Guidebook Updates for Norway

For books printed before July 2024, the following may apply:

• The Bryggen Walking Tour now runs daily mid-May–mid-Sept at 11:00 and 13:00.
• Bus and tram tickets can now be purchased with the Skyss app, but are no longer available at convenience stores. You can also now pay on board with a card (and buses still also accept cash).
• Bergen City Bike rents bikes all over town through their Bergen Bysykkel app.
• The Beffen — the ferry that chugs across the midpoint of the harbor — no longer runs on Saturdays (just Mon–Fri).
• There are currently no guided tours of Håkon's Hall and Rosenkrantz Tower, but they may return later in 2024.
• Troldhaugen (Edvard Grieg's home) is now closed on Mondays (new hours: Tue–Fri 11:00–16:00, Sat–Sun until 17:00). The home no longer hosts evening concerts.
• KODE Art Museums have renamed their buildings: KODE 4 is now "Lysverket" (contemporary art), KODE 3 is now "Rasmus Meyer" (international and Norwegian artists, including Munch), KODE 2 is now "Stenersen" (contemporary art), and KODE 1 is now "Permanenten" (decorative arts). Major renovations are planned for Permanenten and Lysverket that could involve closures in coming years.
• The Ulriken643 Cable Car is now open later in high season (until 23:00). It is now closed Mondays in the off-season.
• The Hanseatic Museum on the Bryggen harborfront is closed for renovation until 2028. However, the newly redone Hanseatic Assembly Rooms (Schøtstuene) are open to visitors (guided tours are offered daily at 11:00 and 16:00).
• Buses running to the Gamle Bergen Museum are now #3, #4, #12, #16E, or #19. Guided tours of Gamle Bergen are now only offered on weekdays (ask at the museum).
• Enhjørningen Restaurant is now closed on Sundays.
• Guest House Skiven has closed.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may also apply:

• The shuttle bus between the Hanseatic Museum to the Fisheries Museum has stopped running. To link the two, it's an easy 15–20-minute walk or a 20-minute ferry ride. Buses also connect the two museums in 5 minutes.
• The Bergen Card now covers the Norwegian Fisheries Museum and gives you 20 percent off the admission price at the Schøtstuene (Hanseatic Assembly Rooms).
• Several recommended restaurants have closed: Anne Madam, Lido, and Dickens.
• Bergen YMCA Hostel has permanently closed.
• The correct email address for Thon Hotel Rosenkrantz is [email protected].
• The correct email address for Thon Hotel Orion is [email protected].
• The correct email address for Citybox Bergen City is [email protected].
• Bergen's tourist train is no longer running.

For books printed before July 2024, the following may apply:

• It's no longer possible to do the Nutshell trip as a same-day loop from Oslo — the transit connections don't work. (It does still work to do the Nutshell as a day trip from Bergen.)
• The boat company formerly called "The Fjords" is now Norway's Best (though the boats are still labeled "The Fjords"). They now run just one boat (rather than different "classic" and "premium" boats), and it now takes two hours to get between Flåm and Gudvangen.
• The twisty road called Stalheimskleiva, which had led to the Stalheim Hotel between Gudvangen and Voss, is permanently closed following a landslide.
• The Torget Café in Flåm has closed.
• The Aurland Fjordhotel is now Hotel Aurlandsfjord, and is part of the Norway's Best group, with new contact information: +47 94 86 21 00, [email protected].
• The Vangsgården Guest House in Aurland no longer rents rooms in the Aabelheim Pension.
• Duehuset Pub in Aurland is now the Vangsgården Gastropub.
• Undredal Overnatting is no longer bookable at the Undredal Bryggje Café.

