Oslo City Ambience

Oslo is the capital of Norway.

The city centre is relatively quiet, compared to other capitals. There are, however, a lot of sounds to hear.

Birds can be found all over the city all year round. The relative silence of the city is regularly broken by the bells of the city hall tower and, on Sundays, by the bells of the numerous churches.

Public transportation is a big part of the traffic noise of Oslo. The heavy, Italian made trams are felt before they are heard. The overhead power lines rattle and the rails screech as the trams rumble past you.

The metro trains are barely audible above ground as they pass through the tunnels in the city centre. In the residential areas on the outskirts, the metro trains exit their tunnels and run on ground level.

If you leave the city centre, you’ll find noisier industrial areas and major highways, but you can also give your ears a rest in the quiet forests to the north.

This sound effect collection is our attempt at capturing the sonic fingerprint of Oslo.

Pictures of every recording location included in .zip file.