Name a world famous city you've visited where you cannot seem to find what is so great about it? (cliquey, 2013)
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I do wish people would elaborate don't you? That way this thread may just have a chance to become useful! Perhaps they would like to tell us 'why' they find Oslo so 'boring'? Perhaps they could start by telling us what it is Oslo 'lacks' compared to other cities?
It lacks enough classical buildings and tree-lined boulevards like those of Stockholm for one thing. It's more modernist.
Whether it's as good as Stockholm is a matter of personal taste, however I personally rate Oslo and a lot of the Scandinavian cities, and they are great places to visit.
Last edited by Brave New World; 08-05-2021 at 04:54 AM..
I had the good fortune to travel around the world in my job for 15 years and here are my comments:
- Rome I would say I didn't much like. Yes the Vatican and the museums are nice but the city itself did not wow me and I didn't find the people very friendly.
- Moscow I also didn't like because the people were not friendly and are passively aggressive and at the time I was there, it was very expensive (now changed), and the food was mediocre and architecture boring (except for the pre-communist era buildings.
- In the USA, I would say LA doesn't overwhelm as it's a desert, is super expensive and the people aren't especially friendly.
- Dubai is the best city in the Middle East but still it has a fake façade to it that isn't real and it's super hot.
It's mainly down to heavy taxes on alcohol and even sugar for health reasons, these taxes are known as 'sin' taxes. Some Norwegians go abroad to stock up on goods as it's cheaper due to these taxes.
The average household net-adjusted disposable income in Norway per capita is USD 35 725 a year, higher than the OECD average of USD 33 604 a year, and although slightly above average it does not account for the high price of alcohol.
There have been some reports of a post-covid rethink of the 'sin' taxes in order to help kick start the economy, however I have seen little beyond proposals.
It lacks enough classical buildings and tree-lined boulevards like those of Stockholm for one thing. It's more modernist.
Someone who thinks Oslo is a fun city must be a boring person. I was in Copenhagen and I wouldn’t ever come back. It’s one the most boring cities with such a weird vibe. 1-2 days are good enough. I bet Oslo is even more boring with the same sterile modern buildings. Unfriendly and cold people. I remember walking around 9pm and the city was dead in the middle of summer.
Someone who thinks Oslo is a fun city must be a boring person. I was in Copenhagen and I wouldn’t ever come back. It’s one the most boring cities with such a weird vibe. 1-2 days are good enough. I bet Oslo is even more boring with the same sterile modern buildings. Unfriendly and cold people. I remember walking around 9pm and the city was dead in the middle of summer.
I've been to OSlo, it is certainly nothing that will blow you away.
Four days in Oslo will feel like it's way too much time for that city. (That is what I spent there), after two days I felt like there is nothing else to do other than sit around and drink coffee, I literally counted the hours I had left before I would fly out and on my last day I went to the airport almost seven hours before the plane was set to leave because there was literally nothing to do)
But many capital cities in Europe are like that.
These are the list of capital cities where I felt that after one or two days you literally had nothing to do there.
Bern (one day is enough)
The Hague (1 1/2 days)
Dublin (2 days is more than enough)
Reykjavik (one day)
Oslo (one day)
Helsinki (1 1/2 days is ok)
Bratislava (one day will do)
Zagreb (1 1/2 days will do)
Warsaw (1 1/2 days is enough)
In fact even outside European capitals, a lot of European cities that tend to be tourist magnets can also get old pretty fast after a day or two.
As for Stockholm, I'd say after three days Stockholm starts to get old. But once again, no one said Scandinavia is entertainment/party central. You go there to isolate yourself and to look at trees and throw rocks at a lake when weather permits.
It's mainly down to heavy taxes on alcohol and even sugar for health reasons, these taxes are known as 'sin' taxes. Some Norwegians go abroad to stock up on goods as it's cheaper due to these taxes.
The average household net-adjusted disposable income in Norway per capita is USD 35 725 a year, higher than the OECD average of USD 33 604 a year, and although slightly above average it does not account for the high price of alcohol.
That's adjusted for purchasing power. Norway's income is much higher than other European countries except Switzerland and Iceland.
Someone who thinks Oslo is a fun city must be a boring person. I was in Copenhagen and I wouldn’t ever come back. It’s one the most boring cities with such a weird vibe. 1-2 days are good enough. I bet Oslo is even more boring with the same sterile modern buildings. Unfriendly and cold people. I remember walking around 9pm and the city was dead in the middle of summer.
I refuse to believe that the population if Oslo are all unfriendly, cold people clones, do you have anything to actually back up that unfair accusation? In what way exactly does Copenhagen have a 'weird vibe'?
I refuse to believe that the population if Oslo are all unfriendly, cold people clones, do you have anything to actually back up that unfair accusation? In what way exactly does Copenhagen have a 'weird vibe'?
Yes, my friend. People in Denmark are very reserved and cold. It’s a very unfriendly city too.
It has a weird vibe, there’s a park in the middle of the city where people have stalls selling drugs. They advertise it as a liberal hippy cool and trendy part of the city with its own rules but it’s horrible. It’s just full of druggies and weird people. I left straight away. Then, you see a lot of people hanging out by themselves or even at the cemetery. The city is very quiet but in a weird way, I don’t know how to describe it. I left to Madrid which was completely the opposite. It’s harsh from me to say that Oslo will be like that but the city itself doesn’t seem appealing. I would love to go hiking around Norway tho.
I've been to OSlo, it is certainly nothing that will blow you away.
Four days in Oslo will feel like it's way too much time for that city. (That is what I spent there), after two days I felt like there is nothing else to do other than sit around and drink coffee, I literally counted the hours I had left before I would fly out and on my last day I went to the airport almost seven hours before the plane was set to leave because there was literally nothing to do)
But many capital cities in Europe are like that.
These are the list of capital cities where I felt that after one or two days you literally had nothing to do there.
Bern (one day is enough)
The Hague (1 1/2 days)
Dublin (2 days is more than enough)
Reykjavik (one day)
Oslo (one day)
Helsinki (1 1/2 days is ok)
Bratislava (one day will do)
Zagreb (1 1/2 days will do)
Warsaw (1 1/2 days is enough)
In fact even outside European capitals, a lot of European cities that tend to be tourist magnets can also get old pretty fast after a day or two.
As for Stockholm, I'd say after three days Stockholm starts to get old. But once again, no one said Scandinavia is entertainment/party central. You go there to isolate yourself and to look at trees and throw rocks at a lake when weather permits.
I haven’t been to any of those cities. But my list would be:
CPH
Frankfurt
Canberra
Quebec
Auckland
Santiago Chile
Kuala Lumpur
I haven’t been to any of those cities. But my list would be:
CPH
Frankfurt
Canberra
Quebec
Auckland
Santiago Chile
Kuala Lumpur
oh world wide my list of two day cities would be:
Houston
Orlando
Tampa
Panama
Atlanta
Dallas
Medellin
Vancouver
Ottawa
Brugge
Rotterdam
Cologne
Frankfurt
Munich
Zurich
Geneva
Bilbao
Any city in France outside Paris and Nice.
Any city in the UK outside London.
too many to name actually.
On the other hand the cities where I felt I would need more than a wekk to absorb the place wholly would be:
Buenos Aires
Bogota
Mexico city
Sao paulo
NYC (But not Manhattan, rather the boroughs)
Paris (outside the cliche tourist zones)
Napoli
Rome
Madrid
Athens
Southern European and Latin American big cities need time to connect with them because cultures are eclectic there, plus extremely sociable which means tons of situations and places to witness.
Three day cities would be
Amsterdam
Toronto
Chicago
LA
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