For books printed before July 2024, the following may apply:

• OsloGuideservice has gone out of business. But licensed guide Pål Johansen offers Oslo walking tours when not leading Rick Steves tour groups, and has helped considerably with the Rick Steves Scandinavia guidebook ($300/half-day tour, $550/full-day tour, [email protected]). If Pål's not available, the easy-to-work-with Oslo Guidebureau can tailor a tour to meet your interests (+47 22 42 28 18).
• The Viking Ship Museum is closed while it undergoes a multiyear expansion. It's scheduled to reopen, as the Museum of the Viking Age, by 2027. In the interim, some exhibits may be on display in the University of Oslo's Historical Museum, and you can see a real Viking boat at the National Maritime Museum.
• The Munch Museum has reopened at a new location on the harbor, facing the Opera House at Bjørvika.
• The National Gallery has reopened as part of the National Museum.
• The Nobel Peace Center now closes at 17:00 (mid-June–July open daily from 10:00, but otherwise open Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00, closed Mon).
• A "Munch–Bygdøy" ferry now operates April–October between Bygdøy island (with the Kon-Tiki and Fram museums, and currently closed Viking Ship Museum) and the Bjørvika neighborhood (with the Munch Museum).
• Comfort Hotel Karl Johan has a new email address: [email protected].
• Perminalen Hotel is now in use by the military only.
• Villa Marie has closed.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may also apply:

• Viking Biking no longer offers walk-up rentals; you must reserve in advance (daily flat rate of 2,000 NOK for 1–10 bikes, includes helmet, lock, and map).
• On Olaf Ryes Polass, dive bar Ryes has closed.
• On Olaf Ryes Plass, Quesadilla (Mexican fare) is now Skaal Matbar (sophisticated small plates).
• Ma Poule wine bar (in the Mathallen Oslo market) is now called Galopin.
• Troy's Burger, on Torggata, has closed.
• Pisco restaurant, on Badstugata, has closed.
• Ellingson's Pensjonat is now Villa Marie.
• Comfort Hotel Karl Johan's phone number is now +47 23 01 03 52.
• Thon hotels have changed their email domain from "thonhotels.no" to "olavthon.no" For example, the new email for the Rosenkrantz location is now [email protected].
• The House of Oslo shopping mall has closed.
• Open Top Sightseeing no longer runs hop-on, hop-off buses in Oslo.
• Båtservice no longer operates bus tours of Oslo.

For books printed before July 2024, the following may apply:

• Holland Norway Lines no longer runs a ferry between Kristiansand and Eemshaven.
• Valle Motell has closed.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may apply:

• In Balestrand, the Pilgrim restaurant in the Golden House Gallery building has closed.
• Sjøtun Camping (in Balestrand) has closed for good.

For books printed before July 2024, the following may apply:

• Parts of the Stavanger cathedral may close to visitors for restoration as the church gears up to celebrate its 900th (!) birthday in 2025.
• The Maritime Museum is closed for renovation, likely until summer 2026.
• Sjøhuset Skagen restaurant has closed.
• Several recommended restaurants have changed names: Vågen Spiseri (in the fish market) is now Fisketorget, Renaa Xpress (inside the cultural center) is now Sirkus Renaa, and the Skagen Bageri lunch spot is now called "No. 18."
• There is now a high-speed option for touring the Lysefjord: Stavanger RIB, which operates an inflatable Zodiac-style boat that runs from the harbor three times a day in the summer.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may also apply:

• Rødne Clipper Fjord Sightseeing is now Rødne Fjord Cruise and runs daily bus trips and cruise-plus-bus combo trips to Pulpit Rock. Bus tours from Stavanger to the Rock are now operated by Go Fjords and Pulpit Rock Tours; Tide Reiser and Boreal no longer run these buses.
• The underwater Ryfast Tunnel is now open. Bus tours to Pulpit Rock and travelers with cars use the nine-mile tunnel, which burrows under the sea at Stavanger and emerges near Solbakk on the other side (140-NOK toll). From there it's a short drive on highway 13 to the parking lot and trailhead at Pulpit Rock.
• There is no longer a viable bus connection between Bergen and the ferry that departs from Kristiansand, Norway, to Hirtschals, Denmark. The ferry is still running.