Not everyone gets a prize for visiting Oslo

Q&A: Beware the house-full signs

Is it a good place to stay? Any hotelier wondering where their next customer is coming from might want to look at opening up in Oslo. In early June, there is not a hotel bed for love nor money to be had. Various excuses were given as to why the city was full: Norwegian Wood, a music festival, was due to start; conferences; the weather; but none of these washed. There just are not enough hotels in the city.

What's the food like? Think fish. When you eat herring for breakfast, whether in mustard, dill or fennel sauce, you can understand why the Vikings went marauding. They were in search of croissants.

And the natives? The locals are friendly and all speak very good English, often with no trace of an accent. They do get a bit lively in the evenings, but that is only to be expected. They are very straightforward, honest and uncomplicated.

It is not just Nobel prize-winning laureates who might want to travel to Oslo, the capital of Norway. While the city can be dark and gloomy in the winter months, which last from October to April, the short spring and summer months are marked by an outpouring of activity that gives the place tremendous charm.

Like many things in Scandinavia, the city works well. The public transport connections are fast and efficient. From the airport you can find yourself in a high-speed train that whisks you to the central station. From there tram and bus links take you all over the city.

Rather like the residents of the UAE, Norwegians like their shopping centres, probably for the same reason: they create a pleasant environment that is not affected by either searing sun or bucketing rain or snow. Oslo is not a cheap place to shop, but it's convenient.

Aker Brygge is the newest shopping centre, built on the site of an old ship building yard and featuring a range of shops and restaurants, a cinema and a harbour. You can't beat a shopping centre with a harbour.

You can get a boat from the harbour to the Oslo Opera House, the city's iconic new building that was completed only in 2008. A blend of marble, glass and granite, it rises from the water like a volcanic island. It's the largest building constructed in Norway for more than 700 years, when Nidaros Cathedral was completed in Tronheim. It is popular during the day as a place to visit - it's probably the only opera house in the world that allows you to walk on its roof - and as home to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet it puts on a variety of modern and traditional shows, but thanks to the city's small population, there were still tickets available for Peter Grimes on the day.

The business district is easy to access and well served by trams. Taxis are also readily available but are quite expensive. Etihad Airways flies there via Paris or London.