Maison Oslo / Everything we offer / The Cinnamon Bun Quest

Tasting · About 2.5 hours · English or French

The Cinnamon Bun Quest: Oslo's best kanelbolle, compared

Everyone in Oslo has an opinion about who bakes the best kanelbolle, and almost no visitor ever finds out why. We visit three bakeries I return to myself, taste the same pastry made three different ways, and talk about what actually separates a good cinnamon bun from a great one: the butter, the lamination, the cardamom, the bake. No ranking is neutral — but we'll try to agree on one by the end.

Why you'll love it

  • Three bakeries, the same pastry, tasted side by side
  • Kveitemjøl, Aanerud Bakeri (Bakery of the Year 2024) and Erketunet Gårdsbakeri
  • What actually makes one cinnamon bun better than another — butter, lamination, cardamom, bake
  • A verdict at the end, if the group can agree on one
  • Easy walking, good for families, in English or French

The route, minute by minute

Kveitemjøl → Aanerud Bakeri, Homansbyen (via Bogstadveien) → Erketunet Gårdsbakeri, city centre · about 3 km, flat, mostly on pavement

When: By arrangement, any day — best in the morning, while the ovens are still going. Times below are for the first start of the day; later starts follow the same route.

  1. Kveitemjøl

    Meeting point

    We start with the exacting one: a small bakery built around laminated pastry, worth planning a morning around. What lamination actually is, and why it takes three days to get right.

    Included: A tasting

  2. Aanerud Bakeri, Homansbyen

    About 15 min, along Bogstadveien

    Baking since 1921, and named Bakery of the Year in 2024. A different dough, a different bake, and a first real point of comparison with what we just tasted.

    Included: A tasting

  3. Erketunet Gårdsbakeri

    About 20 min, back toward the centre

    A farm bakery tucked into the centre, simple and honest. The third comparison, and the conversation about which one actually wins — spoiler: it's rarely unanimous.

    Included: A tasting, and a group verdict

F

Your guide · Urban planner and founder of Maison Oslo · English · Français
Every walk is prepared with the makers, curators and sources behind each stop. Ask anything, in English or French.

Add-on

The pre-walk booklet

Route, timeline, glossary and reading list for this walk, to print at home or delivered printed to your hotel.

Preview the booklet

Good to know

Is it a lot of sugar in one morning?

It's three pastries over 2.5 hours of walking, with plenty of talking in between — most guests manage it easily, and we can always share.

Good for children?

Yes — it's an easy, flat walk with a reward at every stop.

Can we combine it with a walk?

Yes — build your own day and pair it with any architecture or art history walk on the Sur Mesure page.

In French?

Yes. Every walk runs in English or French: choose when you book.

After the walk

Tell us what you found.

A detail you loved, a question we didn't answer, a stop you think belongs on this route — Maison Oslo grows one conversation at a time, and every walk is a little different for what past guests have shared.

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