Fans of the fictional detective are keen to explore his Oslo stomping ground, says author Jo Nesbø
Ed Grenby - 21 April 2026
“It’s unreal. I just pretend it’s not happening,” says Jo Nesbø, creator of Netflix’s Detective Hole series and the 60-million-selling books that came before it. But is he talking about his hero’s troubled personal life? The occult mystery at the heart of the show’s plot? The police corruption that allows nefarious activities to flourish? Nope, he’s talking about the significant numbers of tourists pottering around Oslo looking for spots featured in the book or series.
The city’s tourist board has a whole microsite devoted to helping holidaymakers find Harry’s haunts (visitoslo.com/en/articles/harry-hole) – but here are a few of Nesbø’s own highlights:
Harry’s house: Sofies gate 5
When looking for a locale for his fictional hero, Nesbø took the lazy route: “I made things easy for myself by writing about places that were close to where I lived," he admits. The author still has a place in the area (Bislett, one of Oslo’s oldest neighbourhoods), though he’d rather you focused on Hole’s address than his own. “I’ve been in James Joyce’s house in Dublin, and it didn’t give me any insight into his writing, and it definitely didn’t clear up [Joyce’s notoriously difficult epic] Finnegan’s Wake.” Instead, locate Harry’s place at Sofies gate 5 – you’ll find some genius has actually assigned a buzzer to ‘HARRY HOLE’ on the flats’ entryphone system (though sadly not much happens if you press it).
To say Schrøder’s (Waldemar Thranes Gate 8; restaurant-schrøder.no) is Harry’s regular hang-out is a decorous understatement. The joint features in every single one of the books and takes a starring role in the Netflix series too. You may or may not understand Hole’s devotion once you’ve been here – it’s a no-frills bar/restaurant where neither the décor nor menu seem to have changed much since it opened here in 1956 – but you’ll see why it suits the dissolute detective: drinks are cheap and breakfast is served between noon and 3pm. Its sole concession to its newfound fame (and, indeed, to the fact it’s no longer 1956) is a small plaque above one seemingly random table that says, with characteristic plainnness, “This is the table Harry Hole prefers to sit at.”
And where does Nesbø go? “There are a couple of bars near there that I like, but I would risk ruining them for the clientele if I told an international audience about them…”
Eerie outdoor arthouse: Vigeland Sculpture Park
Nesbø’s not worried about letting the cat out of the bag with this one, at least: “Vigelandsparken isn’t exactly a secret – it’s quite obvious, and plenty of people already go there – but it’s a really beautiful place, and you should absolutely see it if you’re in Oslo.” (If not, you can catch it in the show and read about it in several of the books.)
A set of sculptures by local boy Gustav Vigeland, it may sound ‘meh’, but it’s a thoroughly spooky experience at dusk or after dark (it’s open 24 hours), with 200-odd naked figures, including some very angry-looking giant granite babies and a bizarre tower of writhing nudes (‘The Monolith’). There’s also an indoor museum (vigeland.museum.no/en), and when you need a break from it all, you’re surrounded by the city’s lovely, lush Frogner Park.
A cheerful dip in an open-air swimming pool isn’t perhaps 100 per cent in character for Harry Hole. (Like all good TV detectives, he has his dark side and his demons.) But Frognerbadet features in both the Netlfix adaptation and a few of the books, so it’s an obvious place of pilgrimage for fans. Those who want to swim, sadly, will have to wait until next year, as the three-pool complex is currently closed for renovations – but there will be a waterslide then, so (pardon the park-based pun) it’s swings and roundabouts.
It’s only ever open in summer, too, but meanwhile, there’s much else to explore in the area: the Oslo Museum is five minutes’ walk away, and you’re not far from Torshovdalen, one of Nesbø’s favourite parts of the city.
