Museums in Oslo will surely please history buffs and art lovers. It is very difficult to get around all the museums in the city, so plan a route before you go by choosing some of the most interesting sights. For example, the National Gallery has a large collection of works of art, many exhibits devoted to seafaring and the history of Norway. We bring to your attention a list of popular and most visited metropolitan museums.
How to save?
Studying information about the capital of Norway, many tourists note high prices. However, experienced travelers know how to explore the sights and spend a minimum of money on it – purchase an Oslo Pass card. Holders of this card get the opportunity to visit more than 30 Oslo museums for free, including the most popular:
- Ethnographic
- Vigeland
- Viking
- Con tiki
- Nautical
- Fram
- Ski
The cost of the card is 395 kroons for 24 hours and 595 NOK for 48 hours, for children – 210 and 295 NOK, respectively. For this money, tourists can not only visit museums, but also travel for free by public transport and make a free cruise on the Oslo Fjord.
All prices on the page are current as of March 2018.
What museums are worth visiting in Oslo?
Vigeland Museum
It is located in the house where the sculptor Gustav Vigeland created. After his death, an impressive cultural heritage was preserved – 12 thousand sketches, 1600 sculptures made of marble and bronze, 800 plaster models and 400 wood engravings.
Today, the sculptures of the master are presented in Frogner Park, the exposition is dedicated to the life and development of man from birth to death.
Location: Nobels gate, 32, Majorstuen metro station.
Schedule:
- from May to the end of August – every day (except Tuesday) from 10 am to 5 pm;
- from the beginning of September to the end of May – Tue – Sat from 12 noon to 4 pm, Tue – day off.
The price of a full admission ticket is 80 NOK, for a child 40, up to 7 years old – no entry fee is required.
Oslo Fram Museum
The attraction is dedicated to the polar ship Fram. The ship is noteworthy in that it made great discoveries by famous sailors.
The creator of the ship is marine engineer Colin Archer. The technical parameters and proportions of the vessel resemble an egg. Thanks to this structure, Fram survived more than one expedition into the world of ice from 1892 to 1910.
Interesting fact! It was on Fram that Amundsen discovered the South Pole.
At the beginning of the last century, the ship was reconstructed and placed in a museum. Visitors visiting the captain’s bridge, technical rooms and cabins, cabin. Guests plunge into the atmosphere that reigned among the teams during the expeditions. The museum hosts a show showing the northern lights, and a movie about the Arctic is shown in the cinema. There is a store where the largest collection of books on the connected pole is presented.
Another museum exhibit ship in Oslo, the Gyeu ship, was the first to cross the route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
The third exhibit is the Maud vessel, designed and built for polar expeditions.
Location: Bygdoynesveien, 36.
The project works:
- from January to the end of April and from October to the end of December – from 10-00 to 16-00;
- May and September – from 10-00 to 17-00;
- from June to the end of August – from 9-00 to 18-00.
The cost of visiting for an adult is 100 NOK, for children – 40.
Norwegian Folk Museum
Founded in 1894 and located under the open sky, its area is almost 15 hectares of land on the peninsula of Bugdoy. This is the oldest Norwegian museum, it presents buildings of the Middle Ages, an ancient church. One residential building shows tourists apartments with interiors from different historical eras. This historic museum in Oslo houses exhibits collected by the monarch Oscar II.
The atmosphere of the museum is saturated with the spirit of Norway – employees wear national clothes and offer aromatic coffee. Tourists call this attraction a miniature country, as more than 150 buildings from all regions of Norway are collected here.
Location: Museumsveien 10, Oslo 0287, Norway
Schedule:
- from September 15 to May 4 – Mon-Fri 11-00 – 15-00, Sat – Sun 11-00 – 16-00;
- from May 15 to September 14 – from 10-00 to 18:00 on any day of the week.
The price of a full ticket (for adults) is 130 kroons, for a child is 40 kroons, a family ticket can be purchased for 260 kroons (parents with children).
Holmenkollen Ski Museum and Jumping Tower
This museum is included in the 50 most famous sights of Norway, and definitely worth your attention. Every year in winter, Holmenkollen turns into a place where the best athletes of the world come together. About 700 thousand people visit it during the season.
The visiting card of the complex is a springboard 115 meters high, only tourists who have the appropriate license can go down from it.
There is a ski museum inside the ski jump. It shows the history of skiing since the advent of skiing in Scandinavia, captivating exhibits, including the oldest skis in the country, attributes and equipment needed for sports. A special place is allocated for the achievements of Norwegian athletes in skiing competitions – medals, awards, photographs.
