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Sightseeing Overview
For such a comparatively small city, Oslo is remarkably well supplied with museums and galleries. The compact city center retains much of its medieval layout, amid acres of greenery and parks. Within walking range of the center, there are pleasant districts through which to browse, enjoying the street life and the shops. The area immediately to the west of the Oslo S station (Oslo Sentralstasjon), however, is best avoided after dark.

Aker Brygge, at the center, has a quayside bustle. To the west, on the edges of the Vigeland Sculpture Park, Frogner is dotted with cafés and interesting boutiques. On the eastern edge of town, in Tøyenbadet Park, lies the Munch Museum, which houses the vast collection left to the city by Edvard Munch, as well as the Botanical Gardens and the Tøyenbadet swimming pool complex. The peninsula of Bygdøy, with its fascinating collection of museums and desirable residential areas, is a short ferry ride away from the City Hall. The Rådhus (City Hall), which lies midway between the Royal Palace and Akershus Slott, is a short walk from Oslo Cathedral, the Domkirke, and the nearby market, Stortorvet. It is surrounded by museums and theaters and is a perfect starting point for an exploration of the town center or for undertaking a cruise on the fjord from nearby Pier 3.

Wherever one walks in Oslo, there is another lovely view – a panorama of the fjord or the mountains or the fresh greenery of the parks. It is essentially a comfortable city – easy to walk around and small enough to explore the outer fringes in one day of walking. At the edges of the city, the great outdoors encroaches, with skiing and walking trails a mere 15 minutes’ train ride from the center.

Tourist Information
Tourist Information
Rådhuset (City Hall)
Fridtjof Nansens plass 5
Tel: 8153 0555.
Website: www.visitoslo.com
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1600 (Oct-Mar); Mon-Sat 0900-1700 (Apr-May and Sep); Daily 0900-1900 (Jun-Aug).

Another tourist information office, with summer late opening (Mon-Fri 0700-2000; Sat-Sun 0800-1800 (May-Sep 0800-2000)) is located at Trafikanten, Jernbanetorget 1, just outside Oslo Sentralstasjon.


Passes
The Oslo Pass probably represents the best value for tourists. As well as free admission to all the museums, the pass offers unlimited local travel on all forms of transport, free entrance to Tøyenbadet and Frognerbadet swimming pools and free parking in the municipal car parks, along with price reductions on sightseeing trips and many other discounts, such as for cinemas, restaurants, car hire and souvenir shops. Cards can be purchased for one, two or three days (concessions are available) and are available at the Tourist Information office, hotels, Narvesen newsagents and various other outlets.

Key Attractions:

Akershus Slott and Festning (Akerhus Palace and Fortress)
King Haakon V Magnusson ordered the building of Akershus Slott on a commanding headland, in 1299. Although damaged, repaired, fortified and renovated over the centuries, the ancient walls and central medieval tower of this imposing fortified palace still dominate the sea front. The town was rebuilt within the fortress walls after the great fire of 1624 (the fortress was originally outside the city). The 17th-century renovations of the castle, with magnificent banqueting halls and reception rooms, stand above dank medieval dungeons and underground passageways. The grounds also house Norges Hjemmefrontsmuseum (Resistance Museum), with poignant displays related to the Nazi occupation of Norway.

Akershuskaien
Tel: 2309 3553 (palace) or 2309 3917 (fortress).
Website: www.visitoslo.com
Opening hours: Festning open Mon-Sun 0600-2100; Slott open Mon-Sat 1000-1600, Sun 1230-1600 (May-Sep); guided tours of the Festning available daily (Jun-Aug).
Admission: Free (fortress); Charge (palace and museum).

Oslo Rådhus (Oslo City Hall)
On the waterfront overlooking the fjord, this modern twin-towered building, opened in 1950 to celebrate the city’s 900th anniversary, dominates but does not particularly enhance the landscape. However, the colorful frescos and murals of the interior, designed by Norwegian artists, redeem the solid exterior. Themes of Norwegian history and culture predominate, depicting daily life and Viking mythology, although references to conflict are inescapable in a building long delayed but finally built in the aftermath of World War II. This is where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented each December.

Fridtjof Nansens Plass
Tel: 02180.
Website: www.visitoslo.com
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1600 (Sep-Apr); Daily 0900-1700 (May-Sep).
Admission charge May-Sep, free with Oslo Pass.

Nasjonalgalleriet (National Gallery)
Norway’s National Gallery, since 2003 part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, houses a respectable pre-1945 international art collection, including Gauguin, Picasso, Cezanne and El Greco. But the Norwegian collection, with its emphasis on works from the ‘National Romantic Period’, is undoubtedly the main interest. Several rooms are given over to the work of Edvard Munch, including a version of Skrik (The Scream). The 19th-century Romantic paintings of Dahl, Tidemand and Gude, such as Bridal Voyage in the Hardanger Fjord, depict the spectacular Norwegian landscapes of forest and fjord, while the museum continues to collect modern Norwegian artists.

Universitetsgata 13
Tel: 2220 0404.
Website: www.nationalmuseum.no
Opening hours: Tue, Wed and Fri 1000-1800, Thurs 1000-2000, Sat-Sun 1000-1700, Mon closed.
Free admission.

Oslo Domkirke (Cathedral)
Consecrated in 1697, the cathedral has been the subject of several renovations over the centuries. The current baroque style interior dates from 1950, when the city was celebrating its 900th anniversary. It does, however, incorporate several original features including the altar screen, pulpit and font, which had hitherto been on display at the Museum of Applied Art. Regular evening concerts and a bookshop also feature.