Drink in the culture: National Theatre
In the show, we see Harry at Oslo’s glorious old 1899 National Theatre (nationaltheatret.no). He’s not there to enjoy the performance of My Fair Lady, though; he’s investigating the disappearance of its director’s wife. Likewise, you don’t have to fancy its current offering, “poetic and painful” Gi Meg Hånden (‘Give Me Your Hand’) to enjoy a visit here: hour-long guided tours, in English, get you backstage at both the institutions’s two spectacular performance spaces, and throw in a helping of history too, covering off both Norway’s most celebrated writer Henrik Ibsen and the country’s second biggest literary hero, the somewhat-less-internationally-renowned Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. That said, you might just pop into the Theatre’s excellent new cocktail place, the Theatre Bar, instead. That is, after all, what Harry would do…
The city’s tourist board has a whole microsite devoted to helping holidaymakers find Harry’s haunts (visitoslo.com/en/articles/harry-hole) – but here are a few of Nesbø’s own highlights:
Harry’s house: Sofies gate 5
When looking for a locale for his fictional hero, Nesbø took the lazy route: “I made things easy for myself by writing about places that were close to where I lived," he admits. The author still has a place in the area (Bislett, one of Oslo’s oldest neighbourhoods), though he’d rather you focused on Hole’s address than his own. “I’ve been in James Joyce’s house in Dublin, and it didn’t give me any insight into his writing, and it definitely didn’t clear up [Joyce’s notoriously difficult epic] Finnegan’s Wake.” Instead, locate Harry’s place at Sofies gate 5 – you’ll find some genius has actually assigned a buzzer to ‘HARRY HOLE’ on the flats’ entryphone system (though sadly not much happens if you press it).
Watering Hole: Restaurant Schrøder
To say Schrøder’s (Waldemar Thranes Gate 8; restaurant-schrøder.no) is Harry’s regular hang-out is a decorous understatement. The joint features in every single one of the books and takes a starring role in the Netflix series too. You may or may not understand Hole’s devotion once you’ve been here – it’s a no-frills bar/restaurant where neither the décor nor menu seem to have changed much since it opened here in 1956 – but you’ll see why it suits the dissolute detective: drinks are cheap and breakfast is served between noon and 3pm. Its sole concession to its newfound fame (and, indeed, to the fact it’s no longer 1956) is a small plaque above one seemingly random table that says, with characteristic plainnness, “This is the table Harry Hole prefers to sit at.”
And where does Nesbø go? “There are a couple of bars near there that I like, but I would risk ruining them for the clientele if I told an international audience about them…”
Eerie outdoor arthouse: Vigeland Sculpture Park
Nesbø’s not worried about letting the cat out of the bag with this one, at least: “Vigelandsparken isn’t exactly a secret – it’s quite obvious, and plenty of people already go there – but it’s a really beautiful place, and you should absolutely see it if you’re in Oslo.” (If not, you can catch it in the show and read about it in several of the books.)
A set of sculptures by local boy Gustav Vigeland, it may sound ‘meh’, but it’s a thoroughly spooky experience at dusk or after dark (it’s open 24 hours), with 200-odd naked figures, including some very angry-looking giant granite babies and a bizarre tower of writhing nudes (‘The Monolith’). There’s also an indoor museum (vigeland.museum.no/en), and when you need a break from it all, you’re surrounded by the city’s lovely, lush Frogner Park.
Making a splash: Frognerbadet Public Bath
A cheerful dip in an open-air swimming pool isn’t perhaps 100 per cent in character for Harry Hole. (Like all good TV detectives, he has his dark side and his demons.) But Frognerbadet features in both the Netlfix adaptation and a few of the books, so it’s an obvious place of pilgrimage for fans. Those who want to swim, sadly, will have to wait until next year, as the three-pool complex is currently closed for renovations – but there will be a waterslide then, so (pardon the park-based pun) it’s swings and roundabouts.
It’s only ever open in summer, too, but meanwhile, there’s much else to explore in the area: the Oslo Museum is five minutes’ walk away, and you’re not far from Torshovdalen, one of Nesbø’s favourite parts of the city.
Drink in the culture: National Theatre
In the show, we see Harry at Oslo’s glorious old 1899 National Theatre (nationaltheatret.no). He’s not there to enjoy the performance of My Fair Lady, though; he’s investigating the disappearance of its director’s wife. Likewise, you don’t have to fancy its current offering, “poetic and painful” Gi Meg Hånden (‘Give Me Your Hand’) to enjoy a visit here: hour-long guided tours, in English, get you backstage at both the institutions’s two spectacular performance spaces, and throw in a helping of history too, covering off both Norway’s most celebrated writer Henrik Ibsen and the country’s second biggest literary hero, the somewhat-less-internationally-renowned Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. That said, you might just pop into the Theatre’s excellent new cocktail place, the Theatre Bar, instead. That is, after all, what Harry would do…