Myths and Legends evening walk review
Read this first: this walk is age 13 and over only, and it is not wheelchair accessible and not suitable for walkers with mobility impairments. Those are the listing’s own conditions and they rule some people out before the rating matters. My verdict: it is the only one of the six with genuinely different material, it reads 4.8 from 517 reviews, and in June you will be walking it in broad daylight.
The limits, before anything else
Age 13 and over only. Not suitable for people with mobility impairments, and not wheelchair accessible. I put those at the top of every page where this walk appears, because a rating is no use to somebody the walk will not take. If you are travelling with younger children, the daytime walks are the ones to look at. If step-free matters, two of the six state mobility limits and the rest are quiet about it, which is its own kind of answer.
The only one of the six that is actually different
Four of the six walks in Oslo trace the same central kilometre, and a fifth traces it in German. This one walks a good deal of the same ground — the City Hall, Christiania Torv, Akershus Fortress — and tells you something else entirely while it does. Norwegian folklore and Viking belief rather than architecture. Bankplassen and its history of robberies rather than the Parliament and its completion in 1866. It is the same street plan used as a different set of hooks, and it is the reason this is the only walk on the site I would happily recommend as a second walk after one of the daytime ones.
In order: the City Hall, then Norwegian folklore and Viking belief, then Christiania Torv, then Akershus Fortress, then Bankplassen and the robberies. The after-dark walks page covers the practical side, and the classic daytime route shows how much of the overlap is real.
June is not dark. December is.
Oslo sits at about 59.9 degrees north, and the swing between midsummer and midwinter here is large. An evening walk in June happens in broad daylight — you will be hearing about Viking belief and street robberies while the sun is still well up over Aker Brygge. The same walk in December is genuinely dark, and the useful daylight is a short window in the middle of the day. Neither version is worse, but they are not the same evening, and people book the June one expecting the December one.
If atmosphere is the reason you are booking, come in the dark half of the year. Walking Oslo in winter goes through what that actually means on the ground, and the season-by-season page weighs it against everything else.
What the reviewers say
Four tenths of the file belongs to one guide, which is worth knowing in advance.
- “We loved learning about some unique history and Norwegian lore.” James, United States
- “We learned SO much about Oslo.” Michele, United States
Michele was writing about a guide named Maria. So was Caroline, from the United Kingdom, who called her excellent and very knowledgeable, and Virginia, from Australia, who called her knowledgeable, humorous and kind. Three of the four reviewers I have on file name the same guide. On 517 reviews that is not a concentration risk the way it would be on a file of twenty, but it does tell you the material rewards somebody who can tell a story rather than recite one.
Where it meets, and what it includes
The swan fountain by the entrance to Oslo City Hall, on Fridtjof Nansens plass. The square is open on the fjord side and the wind comes straight up it in the colder months, so dress as though you will be standing still for ten minutes before you start walking, because you will be. Hotel pickup and drop-off is included, along with all taxes. Food and drink are not. What to wear on an Oslo walk is mostly about layers, wind and what your shoes do on cobbles, and Christiania Torv is cobbled.
What works
- The only walk of the six with genuinely different material
- 4.8 from 517 reviews — the third-largest sample in Oslo
- Hotel pickup and drop-off included, which only one other walk offers
- Folklore, Viking belief and crime rather than architecture and dates
- Works as a second walk after a daytime one, which none of the others do
- Genuinely atmospheric in the dark half of the year
Worth knowing
- Age 13 and over only — younger children cannot come
- Not wheelchair accessible and not suitable for mobility impairments
- In June it runs in broad daylight, which is not what most people picture
- Food and drink are excluded
- Guided in English only
- Much of the ground overlaps the daytime walks, even though the material does not
What the listing commits to
- A guide for two hours
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- All taxes
- Folklore, Viking belief, Christiania Torv, Akershus Fortress and Bankplassen
What it does not
- Anyone under 13 — the age limit is firm
- Wheelchair access, or suitability for mobility impairments
- Food and drink
- Darkness, if you come in June
Fridtjof Nansens plass is one of the colder places to stand still in central Oslo between November and March, because it is open towards the water at one end and the City Hall funnels whatever is coming off the fjord straight down it. The swan fountain is on the City Hall side. Stand with the building at your back.
Who should book it, and who should not
Book it if you have already done a daytime walk and want the same streets told a different way. Book it if folklore, Viking belief and crime history interest you more than the completion date of the Parliament. Book it between roughly October and March if atmosphere is what you are after.
Do not book it if anyone in your party is under 13, because they will not be allowed on. Do not book it if anyone needs a wheelchair or has a mobility impairment, because the listing states plainly that it is not suitable. Do not book it as your only walk in Oslo if you want the standard introduction to the city — that is the central Oslo walk. And do not book it in June expecting darkness. The evening walks page has the rest.
The alternatives
Both of these run in daylight and neither carries an age limit.
Most reviewed by farOslo: Guided Walking Tour of Central Oslo with Local Guide
Shortest walkOslo: City Center Walking Tour
English or GermanOslo: Best of Oslo Walking Tour
Frequently asked questions
Can children go on the Myths and Legends evening walk?
No. It is age 13 and over only, which is the listing’s own condition rather than a guideline. It is also not wheelchair accessible and not suitable for walkers with mobility impairments. The daytime walks that do take younger children.
Is the evening walk actually dark?
In December, yes, genuinely. In June, no — Oslo sits at about 59.9 degrees north and a June evening here is broad daylight. Same walk, same route, completely different feeling. Walking Oslo in the dark half of the year.
Is this walk wheelchair accessible?
No. The listing states that it is not wheelchair accessible and not suitable for people with mobility impairments, and it carries a 13 and over age limit as well. Which of the six state mobility limits.
Where does the Myths and Legends walk meet?
At the swan fountain by the entrance to Oslo City Hall, on Fridtjof Nansens plass. Hotel pickup and drop-off is included as well. The square is open towards the water and cold when the wind is up. All five meeting points described.