Hotel Christiania Teater

It’s not just the proximity to Oslo’s National Theater that gives the Hotel Christiania Teater its name. This classic edifice opened in 1917 as a theater and an office building, and it’s lived a storied life since then, playing a supporting role in the history of Norwegian opera and drama. These days the auditorium is used for private events, and for our purposes, it’s what’s upstairs that’s important; the offices have been replaced with some of Oslo’s most stylish luxury hotel rooms.

The style is contemporary, but with plenty of awareness of the building’s history, and more than a little ornament — the sparse minimalism that’s so often associated with the Nordic nations is nowhere to be found. And while the rooms start out a touch on the cozy side, by the time you’re in a Deluxe, with its king bed, to say nothing of a junior suite, you’ve got ample space to spread out.

A pizza restaurant and a wine bar with an extremely extensive selection round out the hotel’s offerings, and while they’re much more than adequate, they’ve got help. This neighborhood is just about as central as it gets in Oslo, placing you within easy reach of no end of restaurants, bars, shops, and cultural attractions — for an introduction to the Norwegian capital it’d be difficult to top.