Elegant Oslo has well and truly left behind its pillaging past. The city exudes respectability with its well-tended parks and gardens, its litter-free sweeping streets and groomed inhabitants. But that's not to say its sterile - more low key, if you will. And low-key doesn't mean boring - well, unless you happen to bear a very large grudge against world-class museums, lively cafes, good restaurants and the odd packed-out festival in the summer.

Oslo is very much a city designed with its long cold winters in mind, boasting more than 50 museums to entertain and inform through all those hours of darkness. The most obvious starting point is the Munch-museet, home to all the works of Norway's most renowned artist Edvard Munch. Only a small number of the several thousand paintings, prints, drawings, engravings and photographs are ever on show but the most famous stuff is on permanent display - well, when thieves don't try to take it for themselves, that is.

The National Gallery is a little short on works by international artists but fans of Norweigan art will be able to feast their eyes on works by the country's top talents. History buffs should make for the Kon-Tiki museum to catch a glimpse of the balsawood raft on which Thor Heyerdahl made his 1947 journey across the Pacific from Peru to Polynesia.

And of course, a visit to see some genuine ninth-century Viking ships is not to be sniffed at so head to the Viking Ships museum to see three little beauties retrieved from ritual burial mounds in southern Norway.

Those who are planning on making the monumental circuit of all the city's cultural attractions would be well advised to invest their kroner in an Oslo card, valid for either 24, 48 or 72 hours. It may not be cheap but it will give you access to all the museums you care to visit, not to mention unlimited free travel on the local transport system.

When you start to feel a little claustrophobic, it's time to make for the Frognerparken to ogle Oslo's renowned open-air sculpture park, the Vigelandsparken. It's like taking a quick trip into your childhood imagination with posing bronze figures, a foaming central fountain and a twenty-metre high obelisk surrounded by groups of granite sculptures all vying for your attention. Those who have even the slightest interest in the man behind the park, Gustav Vigeland, will find the nearby museum stuffed with random bits and pieces from his life and work will sufficiently fill in the background details.

Summertime is when all the Norweigans come out to play and the city comes alive with café culture, street entertainers and festivals. But the biggest playgrounds are a short ferry ride away from the city centre in the archipelago of low-lying, lightly forested islands in the inner Oslofjord - perfect for a spot of sunbathing and gentle relaxation.

Once night falls, then bar-hopping around the city centre is a good way to pass the time. Those who just want a drink should make tracks to Karl Johans gate but for those looking for something a little more fashionable should head to the Grünerløkka and Grønland districts or the chic bars of Hegdehaugsveien and Bogstadveien. Once you start, you don't have to stop until the early hours but your money will probably run out before then anyway.

Norwegian restaurants have also had something of a face-lift in recent years, offering a range of international cuisine as well as Norweigan staples including fresh North Atlantic fish and elk, caribou and salted dried cod for those with a more adventurous palate. Just make sure you have sufficient funds in your bank account to pay the bill afterwards.

Oslo is a very grown-up city but there's also a lot of fun to be had if you delve beneath the sophisticated veneer. Just be warned - good times in Oslo do not come cheap.