Doing business
Norwegians are well used to dealing with foreigners, but tend to be direct and punctual in manner. Visitors may not find meetings last a long time – which is no bad thing. There’s not much culture of having a drink after work, though newcomers may be fortunate enough to be invited to the home of one of their new associates. If travellers receive such an offer, avoid wearing shoes that can damage wooden floors! Norwegians work hard but leave the office punctually and don’t eat late. If you’re trying to grab a late bite to eat you may find you only have kebab shops to choose from.

Cool hotel
Hotel Bondeheimen (doubles from £69) is an excellent value, friendly and fashionably decorated hotel a few minutes from the Royal Palace and Sentral Station. It’s a great choice
for business travellers, and is fun and friendly to boot. See: www.bondeheimen.com

Hip restaurant
Onkel Donald Café Bar (Universitetsgata 26) is one of the most chic and stylish in the city. It has a buzzy ambience, stylish dining area and very good Norwegian food, and late on it morphs into a hip bar.

Happening bar
TeaLounge on Thorvald Meyers Gate in the trendy Løkka is a great place for tea, coffee or something stronger. It’s hip and stays open late on light summer evenings – look out for the early 20th century façade.

Must-see sights
Don’t miss the medieval Akershus Castle and Fortress and the excellent Munch Museum, showcasing the work of Scandinavia’s foremost artist. The metro ride to the Holmenkollen ski jump will give you a feel for what you’re missing by not exploring Norway further.

Getting downtown
There are regular FlyToget trains running between the airport and Sentral and Nationaltheateret stations, costing around £15 and taking 25 minutes. There are shuttle buses calling at major hotels too. If you come in on Ryanair, you’re 90 minutes from Oslo by coach.

The details
Norway is expensive. Eat anything more upmarket than a sit-down pizza and kiss goodbye to £50 – or even more if you fancy a bottle of wine. Remember Norway is not in the European Union; the currency is the Norwegian Kronor: £1=NOK12. There are no restrictions on stays of less than three months, after which you need a visa. Expect cold but not freezing weather in winter, and long, light, summers evenings. See: www.norway.org.uk

Getting there
Besides Ryanair flights that drop you a long way from the city centre at Oslo's Torp Airport, BA, SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian offer the best connections to the city, all flying to the city's main gateway, simply called Oslo Airport.

INSIDER’S TIP
“For great food and entertainment, you have to go to the Theatercafeen on the ground floor of the Hotel Intercontinental. The atmosphere is buzzing and menu range is great. It's the place to be seen and an ideal venue for meeting clients “
Capita Business Travel

cultural TIP
“Oslo is a high-tech expanding city attracting a great number of immigrants, making the city increasingly cosmopolitan, with nightlife to match. Norwegians are proud of the country’s achievements and riches, most of it created from North Sea oil. Oslo business people are generally highly educated and favour a consensus-based approach to work, and value work-life balance.”
Farnham Castle – an operator of intercultural briefings and language training for every country in the world

Compiled by Tom Hall on behalf of Lonely Planet. www.lonelyplanet.com

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