-
Norwegian Film Museum
The Norwegian Film Museum has a colourful and lovingly presented selection of displays on the history of filmmaking, clips of old films (from silent, black-and-white shorts, to WWII documentaries) and pictures of Norwegian stars. Classic movies are screened regularly in the theatre on the 2nd floor.
-
Norwegian Folk Museum
Norway's largest open-air museum and one of Oslo's premier attractions is the Norwegian Folk Museum. The museum includes more than 140 buildings, mostly from the 17th and 18th centuries, gathered from around the country, rebuilt and organized according to region of origin. Paths wind past old barns, elevated stabbur (raised storehouses) and rough-timbered farmhouses with sod roofs sprouting wildflowers.
-
Norwegian Resistance Museum
Within the fortress complex, adjacent to a memorial for resistance fighters executed on the spot during WWII, is the Norwegian Resistance Museum. The small, but worthwhile museum covers the dark years of German occupation, as well as the jubilant day of May 9, 1945 when peace was declared. Artefacts include a set of dentures belonging to a Norwegian Prisoner of War in Poland, which were wired to receive radio broadcasts, underground newspapers, numerous maps and photographs.
-
Norwegian Science & Technology Museum
A popular rainy day distraction is the Norwegian Science & Technology Museum near Lake Maridal which has Norway's first car and tram, water wheels, clocks and enough gadgetry to keep the whole family busy for a few hours at least.
-
Oscarshall Castle
The Oscarshall Castle, designed by Johan Henrik Nebelong to reflect a blend of Romantic and English neogothic styles, was constructed as a residence for King Oscar I from 1847 to 1852. It's probably the least interesting of Bygdøy's attractions, but is worth a brief detour to view from the outside if you're passing by.
-
Oslo Cathedral
Dating from 1697, the Oslo Cathedral is worth seeing for its elaborate stained glass by Emanuel Vigeland (brother of Gustav) and painted ceiling (completed between 1936 and 1950). The exceptional altarpiece, a 1748 model of the Last Supper and the Crucifixion by Michael Rasch, was an original feature of the church (from 1700), but it was moved all over the country before being returned from Prestnes church in Majorstue in 1950. The organ front and pulpit were both part of the original construction. Occasionally, concerts are held in the church.
-
Oslo City Museum
Near the southern entrance to Vigeland Park lies Oslo City Museum housed in the 18th-century Frogner Manor (built on the site of a Viking-era manor); it contains exhibits of minor interest on the city's history.
-
Oslo Town Hall
This twin-towered Oslo Town Hall, completed in 1950 to commemorate the city's 900th anniversary, houses the city's political administration. Something of an Oslo landmark, its red brick functionalist exterior is unusual, if not particularly imaginative. The entrance is lined with wooden reliefs from Norse mythology and the interior halls and chambers are decorated with splashy and impressive frescoes and paintings by some of Norway's most prominent artists.
-
Parliament Building
Built in 1866, Norway's yellow-brick Parliament Building, right in the city centre and staring up the hill towards the royal palace, is one of Europe's more charming parliaments.
-
Polarship Fram Museum
Nature is often the best architect. Which is why, when the well-known ship builder Colin Archer was asked to design a ship whose hull could withstand the crush of the polar ice, he looked no further than an egg for inspiration. Launched in 1982, the Polarship Fram Museum, captained by both Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen, spent much of its life trapped in the polar ice.
-
Advertisement
-
Rådhus
Oslo's twin-towered, redbrick Rådhus features wooden reliefs with scenes from Norse mythology lining its outside entrance, and impressive frescoes decorating the interior halls and chambers. View the main hall for free from the front corridor, walk around yourself, or take a guided tour in English at , noon and daily (no extra charge).
-
Ski Museum
At the Holmenkollen ski jump, the Ski Museum leads you through the 4000-year history of Nordic and downhill skiing in Norway. There are exhibits featuring the Antarctic expeditions of Amundsen and Scott, as well as Fridtjof Nansen's slog across the Greenland icecap (you'll see the boat he constructed from his sled and canvas tent to row the final 100km to Nuuk). Recently redone exhibits on the second floor cover the more modern aspects of skiing and include a glimpse of the royal family on skis.
-
Stenersen Museum
The Stenersen Museum contains three formerly private collections of works by Norwegian artists from 1850 to 1970. The museum and much of the art, which includes works by Munch, were a gift to the city by Rolf E Stenersen.
-
TusenFryd
TusenFryd, an amusement park 10km south of the city, is enormously popular with kids from the whole region. The park offers carousels, a fantasy farm and an excellent wooden rollercoaster, which creates zero gravity 12 times each circuit. You'll find it just off the E6. The TusenFryd bus departs from the Galleri Oslo bus terminal nine times from to daily.
-
Vigeland Museum
For a more in-depth look at the development of Gustav Vigeland's work, visit the Vigeland Museum. The museum was built by the city as a home and workshop for Vigeland in exchange for the bulk of his life's work and contains his early statuary, plaster moulds, woodblock prints and sketches.
-
Vigeland Park
This is Norway's most popular attraction, with more than one million visitors each year. Here you can spend hours wandering around and seeing 192 sculptures made by Gustav Vigeland.
-
Vikingskipshuset
The magnificent Vikingskipshuset houses three Viking ships excavated from the Oslofjord region. The ships had been brought ashore and used as tombs for nobility, who were buried with all they were expected to need in the hereafter, including jewels, furniture, food and servants. Built of oak in the 9th century, these Viking ships were buried in blue clay, which preserved two of them amazingly well.
-
Zoological Museum
Next to Munchmuseet is the university's Zoological Museum, full of stuffed Norwegian wildlife. Compare the scale of a lemming and polar bear, in a risk-free environment.
-
Advertisement
