A Well Balanced History and Food Tour with Focus on the Scandinavian Kitchen

Badge of Excellence

Oslo, Norway

3 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Get an insider's view of the history and traditions of the Scandinavian kitchen on this half-day tour in Oslo. This tour combines visits to Oslo historic highlights—such as Akershus Fortress, Parliament, Royal Residence, and the National Gallery—with eating and drinking destinations, including a traditional Norwegian canteen, the Freja Chocolatier, the main food market, and historic restaurants.

Learn about Norwegian history and food from your guide
Combine sightseeing tour combined with food-focused stops for a rounded experience
Taste some typical Norwegian food and avoid the language barrier
Visit spots you might not otherwise find and get tips for later

Sample Menu

Starter

Salmon Trilogy - example

I would recommend the salmon trilogy for the tour. 210,- pp.

What's Included

Professional local guide

Food and drinks, unless specified
Food and drinks, other than the "value added offers" specified in your guidebook

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Meeting point

Oslo Municipality, Oslo, Norway
I shall have a sign

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet

Aker Brygge

Oslo City Hall

Akershus Castle and Fortress (Akershus Slott og Festning)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions

Most travelers can participate
May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Angela_M

Our tour guide Tanya-Lisa was an exceptional tour guide. Very attentive to our needs. Very knowledgeable about the history of Oslo. She was extremely patient with us, especially when we couldn’t decide what we wanted to do. Tanya-Lisa was also very sensitive to some of us in the group needing to stop and rest on the walking tour. Tanya-Lisa also took us to the once a year market that wasn’t included on the itinerary. She is definitely a tour guide I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a great experience in Oslo!

Reviews

4.4

based on 29 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

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Exceptional Tour Guide, Tanya-Lisa!

Angela_M, Sep 2025

Not quite as advertised

Marjorie_B, Jul 2025

The tour was moderately interesting but we had hoped to get a little more history with the walking tour. Although we didn’t love the food, I do believe we got a small sampling of authentic Norwegian cuisine. However it wasn’t nearly as expansive as the advertisement would lead one to believe. We had several tastes of smoked salmon, some mackerel and lamb sausage, and a chicken sausage from what felt like a 7-11 type venue. While our guide was very personable, we had hoped to get a broader historical overview of the area. The guide pointed out a lot of places that we “should visit,” but didn’t give us much more than that. I don’t think it was a good value.

Response from Host, Jul 2025

This was a short (3 hour tour) booked on the day of the tour for 6PM. The main tasting venue is closed after 6, so I made a special arrangements for this client. The clients had different type of tastings in 3 very different parts of central Oslo. The clients admired some of the traditional tastings, but left them unfinished, saying that it was very good but too much to eat. I showed most of the main landmarks on the way including the Royal Palace, Akershus Fortress, main street etc. er The same tour was well met by other groups previously. I understand that expectations could be very different.

Very unprofessional guide

Laura_P, Sep 2024

The food is good. Guide was not. She started by sending me 8 messages changing time & meeting place twice. She talked non stop repeating herself often and giving us much wrong information. We walked at least 4 miles. At the end she asked if there was anything she could have done better. When I told her all the communication was confusing. She became very defensive. We tried to leave & she kept following us & trying to argue with me. I kept polite. Very disappointed. She was quite unprofessional

Response from Host, Sep 2024

It was Sunday, and the food tastings were limited. I did my best to accommodate this group and suggested doing the tour on Saturday or on Monday instead. I didn't get a reply to all my messages and our communication didn't work as it should. I suggested meeting at their hotel, which was normal and polite, but they preferred to meet at the Town Hall. So I had to change the meeting place to the Town Hall. We had to walk for a long time only because most of the tasting places in the centre of Oslo were closed on Sunday. Before the tour I explained the route and marked the locations on the map. I also offered to make tour a little longer, without extra payment. It is unfortunate that some of my messages were not delivered to the client via Viator chat/not answered. It's such a shame that my good will/extra effort was not appreciated and I received this complaint instead.

