Oslo

Country: Norway  Region: Europe
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Oslo Info

Oslo is the capital and largest city of Norway, and the third largest city of Scandinavia. In 2010 it was ranked as the most expensive city in the world.

Geography

Oslo, with its approximately 453 square kilometers, is one of the largest capitals in the world by area. Granted, most of this is forest, making Oslo a city in close contact with the nature surrounding it.
Oslo is situated in an amphitheater-like setting, with the city centre in the bottom close to the Oslo fjord, and residential areas stretching uphill from there in all directions. Behind the residential areas, the forested area of Marka (Nordmarka, Østmarka, Lillomarka) extends, with flora and fauna that is quite extraordinary for a city of this size. Moose are commonplace (easily spotted in winter), and the whole of the capital is part of Norway's wolf reserve (even if they rarely come here).
The Oslo fjord is an inlet of the Skagerrak bay, stretching inland from the North Sea towards Øresund and the Baltic Sea. Oslo has an impressive archipelago of islands, which in summer becomes the city's favoured playground.
The city centre is bounded by Oslo Central Station (Oslo S) to the east, the Royal Palace (Slottet) to the west and the seafront (from Akershus fortress to Aker brygge) to the south. It's a fairly compact area and easily walkable, Karl Johan, the mostly pedestrian main street connecting Oslo S and the Palace is the main artery of downtown Oslo. However, several of the neighbourhoods close to the centre hold interesting sights and entertainment offerings, so to explore these you should make use of the city's comprehensive public transport system.

Climate

Although well into the northern latitudes, Oslo's climate is fairly temperate thanks to warm air being wafted across the Atlantic from the Gulf Stream. Summer weather in Oslo is mild and pleasant, with frequent hot spells, and plenty of long sunny days. In winter temperatures hover just above or below freezing. Snow is most often plentiful in the forested areas and also often in the city in winter, making it a great winter sports venue. Rainfall is spread across the year, the rainiest month being August.

People

Oslo proper has a population of about 600,000 people, and around 900,000 including its extra-municipal suburbs (such as Bærum and Lørenskog). The Oslo metropolitan area has a population of around 1.4 million. The diverse population includes some of Norway's wealthiest celebrities and socialites, as well as more than 150,000 immigrants. This has made Oslo a highly ethnically and culturally diverse city, with 26% of the city's population being from a foreign country. Accompanied by a large influx of people from all around Norway, Oslo is thus often referred to as the "melting pot" of Norway. Cultural differences have affected Oslo's society and cityscape in matters of food, shopping, crime and so on, which have all blended in to the everyday life of Oslo's population. Some areas of Oslo, especially around Grønland and Tøyen, and many suburbs east of the city center have majority-immigrant or majority non-ethnic Norwegian populations. Depending on the area, the most notable immigrant communities are Pakistani, Somali, Swedish, Sri Lankan, Iraqi, Polish, Vietnamese, Iranian, Ex-Yugoslavian, Moroccan, Turkish, Albanian, Filipino, Thai and Danish. Pakistani immigrants, and children of Pakistani immigrants form the largest minority group in Oslo.

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