Stortorget
Tel: 2331 4600.
Website: www.oslodomkirke.no
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1600.
Free admission.

Kunstindustrimuseet (Museum of Applied Art)
Founded in 1876, the Kunstindustrimuseet boasts collections of Norwegian and foreign handicrafts, fashion and design dating from as early as the seventh century. Highlights include 16th and 17th century tapestries, silver, ceramics and furniture. There are galleries dedicated to royal costumes, Asian items and design. The museum has been part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design since 2003.

St Olavs Gate 1
Tel: 2203 6540.
Website: www.nationalmuseum.no
Opening hours: Tue, Wed and Fri 1000-1800, Thurs 1000-2000, Sat-Sun 1000-1700, Mon closed.
Free admission.

Bygdøy
A short ferry crossing from central Oslo to the peninsula of Bygdøy transports visitors into Norway’s varied maritime past. All the attractions on Bygdøy are within 10 or 15 minutes’ walking distance of one another.

One of Europe’s biggest open-air museums, the Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Folk Museum) is a walk through Norway’s geography and history, featuring a variety of period buildings that have been transported from all over the country. Turf-roofed farms and barns in one section give way to the streets of the Old Town, complete with shop, houses and early petrol station. A five-minute walk away, the elegant Oseberg, excavated in 1904 and dating from about 800, is the finest of the ships at the Vikingskipshuset (Viking Ship Museum). The museum also contains finds from burial chambers, where two skeletons once lay amid their riches and jewels. The biggest of the ships, the Gokstad ship, is the best preserved. However, the burial chamber had been looted. The intricate patterns (which scroll and twist all over the ships, the jewelry and the artifacts) all testify to the links with the Celtic nations where the Vikings traded and raided.

The Norsk Sjøfartsmuseum (Norwegian Maritime Museum) portrays the pivotal role played by the sea in Norway’s history, from Vikings to fishing to oil tankers, with magnificent model boats, film footage, artifacts and paintings. Outside, a war memorial recalls the Norwegian sailors who perished in World War II, beside a replica of the Gjøa, the first ship to sail through the North West Passage. Fjord tours aboard a veteran steamship are offered in summer. Nearby, at the Frammuseet, is the 1892 polar vessel, Fram, in which Fridtjof Nansen sailed toward the North Pole and Roald Amundsen to the Antarctic. The Kon-Tiki Museum houses Thor Heyerdahl’s famous balsa raft, Kon-Tiki, and reed raft, Ra II, as well as other items, including Easter island statues (Moais) and a stuffed whale shark.

Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Folk Museum)
Museumsveien 10
Tel: 2212 3700.
Website: www.norskfolke.museum.no
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800 (May-Sep); Mon-Fri 1100-1500, Sat-Sun 1100-1600 (Sep-May).
Admission charge, free with Oslo Pass.

Vikingskipshuset (Viking Ship Museum)
Huk Aveny 35
Tel: 2213 5280.
Website: www.ukm.uio.no/vikingskipshuset
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800 (May-Sep); daily 1100-1600 (Oct-Apr), closed public holidays.
Admission charge.

Norsk Sjøfartsmuseum (Norwegian Maritime Museum)
Bygdøynesveien 37
Tel: 2411 4150.
Website: www.norsk-sjofartsmuseum.no
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800 (mid-May-Sep); Sun-Wed 1030-1600, Thurs 1030-1800 (Oct-mid-May).
Admission charge, free with Oslo Pass.

Frammuseet (Fram Museum)
Bygdøynesveien 36
Tel: 2328 2950.
Website: www.fram.museum.no
Opening hours: Vary between daily 0900-1845 and 1000-1545, according to time of year.
Admission charge, free with Oslo Pass.

Kon-Tiki Museum
Bygdøynesveien 36
Tel: 2308 6767.
Website: www.kon-tiki.no
Opening hours: Daily 0930-1730 (Jun-Aug); daily 1030-1600 (Oct-Mar); daily 1000-1700 (Sep and Apr-May).
Admission charge, free with Oslo Pass.

Further Distractions:

Munch Museet (Munch Museum)
The Munch Museum, to the east of the city center, lies in the broad parklands of Tøyenhagen. It hit the news in 2004 when two of the most famous works were stolen, but its collection of other works by Edvard Munch is extensive. Changing exhibitions feature different aspects of it.

Tøyengaten 53
Tel: 2349 3500.
Website: www.munch.museum.no
Admission charge.

Holmenkollbakken Ski Museum
Open all year round, the Holmenkollen Ski Museum covers over 4,000 years of the history of skiing. There is a ski simulator and the chance to enjoy views over the capital from the top of the observation tower. Also, a restaurant is located on the hill.

Kongeveien 5
Tel: 2292 3200.
Website: www.skiforeningen.no
Admission charge.

Ibsen Museum
Norway’s best-known poet, Henrik Ibsen, lived in this Oslo house from 1895 until his death in 1906. The entire home of Ibsen and his wife Suzannah has now been restored and was re-opened to the public 23 May 2006, exactly 100 years after Ibsen died. Admission by guided tour only, all year round, with special additional tours offered at certain times.

Henrik Ibsens gate 26
Tel: 2212 3550.
Website: www.ibsenmuseet.no
Admission charge.

Oslo Reptilpark
With more than 100 species including lizards, snakes, dwarf crocodiles and spiders, the Oslo Reptile Park is an unusual diversion in the city center. Snake feeding, every Tuesday at 1700, is a highlight of the week.

Storgata 26
Tel: 2217 0522.
Website: www.reptilpark.no
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission charge, free with Oslo Pass.

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