Oslo's Backstreets, Islands and Weekend Markets

Oslo's headline sights cluster along a single waterfront mile, which is convenient and slightly misleading. The city that residents actually inhabit is elsewhere: up a river valley full of old factories, along wooden lanes that survived a century of demolition plans, out on islands twenty minutes from the town hall. None of it requires a tour, and most of it requires nothing but a transport ticket.

Key facts

• Transport: one Ruter ticket covers trams, metro, buses and the public fjord ferries
• Best neighbourhoods to wander: Grunerlokka, Gronland, Vulkan and the Akerselva riverbanks
• Season note: island ferries and outdoor markets are warm-season affairs; the forest works year-round
• What it costs: almost everything here is free

Damstredet and Telthusbakken

Two crooked lanes of small wooden houses in the middle of a modern capital, painted in ochre and oxblood, leaning gently downhill. They survived because nobody got round to knocking them down, and today they are the most photographed five minutes in Oslo that most visitors never find. The old graveyard beside them holds several of Norway's cultural giants.

The Akerselva river walk

The river that powered Oslo's industry now makes the best walk in the city. Start at Vulkan, where the Mathallen food hall occupies the old industrial quarter, and follow the water north past waterfalls, brick mill buildings, swimming holes and student graffiti. It is a couple of hours end to end, and it explains the city's history better than any museum.

Grunerlokka and the Sunday market

The old working-class east side is now Oslo's most enjoyable neighbourhood to loiter in: independent shops, record stores, vintage racks and a cafe culture that takes coffee extremely seriously. On warm-season weekends, Birkelunden park hosts a flea market that is the correct way to spend a Sunday morning — check current dates locally, as the season varies.

Gronland

One tram stop from the centre and a different city: Turkish bakeries, Pakistani grocers, spice shops, the covered Gronland Bazaar and the best cheap eating in expensive Oslo. Come hungry and with cash.

Ekebergparken

A hillside sculpture forest on the eastern ridge, free and open always, with major modern works scattered through the trees and the best view over the fjord and the city. The hillside is also where Edvard Munch is said to have conceived The Scream — stand there at dusk and the connection is not hard to make.

The fjord islands

The public ferries from Aker Brygge run on ordinary transport tickets, which turns an archipelago into a bus route. Hovedoya has ruined Cistercian monastery walls, bathing coves and picnic meadows. Gressholmen and Langoyene are quieter and more Robinson Crusoe. Bring your own food; facilities are minimal by design.

The forest at the end of the metro

Ride the metro to its northern terminus and step straight into Nordmarka, the vast forest where Oslo goes to walk, ski and swim. Sognsvann lake, one stop earlier, has an easy flat loop that suits anyone.

Tip: Buy a 24-hour Ruter ticket and treat it as an all-day pass to the fjord. Metro to the forest in the morning, ferry to an island in the afternoon — two of Oslo's greatest experiences, on one cheap ticket.