East-Norway is made up of seven counties: Oslo, Akershus, Østfold, Vestfold, Buskerud, Telemark, Hedmark and Oppland. Oslo, the nation's capital, is the heart of the region. This is the most populated region of the country and has a huge variety of cultural and outdoor activities to offer.

Oslo - the city among the hills. Oslo lies at the end of the Oslofjord and is surrounded by green hills and a vast forest area called Oslomarka. Both winter and summer, Oslo's nature lovers are enthusiastic users of these woods as well as the fjord.
The name Oslo may actually have meant at one time «the meadow of the gods». Besides its functions as the capital city, Oslo is also the business and cultural centre of Norway and is considered one of the world's foremost shipping cities. Many large and important cultural institutions are located in Oslo, providing its inhabitants and guests a rich and diverse selection of concerts, theatre and opera, museums and galleries.
With all its sidewalk cafés, restaurants and well-appointed shops, Oslo has as much to offer as any other European city.Interspersed among the cities and towns around the Oslofjord and further south along the coast are many idyllic sites and places where people have weekend homes. Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city founded in 871 AD, is today a bustling administrative, trade and shipping centre.
This Vestfold city boasted the country's largest fortress during the Middle Ages, one of the king's royal residences, and a Franciscan cloister, plus being one of Norway's three Hanseatic cities in the late Middle Ages.The three counties along the Oslofjord, Akershus, Østfold and Vestfold, are all small in area but this is where many of the large agricultural areas are, and 1/5 of the population lives here.
Akershus is influenced by its proximity to the capital, and many of the city's suburbs are found here. Besides agriculture and forestry, activities in these counties are based on industry, business and service. The new international airport - Gardermoen - is in Akershus country. Vestfold has been famous for shipping already from Viking times, and it is here that the Viking ships Oseberg and Gokstad were found buried. But doubt Østfold still has the greatest concentration of historical monuments in eastern Norway.Telemark county is rich in traditions and folk art and is one of Norway's oldest tourist districts. The area has vast forest and mountain areas and many small farms. The county is also rich in hydropower, which has supported several different industries.
Morgedal, a mountain village that has the distinction of being the cradle of skiing, is today the home of an adventure park called Norwegian Ski Adventure. The Bandak Canal stretches inland from the coast and is the only watercourse in Europe that has been awarded Europa Nostra's highest award for restoration and preservation. A trip through the canal on your own boat or on the old «Victoria» is a true adventure.The Olympic city Lillehammer is situated in Gudbrandsdalen Valley in Oppland county, a district famous for winter sports. It was also the home of one of Norway's greatest authors, Nobel Prize winner Sigrid Undset, who wrote Kristin Lavransdatter.
A Norwegian literature festival named after Sigrid Undset is held annually and is open to guests. Valdres is another large valley much visited by tourists. It too is rich in folk art and old buildings. There are still active mountain farms in the area, especially up around spectacular Jotunheimen to the far north of the county. Jotunheimen is popular both summer and winter.Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake, extends into both Oppland and Hedmark counties. Hedmark stretches along the Swedish border from Mid-Norway and south past Kongsvinger. There is more farmland in Hedmark than any other county.
Much of the county is also covered by forest, which you can have no doubts about when you drive Higway 3 out of Oslo or take the train north towards Trondheim going through Østerdalen Valley. Forestry is an important industry well-documented at the Forestry Museum at Elverum.Norway's longest river, the Glomma or Glåma, which begins a little north of the county border with South-Trøndelag, runs through Østerdalen Valley and feeds into the Oslofjord at Fredrikstad.Hamar on Lake Mjøsa has cathedral ruins and the «Viking ship» athletic stadium. These ruins of one of the country's loveliest churches is a symbol of the Christianising of Norway nearly 1000 years ago. The unique athletic stadium, Olympia Hall, which was built for the 1994 Winter Olympics, is a symbol of the architecture and ideals of our time.