and rent out the entire restaurant for parties of up to 30 people. Good to know if your group is a large one. If you're staying at Thon Hotel Astoria, you'll be right across the street.
Evening:
End Saturday with a concert. Blå by Akerselva on Brenneriveien is one of the city’s most famous concert venues, with everything from jazz and indie to DJ nights. Check out the schedule and buy your tickets well ahead of time because they sell out quickly in December.
Sunday - late breakfast and last-minute Christmas shopping
Morning:
Enjoy a relaxing morning and ask at reception if a late checkout is possible.
Late morning:
Rent ice skates at Spikersuppa and skate a few laps on the ice rink in the centre surrounded by Christmas lights. The ice rink is free. If you don't have your own ice skates, you can rent them for NOK 200 in the pavilion by the rink, open daily from 11 am to 9 pm in December, with the exception of Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Afterwards, you can do some last-minute Christmas shopping. On the last three Sundays before Christmas, lots of shops and shopping centres are open on Sundays and Karl Johan, Paleet, Arkaden and Oslo City are only a few minutes' walk away.
Brunch:
End the weekend at Lutlaget at Clemenskvartalet in Bjørvika, a bakery and brasserie in one. The baker is a former pastry chef at Maaemo and the cinnamon buns with vanilla cream are worth the trip alone. From here it is only a short walk to the Oslo central railway station.
Top 5 Christmas experiences in Oslo for groups of friends
- Jul i Vinterland and ice skating at Spikersuppa - Christmas market, Ferris wheel and ice cream in the city centre.
- Sauna and winter swimming at Oslo Badstuforening - warm up in the sauna and jump into the fjord together.
- Christmas karaoke at Raadhuset - shuffleboard, darts and Christmas songs with the entire group.
- Holiday gift shopping in Grünerløkka - boutique shops, local design and lunch at Mathallen.
- Concert at Blå - live music by Akerselva on Saturday evening.
Find a hotel in Oslo and gather your group of friends for a Christmas get-together.