Shopping in Norway

What to shop in Norway

All the major towns like Alesund, Bergen, Trondheim, Kristiansand, Tromso, Stavanger and Oslo have their town squares, around which you’ll find department stores, shops and markets.

Norway is an expensive country for most visitors outside of the Scandinavian region, so looking for reasonably priced gifts or souvenirs can be a challenge.

Things to buy in this country include knitted sweaters, watches, and jewellery. The local food is especially good, if you’re allowed to take food home.

Winter gear

Knitted Norwegian sweaters – Norway has a long tradition of knitting – the oldest piece of preserved knitted material dates back to sometime between 1476 and 1525.  So knitted jumpers and scarves in traditional Norwegian patterns and hats and gloves are plentiful here.

Norway has about six months of winter and the winters here are harsh. So there’s a good choice of quality cold weather gear like overcoats, wet weather gear and outdoor shoes.  They must have good shoes here as I’ve not seen a single Norwegian person slip in the icy winter conditions whereas the tourists, myself especially, are slip-sliding all over the place.

Watches
Apparently certain brands of expensive Swiss watches are favourably priced in Norway and are guaranteed to be genuine.

Jewellery
Goldsmith traditions go back more than 2,000 years. Today, as in the past, jewellers set high standards and undertake stringent quality controls with regards to the products being made.

Souvenirs
Other popular things to buy whilst on Norwegian holiday include troll figurines in wood, pewter, t-shirts, silverware, porcelain, hand-painted wooden articles, linen tableware, furs, glassware and ceramics.  If you’re interested in Sami handicraft, you’ll find these in the Finnmark region.

Christmas Decorations
Christmas is a special time for Norwegians and is celebrated in a very traditional way.  The shops are full of really beautiful Christmas decorations and worth exploring if you’d like a Christmas souvenir.  I did not see any cheap or tacky decorations.

Local Food
The Bryggen fish market in Bergen is famous for its seafood. If you can’t take food home with you, the next best alternative is to buy some of the fresh seafood and have it at wharf-side.

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