Oslo, Norway has come a long way since its founding during the Middle Ages. Much of medieval Oslo was destroyed by fire, and the city that grew up in its place stands at the forefront of modern Scandinavian art and design. Some might even say Oslo is too modern, but I felt the Norwegian capital had heaps of personality thanks to its quirky art installations and unique museums. I spent 72 hours in Oslo and found lots of fun and interesting things to do.
The Viking Ship Museum in Oslo contains the two best-preserved Viking longships in the world. These along with a rich collection of household items provide fascinating insight into the lives of an almost mythic people. It would have taken thirty men to oar the 22-meter Oseberg ship, which is thought to have been the pleasure craft of a high-ranking woman. The ships and their contents – including human skeletons – were excavated from several burial mounds across Norway and carefully moved to the museum, located on Bygdoy peninsula in Oslo Fjord.
But Vikings weren’t the only Norwegian seafarers. In 1911, Roald Amundsen and his team sailed a 19th-century wooden vessel through the Antarctic ice to become the first explorers to successfully reach the South Pole. The ship, called Fram (Norwegian for Forward), was designed to freeze into the ice and float along with the current, a revolutionary idea in shipbuilding and polar exploration. Visitors can climb aboard the hulking ship and walk through interior rooms at the Fram Museum, also located on Bygdoy peninsula. To be perfectly honest, I only went inside this museum because admission was included with my Oslo Pass, but I ended up being thoroughly impressed.
Right next door is the Kon-Tiki Museum, dedicated to the oversea adventures of Thor Heyerdahl. Thor – who was afraid of water and could barely swim – decided to sail a balsa wood raft from Peru to Polynesia just to show it could be done. Amazingly, Thor, his team, and the raft survived the journey, giving weight to his theory that Polynesia’s first settlers could have come from South America. Why this was necessary to prove, I have no idea, but to each his own.
Of more interest to me was the Norwegian Folk Museum, which I could have spent all day exploring. The open-air museum is dedicated to preserving the cultural history of Norway and consists of 160 buildings from all across the country. The recreated towns and villages demonstrate how Norwegians have lived from the 16th century onward. Highlights include a 13th century stave church, a Sami village, and a 1950s farmstead complete with livestock.
Frequent ferry service runs to and from the Bygdoy peninsula from the marina in front of Oslo city hall. You’ll want to allot a full day (10:00-17:00) to visit all four museums. We found it easy to walk among them, but it’s also possible to take the ferry from one side of the peninsula to the other. On the city side, the boardwalk along the quay leads to Aker Brygge, a trendy entertainment district in a converted shipyard. This is where we headed each night for dinner as I just couldn’t get enough of the pristine water views.
My second day was spent enjoying the views of Oslo Fjord from various vantage points around town. My favorite spot was atop the walls of Akershus Fortress, a medieval castle perched on a hill above the harbor. The 13th century fortress was “modernized” by King Christian IV in the 17th century and made into a royal residence. Today, Akershus is still used for official state functions and is open to tourists during the summer months.
For a different perspective, I went to the top of the Holmenkollen Ski Jump tower to enjoy views of Oslo Fjord from 375 meters above sea level. Unfortunately this experience was better in theory than in practice. The top of the tower is ringed with a safety fence that reached almost to my shoulders. Then we had to contend with selfie stick-wielding tourists that bordered on the obnoxious. (Lady standing on the trash bin, I’m talking to you.) Between the fence and the fools, it was kind of hard to enjoy the view.
I made it to the Oslo Opera House at dusk, when the last hint of the sun was a pink spot on the horizon, and the sky and white marble opera house were an ethereal shade of blue. People rave about this landmark which, admittedly, did photograph well. But at the time of writing, the surrounding area was one large construction site and not as scenic as I was expecting.
I couldn’t leave Oslo without investigating the local art scene. The National Gallery holds a wealth of Norwegian and foreign art between its red brick walls. The paintings, drawings and sculptures are arranged by stylistic periods in color-coded rooms – this is probably the best-organized museum I’ve been to. There is a heavy focus on Norwegian art (as you would expect), and Expressionist painter Edvard Munch gets his own room, possibly in order to corral the folks waiting in line to pose next to The Scream. I didn’t know much about Munch before this trip and found some of his other paintings to be much more interesting than that one famous work.
I actually learned more about Edvard Munch and his paintings at the National Gallery than I did at the Munch Museum, which was surprising. While the Munch Museum contained a large collection of his paintings, they were displayed without information plaques on crammed and colorful walls next to the works of a dreadful contemporary artist who supposedly drew influence from the famous Expressionist. The whole experience felt chaotic and I left not knowing anything new about Munch.
* I was disappointed to have missed an exhibition comparing Munch and Van Gogh. As the Munch Museum isn’t located near Oslo’s other main attractions, I’d recommend having a look at the museum’s website before visiting to see if the current exhibition is something you’d enjoy.
In the middle of the last century, Norwegian artist Gustav Vigeland installed over 200 of his sculptures in Oslo’s Frogner Park. The “cheeky” artworks feature nude men, women and children acting out various human relationships in life. Other sculptures represent stages of the human condition, from birth to death. The installation’s centerpiece is the Monolith, a cylindrical tower meant to show “man’s longing and yearning for the spiritual and divine.” It looked to me like a giant phallic symbol.
