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.

What you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.