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During my journey through Norway at the end of August I'll have a 4 hour layover in Oslo. My train arrives on 07:04 at Oslo sentralstasjon and the train departs on 11:01 from the same station. This is on a Tuesday.

I've never been to Oslo before and was wondering if I could do some sightseeing in this short time. I'll probably leave my luggage in the lockers so I'll have more mobility.

I would want to avoid using public transport for more than a few stops as that might result in a delay and missing my train, so preferably the sights should be within 1 hour walking distance of the train station.
Shops/malls and the like are mostly the same across Europe so I am not interested in those.

I am interested in historical sites and buildings that can be found in Oslo. Also a nice quiet vantage point from which I can overlook the city and eat some breakfast would be fantastic, but I'm not sure if that exists.

Saaru Lindestøkke
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    Why the downvote and close-vote? I don't see how my question is different from these previous questions. – Saaru Lindestøkke Jul 29 '14 at 16:49
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    Wasn't me, but there's always the WANTA debate and its associated off-topic close-vote reason. Note two of your example questions predate this meta-question. Ideally you'd argue in favor of policy change on meta instead of testing your luck by emulating questions on the fence, but I understand you've got a personal, time-sensitive interest in your specific question, of course...Hopefully this will make good material for the debate, which could at least use more definition regarding where to draw the line. – Nick Stauner Jul 29 '14 at 17:42
  • @NickStauner Thanks for pointing the WANTA debate out. However, all close reasons are set to "primarily opinion based" not to the reason "off-topic because WANTA" (which became available as a result of the meta post you linked to). Hence I'm still at loss why there are so many close votes. – Saaru Lindestøkke Jul 29 '14 at 18:24
  • Yeah, that's bizarre to me too. Basis in opinion is a factor in the WANTA debate, but your approach seems more pragmatic: "Can I see anything [short of the absolutely mundane] in Oslo with less than 4 hours, inclusive of travel to/from the airport?" as opposed to, "What would a person like me [with unspecified interests] enjoy in Oslo [within my budget / miscellaneous other constraints, all also unspecified]?" – Nick Stauner Jul 29 '14 at 18:42
  • "what to see in X" is really opinion based. Oslo is not small and there are so many places worth visiting. You should be much more specific if you want your question to stay open. – Dirty-flow Jul 29 '14 at 19:53
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    I realise Oslo is a big city, but I'm not asking what to do in Oslo generally (which would deserve a close), but in a limited timeslot early in the day. I'm afraid adding more details (e.g. I'm interested in ancient architecture) would make it too specific. Is there any way I can make this question more suitable for Travel.SE? – Saaru Lindestøkke Jul 29 '14 at 20:02
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    @BartArondson IMHO adding more details would make the question on-topic – Dirty-flow Jul 29 '14 at 20:28
  • Yeah, "too specific" is a much rarer problem network-wide...Definitely err on that side. Getting you what you're looking for is the primary goal, but not wasting our time taking potshots in the dark is a close second! Broad appeal to whomever else might pass through later is a somewhat more distant tertiary priority AFAIK. – Nick Stauner Jul 29 '14 at 20:43
  • I think the question as it stands now is a good one. There are not many things to see in Oslo, especially with the little time early in the morning that the OP has. Even some of the suggested places in the answer below might need to be discarded because they might not yet be open that early in the morning. – adipro Jul 30 '14 at 09:20

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The Royal Palace is easily reachable by foot from the train station - just follow Karl Johans gate ("gate" is Norwegian for "street", not an actual gate).

Aker Brygge is a nice place to watch the harbour.

The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet is also nearby if you're interested.

Akershus Fortress from 1290 and the Viking Ship Museum should fit the "ancient architecture" ticket mentioned above nicely.

l0b0
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