Aker Brygge

Aker Brygge occupies the site of the Akers Mekaniske Verksted shipyard, which built ships here from 1854 until it closed in 1982; the redevelopment that followed through the late 1980s was the first large waterfront conversion in Norway and set the pattern for others. Some of the industrial buildings were kept and reworked, with new glass and steel added, and the result is a promenade along the water lined with restaurants and bars, offices and apartments above, and the ferries to the Oslofjord islands and Nesodden leaving from the quays. A footbridge leads on to Tjuvholmen with the Astrup Fearnley Museum and a small city beach. In summer the terraces are full from midday.

History

Before the shipyard the area was called Holmen, an old yard where small industries and a suburb grew up in the early 19th century. Akers Mekaniske Verksted set up its shipyard here in 1854 and closed it in 1982. The developer Aker Eiendom rebuilt the site in four stages: a few old industrial buildings were pulled down while several of the big workshop halls became shopping arcades; the first stage, by the architects Telje, Torp and Aasen, was finished in 1986, and the last, the Storebrand insurance building on Munkedamsveien, in 1998. A new master plan reorganised the streets between 2010 and 2014, and the district now counts some 12 million visits a year (Wikipedia, Aker Brygge).

Highlights

• The converted shipyard - industrial buildings reworked into a waterfront quarter.
• The promenade - a pedestrian quay along the harbour.
• The island ferries - departures for the Oslofjord islands and Nesodden.
• The Tjuvholmen link - a footbridge to the art museum and city beach.

When to go

May to September, when the outdoor terraces are open and the fjord ferries run frequently; the quarter is quiet and windswept in winter, though the restaurants stay open.

Practical notes

Prices here are among the highest in Oslo and the restaurants are aimed at tourists and office workers rather than locals. The architecture is 1980s commercial. It gets very crowded on warm evenings.

Nearby

Tjuvholmen and the Astrup Fearnley Museum are next door; City Hall and the National Museum are close.

Key facts