New Year’s Eve 2026 in Oslo

By the ULTIMATE Oslo Editorial Team

Fireworks: where to watch, and the rules on the night

The City of Oslo no longer organises a fireworks display on New Year’s Eve, and private fireworks are banned in the city centre. That does not make for a dark midnight: rockets go up all around the city, and VisitOSLO names the places to watch them from Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen on the harbour, Ekebergsletta on the hill to the east, and Grefsenkollen and Holmenkollen above the city.

The city’s own rules are precise. On New Year’s Eve, approved fireworks may be set off outside Ring 2 between 6pm and 2am. Inside Ring 2, and in the old wooden-house districts of Vålerenga and Kampen, there is a total ban. Rockets with sticks are banned everywhere, nobody under 18 may set fireworks off, and private visitors may not bring fireworks in from abroad.

Our advice: the ground is often icy at midnight. VisitOSLO suggests buying crampons for your shoes at a pharmacy before you set out to find your spot.

VisitOSLO: New Year’s Eve in Oslo →   City of Oslo: fireworks rules →

The Grand Hotel: Palmen, Eight Rooftop Bar and Grand Café

On Karl Johans gate, the Grand Hotel offers three ways to see the year out. Palmen serves a New Year’s buffet in two sittings, 4pm–7pm and 8pm–11pm, at NOK 1,695 per person, booked online; the restaurant stays open until 1am, with the kitchen closing at 10.30pm.

Up on the roof, Eight Rooftop Bar opens from 8pm to 1.30am, overlooking the city and its midnight fireworks. There is no cover charge until 10pm; after that it is NOK 300 per person, with a glass of bubbles at midnight. Tables are booked by email to eight@grand.no with prepayment, there is room for 70 guests and the age limit is 21.

Downstairs, the hotel’s Grand Café serves a four-course New Year’s supper on Thursday 31 December, with tables from 5pm, at NOK 1,300 including a glass of Champagne on arrival; a wine package can be added.

Our advice: Eight holds space for walk-ins, but with only 70 places, arrive before 10pm or book a table. The hotel also sells a New Year stay with breakfast in Grand Café the next morning.

Grand Hotel Oslo: Grand New Year’s Eve →   Grand Café: New Year’s supper 2026 →

Dinner with a view: Sommerro, the Opera House and Ekeberg

At Sommerro, on Sommerrogata, TAK, on the eighth floor, serves a five-course New Year’s menu where Norwegian ingredients meet Japanese flavours, with an aperitif, at NOK 2,495, before a countdown over the city. Downstairs, Ekspedisjonshallen serves four courses with an aperitif and live jazz (NOK 1,995); wine packages are NOK 1,095 or NOK 1,695. The Izakaya bar has a Japanese-inspired sharing menu.

In the Opera House itself, Brasserie Opera serves a five-course New Year’s menu with a glass of Champagne from 5.30pm (NOK 1,429), with views of the fjord and the city’s fireworks. Cancellations must be made seven days ahead.

On the hill above Bjørvika, Ekebergrestauranten serves four courses with coffee from 7pm, last arrival 8.30pm, at NOK 1,895, and stays open until 12.30am. Inside Akershus Fortress, Festningen Restaurant serves five courses with an aperitif from 7pm (NOK 1,595).

Our advice: Ekeberg is next to Ekebergsletta, one of the city’s best places to see the fireworks; book for 8pm and walk out at midnight.

Sommerro: Christmas and New Year’s →   TAK Oslo: New Year’s menu →   Brasserie Opera: New Year’s Eve 2026 →   Ekebergrestauranten: New Year’s Eve 2026 →   Festningen Restaurant: New Year’s Eve →

Parties, a show and an evening in the forest

High above the city at Voksenåsen, “New Year’s Eve at the top of Oslo” opens with an aperitif and a pianist in the salon from 5.30pm, then a festive dinner at 7.30pm (four courses NOK 845, five courses NOK 995), a torch-lit path through the woods, and the terraces at 11.45pm for the fireworks over Oslo, with bubbles at midnight. The bar and dancing go on until 1.30am.

Wallmans Oslo, in Mølleparken at Grünerløkka, stays open for a dinner show with a five-course menu, live music, dance and acrobatics, from 6.30pm, from NOK 1,595. On Youngstorget, Byens Tak fills its top floor with DJs from 10pm to 2.30am, over-20s, with tickets for guaranteed entry if you arrive by 12.30am.

VisitOSLO: New Year’s Eve at the top of Oslo →   Voksenåsen: tickets →   Wallmans Oslo: New Year’s Eve →   VisitOSLO: Byens Tak →

La bohème at the Opera House

The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet plays Puccini’s La bohème on the Main Stage at 3pm on Thursday 31 December, in R. B. Schlather’s new production, leaving the evening free for dinner. It runs 2 hours 30 minutes with one interval, and returns on Saturday 2 January at 6pm, with performances until 16 January.

Our advice: tickets were marked “few tickets” when we checked; book now, and take dinner at Brasserie Opera in the same building afterwards.

Operaen: La bohème →   Operaen: programme →

New Year’s Day and practical advice

VisitOSLO warns that few places open on New Year’s Eve, and recommends booking a table or tickets ahead. On the day itself, MUNCH opens 10am–2pm, the Fram and Kon-Tiki museums 10am–5pm and 10am–3pm, and the Norsk Folkemuseum 11am–4pm.

On New Year’s Day, Friday 1 January 2027, much of the city reopens: MUNCH 10am–6pm, the Fram and Kon-Tiki museums 10am–5pm, the Holmenkollen Ski Museum and Tower 10am–4pm, and the Vigeland and Ekeberg sculpture parks are open all day and night.

Our advice: start the new year with a walk in Vigeland Park, then climb the Holmenkollen tower for the view over the fjord.

VisitOSLO: Christmas and New Year opening hours 2026 →

Questions and answers