Tanya's Fantastic Food Tour

jerry_p, Mar 2024

Great combo history/food tour. We covered a lot of ground and saw a lot..l Very informative. The food stops were fantastic. Tanya took us to a salmon fishery company, raising salmon in the fjords attached restaurant, where we got a history lesson on how salmon is raised. We got to sample fiskekaker “fish cakes” and three different prepared salmon 🍣 bites: delicious. We then went to our favorite place, which was a commercial fish market with a tiny attached store, where they sell their products. We got to sample six different meats and fish including whale 🐳. (Whale not my favorite). We also hit an adorable cafe where we had Mosbromlefse, which is a caramelized goat cheese inside of a paper-thin crêpe-like thing that had sour cream on top. It was sweet and delicious. We ended with a coffee and tea at another cafe, after which Tanya dropped us back at our hotel. Four hours total. It might seem like small amounts of food, but we were completely satisfied.

Walking tour (with food bonus)

Erin_W, Jul 2023

The food we tasted on this tour was amazing - local dishes with quality ingredients. Our tour guide took us around the downtown area, pointing out important sites and making recommendations. She was very informative and had great communication leading up to the tour. Please note that the cost of the food is extra and not included in the posted price.

Excellent

Hannah_K, May 2023

We appreciated our tour guide’s sound knowledge of Oslo and Norwegian history, as well as her direction to visit unique places to eat with fresh food with good people. Fenaknoken har det was AMAZING and Erik was brilliant.

Great way to see and taste Oslo!

Christian_L, Mar 2023

What a great way to experience some authentic Norwegian food! Tanya-Lisa was our tour guide and an absolute pleasure. She went above & beyond to not only take us to some delicious food spots but also all around the city centre - giving us information & tips for our stay. We loved this tour and felt we saw Oslo in the best way. Definitely recommend!

Not worth the money

Larissa_S, Feb 2023

This tour was both good and bad. The good part was that it combined 2 in one. You are walking in the city center for 3 hours and the guide is telling you not only about the food but about the city and its history. So, if you have limited time, you might use this option. Keep in mind that you will not be full after the tour and do NOT do this tour on Sundays, when all restaurants are closed. Our guide was mostly telling us on Sunday how the food tastes, with an option of coming back to the restaurant on our own tomorrow. We only had 3 stops with 3 little tastings of OK food, such as fish soup, 3 types(3 small cubes) of smoked salmon and the last stop was a plate with thin slices of cold cuts. The catch was that this was a fish market store with options to buy some "Delicacies" which are highly overpriced on top of the tour cost. I bought some small samples and walked out -$90. Not worth it. Keep your wallet shut for this store.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

I would have to disagree with 2 stars. According to your review, you were very pleased with my work, as a Tour Guide. You had all 3 tastings, included in the tour price. There were no catch, but a free option to buy more local farm food to take with you. This option was not related to my performance as a Tour Guide. By the way, traditional farm food is much more expensive in Norway, than in any other countires. It is very hard to orginize any food tasting, just because there is no tradition to taste food in Oslo. You did not have to buy anything og spend -$90. It was your own personal choice.

If you are a foodie person you must take this tour!

Sandra_A, Jan 2023

Excellent tour! Our tour guide was excellent !We learned and experienced more than we expected. It was a very personalized tour! Great tasting. Had the opportunity to tried and live the rich gastronomy of Norway! A must for all foodies who visit Oslo!

Not so food tour

Catherine_M, Nov 2022

The tour guide is very knowledgeable but I wouldnt recommend this tour. Better to just do it yourself. Only went to 2 tasting. Salmon and Fenaknoken. If anything you can go to Fenaknoken yourself. They are very nice and welcoming.

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Unfortunately this Customer did not read the tour description fully. She did not book the tastings as recommended.

Highly recommended - history, culture and food of Norway

akshai_p, Sep 2022

Tania was absolutely great - very friendly, really knowledgeable and you could see that she had a true passion for the history of Norway. I didn’t come in with much knowledge of the history but left with a true appreciation for the past that shaped the country today. Whether it was City Hall, the Grand Hotel, the Royal Palace or the Oslo Waterfront - all created a wonderful experience and great memories. On the food side, Tania provided some great restaurant recommendations (and visited one of them, Rorbua - traditional Norwegian cuisine - that evening). There were a few food tasting options (absolutely delicious salmon prepared in several ways) but would have loved to have a few more tasting options along the way. I did do the tour on a Mon and the Food Market was closed so maybe there would have been more there. Overall, I highly recommend this tour to others looking to learn about Norwegian history and culture as well as the role that food plays in all that.