Forget Vienna, Oslo Is the European Cultural Capital to Visit Now

DAY 1
Check into The Thief, a 118-room, canal-side property owned by Norwegian billionaire Petter Stordalen in Tjuvholmen. The hotel (rooms from $351; +47 2400 4000) joins a neighborhood that’s become an art world destination as part of the Fjord City urban renewal project on the Oslo waterfront.

Next door, the Astrup Fearnley modern art museum (Strandpromenaden 2; +47 2293 6060) shows pieces by Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, and, in February, Takashi Murakami, the artist’s first show in Scandinavia. Grab a Neapolitan espresso from Paradis Gelateria (Lille Stranden 4; +47 2283 8300), and explore Tjuvholmen’s booming experimental art scene with a visit to Galleri Haaken (Tjuvholmen allé 23; +47 2255 9197), where Norwegian rising-star painter Tone Indrebø is showing his whimsical landscapes this winter.