Akerselva River Walk and Local Food Tasting

Whenever an Oslo local has friends or family visiting, one place is always on the must-do list: The Akerselva River Walk. An experience suited for just about anyone, this beloved walk has the perfect contrast of city and nature, culture and history.

Your tour starts at Jernbanetorget at our base camp right outside Oslo Bike Rental on the east side of Oslo Central Station. After a short introduction and briefing from your Tour Guide, you will hop on one of the city's commuter trains bound for Maridalen Lake. This lake is one of Oslo's main drinking water sources and also the headwaters of the Akerselva River. We will start our walk just below the lake next to the Technical Museum at Kjelsås. The beginning of the walk meanders through forest and residential areas dotted with colorful wooden houses typical of this part of "city". Here you will learn a bit about the natural history of the river and the cultural significance it holds for the people of Oslo.

Soon you will start to see a change in the landscape surrounding the river as we start to move into the more industrial heart of the city. Here old factories harnessed the power of the Akerselva and damns were created leaving beautiful waterfalls for us to enjoy. Just like a lot of the world, the Industrial Revolution completely changed Norway and nowhere in the city is it more evident then along the banks of the "Aker River" (Akerselva). Here your Tour Guide will tell you a bit about this storied history, as well as it's impacts on the river itself.

If time allows we will take a detour up to the beautifully preserved wooden houses and community gardens of Telthusbakken and Damstredet (Oslo's "most instagrammed street")

Our tour will end in the once industrial, now modernized Vulkan area, home to the much loved Mathallen. Here, your Tour Guide will take you inside of the food hall and drop you off at one of the food vendors called Helt Vilt (Translation: Totally Wild) for your food tasting. Before saying goodbye, your Tour Guide will give you a public transport ticket and explain the easiest way back to the city center. Alternatively, we encourage you to spend some more time in this wonderful part of the city, possibly exploring the hip Grunnerløkka neighborhood, or by continuing along the Akerselva foot path all the way to where it empty's into the fjord.

This tour is one of our favorites and one of the best ways to spend a few hours in the city while still feeling close to nature!

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Photo Credits: Maverix, Visit Oslo, Didrick Stenersen, Tord Baklund

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