ATTRACTIONS

Norwegian Folk Museum
The Norwegian Folk Museum is the largest museum of cultural history in Norway. Set in beautiful surroundings, it boasts fascinating exhibits reflecting Norwegian heritage. Don’t miss the distinctive wooden stave church dating from 1200, as well as the period costumes and Lapp exhibitions.

Resistance Museum at Akershus Castle
Akershus Church at DuskAkershus Castle boasts splendid dark dungeons, luxurious upper floors, banquet halls and staterooms that are still used for royal events. It holds the crypts of King Hakon VII and Olav V. During WW II the Nazis used Akershus Castle as a prison and carried out many executions here. Today the castle houses the Resistance Museum which gives a graphic account of German occupation in Norway. The castle has beautiful grounds and during the summer, many concerts, dances and theatrical productions are held here.

Kon-Tiki Museum
The Kon-Tiki Museum contains the world-famous balsa-log raft that scientist Thor Heyerdahl used in his 1947 expedition across the Pacific Ocean from Peru to Polynesia. Artefacts from the voyage include lava statues from Easter Island and other exciting archaeological finds from East Polynesia, Galapagos and Peru. There are also interactive touch screens with CD-ROM facilities to guide you through the museum. Also exhibited is the papyrus boat Ra II that Heyerdahl sailed on an experimental voyage from North Africa to Barbados in 1970.

Vikingskiphuset (Viking Ship Museum)
The three Viking burial vessels - the Gokstad, Tune, and Oseberg - dating from AD 800–900 can be seen here. These three ships are the best-preserved Viking ships in the world. The Oseburg is the most impressive. It is a 20-meter-long royal ship with a dragon-shaped keel, which was found containing royal remains. There is also a fine collection of beautiful ceremonial sleighs, household utensils, and tools on display. It's worth spending time checking out each of the three ships. The Oseberg was found in 1903 and in its heyday required 30 oarsmen. It's magnificently decorated with dragon and serpent carvings and its burial chamber held the largest collection of Viking-age artefacts ever uncovered in Scandinavia. It is thought that this ship was purely a pleasure vessel for sailing in peaceful waters because the wood used to build its mast was not as strong as in other ships.

Radhuset (City Hall)
City Hall, OsloThe Oslo City Hall is universally regarded as either "aggressively ugly" or "the pride of Norway." Visit it and make up your own mind. Built in 1950, it houses splendid murals by some of Norway's most respected artists. The murals depict life in Oslo during World War II and include illustrations of the Nazi occupation. There are also tapestries, frescoes, sculpture, and woodcarvings on display.

The Munch Museum
Art lovers would thoroughly enjoy a pilgrimage to this museum, which has about 1,000 of the artist's paintings displayed in rotation in a large, modern building that opened in 1963. It is beyond walking distance but easily reached by Bus 20 or metro to Toyen. If you are just getting off the ferry at City Hall, take the tram from there to the main train station, and connect to the bus or subway. It's ironic that Edvard Munch is best known for just one painting, "The Scream," and yet the rest of his pictures, laced with existential anxiety, show the same skilled hand at work.

Royal Palace, OsloSlottsparken (The Royal Palace Park)
Slottsparken is the park that surrounds the Royal Palace. From here you can see the changing of the guard each day at 1:30pm. Walk through the grounds at your leisure and admire the Royal Palace from afar, entrance is only allowed by special invitation from the king!

Barnekunst Museum (International Children's Art Museum)
A pleasure for children and adults alike, the Barnekunst Museum houses a vast collection of children’s drawings, paintings, ceramics, sculpture, tapestries, and handcrafts from more than 30 countries. Children can get involved in special workshops devoted to painting, drawing, music, and dancing.

University
At the next block along Karl Johans, you find the oldest university buildings in Oslo, which were opened in 1854, a few decades after the University of Oslo was founded in 1811. These buildings are used for administration rather than classes because the main part of campus, which accommodates about 30,000 students, is outside the city center.

The Harbor
City Hall faces the harbor, where there is a large restaurant mall, historic sights and excursion boat services. Here you will find Aker Brygge, where a shipyard that stood until the 1970s has now been transformed into a wonderful place to have a meal, do a little shopping and take a stroll along the waterfront.

Vigeland Sculpture Park
The Vigeland Sculpture Park OsloLocated in popular Frogner Park, the Vigeland Sculpture Park is one of Oslo’s most well known attractions. Its dramatic outdoor granite, bronze and iron sculptures portray Adolf Gustav Vineland’s vision of the life cycle. The park is only open during the summer and there is an outdoor swimming pool as well as an ice rink if you are feeling energetic. The park is situated in the middle of Frognerparken, a leafy, green park, perfect for lazing about on a sunny day. The park's highest point, a 14m (46ft) monolith carved out of a single block of stone, consists of 121 writhing human figures.

National Theater
In front of the palace you will find the most important stage in Norway. The building dates from 1899 and is quite beautiful inside and out with a mix of baroque and rococo elements. The statue fronting the theater is of Henrik Ibsen, considered to be the father of modern theater and probably the most famous Norwegian.

Akershus Slott & Festning
This medieval castle and fortress were built in 1300 and reconstructed several times after many attacks (including the 1563-70 War of the North). As you wander around the castle you'll find tiny rooms where outcast nobles were kept, in stark contrast to the far more elaborate dining halls and staterooms on the upper floors.

Akershus was one of the sturdiest castles in northern Europe. Its unique layout, as well as the difficult terrain, made it almost impregnable. At the fortress you can see the changing of the guard each afternoon. Nowadays, the fortress grounds play host to concerts and theatre productions.

Norsk Folkemuseum
This fascinating open-air museum contains around 150 buildings from different regions, mostly dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, including one of Norway's oldest structures, the Gol Stave Church, built early in the 13th century in Gol and moved to its present location in 1885.

Old Town
Oslo's oldest buildings cover several blocks between the fortress and the Parliament. This part of town offers a pleasant place for a stroll, with shops, restaurants, a couple of modern art museums and historic buildings.

Oslo was destroyed by a fire in 1624 that burned the wooden village to the ground in a single day. King Christian IV required all new houses be built with stone or brick to make them fireproof. The king also decided to rebuild the town closer to the fortress.

Cathedral Square
When finished with this old section, walk a couple of blocks inland to the Oslo Cathedral, the Domkirche, built in 1697. Today it sits along Karl Johan Gate, two blocks from the train station.

Stortorvet Square in front often hosts a colorful flower market, and across the street is Oslo's best department store, Glas Magasinet, noted for high-quality glass works.

Stables that once circled this square have been converted into attractive shops and cafes. Another pedestrian mall, Torggata, extends three blocks into another nice shopping area.