I visited Oslo over the long Easter weekend when, unbeknownst to me, the city practically shuts down as locals leave for the last ski weekend of the season. Fortunately, enough people visit to ensure that a few restaurants remain open. Options were limited, and the cost was near heart attack-inducing, but I did manage to find some good places to eat (thanks in part to the helpful recommendations of blogger Megan Starr). To save money, I loaded up on the excellent and free breakfast offered by my hotel and skipped lunch.
My meal at Bolgen & Moi was the highlight of the weekend. The eclectic dishes featured fresh local seafood and fish and the cost was reasonable thanks to the option to a prix fixe menu option. I especially enjoyed the artistic chocolate dessert!
Even over the holiday weekend, Olivia was PACKED. I didn’t plan to eat Italian food in Oslo, but am glad I gave this place a chance. Just looking at the photo of my scrumptious seafood linguine is enough to make me hungry!
How would YOU to spend 72 hours in Oslo?
Which attractions and restaurants would you recommend?
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Gosh, your photos have made me miss Oslo so much! It’s such a beautiful place, I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know, haha. Maybe I go next year if my Iceland plans do come true 🙂
I hope we both get to go back, haha!
I would so love to visit Oslo after seeing all these pictures!
The city is even more beautiful in person and definitely worth a visit! I just couldn’t get over how clean the water was.
You even made it to Oslo! Fantastic. Been there already, visited all places you have been to. A bit pricey and way too cold city :).
Pricey and cold – yes and yes. But it sure was pretty, though! 🙂
I’d love to visit Norway some day, but for now, the hefty price tag of Scandinavia is scaring me away! Very nice to get a taster through your photos.
Also, how good does Norwegian seafood look (inappropriate bits of lobster shell aside)? That linguine looks AMAZING and I’m not surprised to hear the scallops were a hit too. I’d say you ate very well during your 72 hours in Oslo!
We definitely ate well given the holiday limitations. But those same holiday limitations helped me score a fantastic deal on the hotel. And getting the Oslo Pass helped mitigate some of the cost. I’m sure there are other ways to save money, too, but we decided not to think about it and just enjoy ourselves.
Glad you had a good visit. Looks like an interesting place.
You would have loved those water views!
I really liked the Munch Museum, but didn’t visit the National Gallery so can’t compare. That’s interesting that you felt you learnt less about the artist at the museum dedicated to his work, though! I also really liked the sculptures in Vigelandsparken. I’d love to go back to Oslo now, as I was a poor student when I visited in 2007! I’m sure the prices are still horrifying, but I might be able to manage with that a little better nowadays!
I had high hopes for the Munch Museum, given how much I’ve enjoyed the Van Gogh and Picasso Museums in other cities, but this one just fell short for me. I really wish I could have visited when a different exhibit was featured, because I didn’t care for that modern artist at all. Such is life. At least the National Gallery more than made up for it!
I’m surprised you didn’t have a coronary traveling there as a student LOL! We were absolutely stunned by the prices!
What an amazing trip, especially for a Viking lover like yourself!! I love the photo of The Scream, classic;-)
It was so funny to watch one person after another stand next to The Scream and pose like that. The security guards must get a good laugh every day!
looks like yall had a blast!!! and im sooo embarrassed to say that you have seen much more in a weekend in oslo than i did 3 years living there lol! im so mad at myself for never making it to the viking museum 🙁 guess it is an awesome excuse to get back there!! loved seeing these photos and recaps- brings back some good memories! <3
We definitely packed a lot in! It helped that the city was practically deserted because we didn’t have to wait in line for anything and could breeze through the museums. The Viking Museum is definitely worth going back for!!
Looks like you packed in a lot of adventures in those 72 hours! The Folk Museum looks absolutely fantastic – 160 buildings is nothing to sneeze at. And those deserts – mouthwatering!!
We went to Oslo with the assumption that it might be our one and only time there so we better see as much as possible. (Nothing against Oslo or Norway, we just have a lot of other places we want to visit before making a return trip!) We did kind of blow through the Folk Museum (if two hours can be considered blowing through) and I definitely could have spent more time there. But, believe it or not, this was still a relaxing little getaway!
I didn’t make it to that other Viking Museum – Fram. I had an Oslo Pass too, but I must have skipped over that. I have been several times, but I guess there is always something new to discover. In fact, I loved the Vigeland Park, but did you know his brother Emmanuel has a “secret” museum? mausoleum really, it is a bit out of the way, but very cool!
No, I didn’t know about that secret museum/mausoleum. Sounds like a return trip is in order! 🙂
Hi Heather, funnily enough I just stumbled across this post as I happen to be in Norway right now, and it’s perfect as a guide to Oslo! Seems like you packed in a lot in 3 days, and the food looks amazing!
Hi Camille! I hope you enjoy your time there as much as I did! I found Norway to be so beautiful that I’m actually heading back later this month to see more 🙂
I’d love to visit Norway and Oslo someday, it looks an interesting city for its architecture (old and new) and its artistic side. I have to admit though that the “head-scratching art installation” on the boardwalk reminds me of a couple of Game of Throne scenes, I’m not sure Heather if you are familiar with that TV series.
It would be also interesting to explore the vegan dining in Oslo which I’ve heard it isn’t that bad 🙂
I was surprised by how much new construction there was in Oslo, Franca. There were so many cranes on the horizon it almost reminded me of China! But Norway has a large immigrant population that’s getting bigger by the year, so all the new buildings make sense. It was an interesting city of contrasts!