22 min
30 min
35 min
4 · 5 · 11 · 12 · 17 · 18
14.7 / km²
4
3
2,447
−10% vs city
Counted from OpenStreetMap and Inside Airbnb (CC BY 4.0)
Mixed after dark
The Akerselva river path on the western edge, from Grønland up past Kuba, is the stretch Oslo police advise against after dark. Walk back along Thorvald Meyers gate instead; it is lit and busy.
Staying in Grünerløkka
Grünerløkka is the old workers' quarter east of the Akerselva: Thorvald Meyers gate, Olaf Ryes plass, Birkelunden, the Mathallen food hall at Vulkan. It has the highest bar density in Oslo and the best value for a stay of a week, and the borough runs much further north and east than the bit visitors mean - Carl Berners plass, Løren and Hasle are all in it.
The honest reason to book here is money. A room or apartment costs noticeably less than the same thing in Frogner or Sentrum, and the food follows: this is where you eat well in Oslo without paying Aker Brygge prices. The honest reason not to is transport. There is no metro station in Grünerløkka proper. You get trams 11 and 12 down Thorvald Meyers gate, and 17 and 18 along Trondheimsveien, which take about ten minutes to the centre and stop running long before the bars do.
Pick your street. Thorvald Meyers gate and the squares are noisy from Thursday to Saturday until closing at 03:00, and these buildings are 130 years old with the glazing to match. One block east into Sofienberg or Rodeløkka and it is a residential district. The Akerselva path along the western edge is the pleasant way to walk into town by day and the one route the police tell you to avoid after dark.
What works
- Rooms and apartments cost well under Sentrum and Frogner rates
- Best concentration of bars and restaurants in Oslo, on one street
- Trams 11 and 12 reach Karl Johans gate in about ten minutes
- Sofienberg and Rodeløkka, one block east, are quiet and cheaper again
What does not
- No metro station: trams only, and they stop before the bars close
- Thorvald Meyers gate is loud until 03:00 Thursday to Saturday
- About 22 minutes on foot to the centre, and none of the sights are here
- Mostly apartments rather than hotels, so no reception and no breakfast
In this area you will find lower prices and more intense nightlife and items for sale than otherwise in Oslo.The police advise that the area along the Akerselva river from Grønland to Cuba is best avoided after dark. It is known for instances of rape, muggings and drug dealing.