Everyone can climb to the highest point of the city – an observation deck located on the springboard. In cloudless weather, the whole of Oslo and the fjords near the city are visible from it.
Working hours:
- October – April – from 10 to 16
- in May and September – from 10 to 17
- in the summer months – from 9 to 20, seven days a week
Location: On Holmenkollen Hill at Kongeveien 5, Oslo, 10 minutes walk from the Frognerseteren metro station.
Entrance fee – 130 NOK (full), 65 – for children , 320 – for family , 110 – for students and senior citizens .
You will have to pay separately for the downhill simulator – 95 NOK per adult and 55 per child .
National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
It contains the largest collection of Norwegian art, which covers the period from romanticism to the middle of the last century. The works of masters from other countries are also presented here.
The gallery was founded in the 30s of the 19th century to preserve the cultural heritage of Norway. In 2003, the gallery was renamed the museum. The attraction occupies only one of the three buildings, in the other two are the Museums of Applied and Contemporary Art.
Address: Universitetsgata, 13, located near the metro station – Nationaltheatret.
You can visit the attraction:
- on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10-00 to 18-00
- on Thursday from 10-00 to 19-00
- on Saturday and Sunday from 10-00 to 17-00
- Monday closed
Entrance fee is 100 CZK.
Oslo Viking Ship Museum
The attraction is part of the Museum of History, which is open at the University in the capital of Norway. It has been operating since 1913, the main exhibits are three boats, which were raised from the bottom of different seas. According to experts, ships were built in the 9th century, and were flooded more than a thousand years ago.
On the first boat – Oseberg – the carving was perfectly preserved. Presumably, the ship belonged to the wife of the leader of the tribe. This is a large ship 22 meters long and 6 meters wide.
The second boat – Gostadskaya – is located in the eastern part of the museum, it was used for swimming over long distances. Judging by the technical equipment of the vessel, it could easily cross the ocean. The length of the vessel is 24 meters, it is built entirely from oak wood.
The third boat – Tuna – the smallest – is located in the western part of the museum. However, this is not even a ship, but its individual fragments. Due to its compact size, the ship was able to reach speeds of up to 10 knots per hour (18.5 km / h).
In the southern part of the museum are objects found on boats.
For a more comfortable viewing of the exposition, special balconies are equipped in the room, in addition, there is free Wi-Fi.
Oslo Viking Museum Address: Huk Aveny 35.
Schedule:
- from May to the end of September – from 9-00 to 18-00;
- from October to the end of April – from 10-00 to 16-00.
Admission price for adults is 100 NOK, for children under 18 – free of charge.
Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo
The main theme of the exposition is the crossing of the Pacific Ocean by Tura Heyerdahl on the Kon-Tiki raft. This vessel is exhibited in the museum. During a visit to the museum, thoughts about the limits of human capabilities will probably visit you.
The restored raft is installed in the central hall and is beautifully highlighted. Also here you can find materials about the expedition – photographs, maps, items from the ship Kon-Tiki.
Other halls display expositions devoted to other expeditions of Heyerdahl – on reed boats Tigris and Ra, research on Easter Island, Fatu Khiva archipelago. The ship Ra was restored in full size and the cave in which the scientist lived on Easter Island was recreated.
Kon-Tiki has a shark room where a stuffed animal is displayed. It was with him that the Heyerdahl team met in the Pacific Ocean. Tourists are shown documentary filming from the ship on the journey of Heyerdahl. In 1951, the film received an Oscar.
Address: 36 Bygdoynesveien, Oslo.
Open:
- from November to the end of February – from 10-00 to 16-00;
- in the spring – from 10-00 to 17-00;
- in the summer – from 9-30 to 17-00;
- in September and October – from 10-00 to 17-00.
- The Kon-Tiki Museum is open seven days a week.
The cost of an adult ticket is 100 CZK, for a child 40 CZK, for a family (2 + 5) 200.
Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology
The museum was created with the aim of demonstrating scientific and technological progress to visitors. Here are exhibits that demonstrate the development of all technologies in Norway: medicine, oil production, transport, hydropower.
Part of the room is reserved for tourists who want to experiment on their own – here you can touch everything, push the buttons.
There is a cafeteria and a museum gift shop on site.
Address: Kjelsåsveien 143, Oslo.
Schedule:
- from June 20 to August 20 – from 11 to 18 (seven days a week);
- from 21.08 to 19.06 – from 9 to 16 on weekdays and from 11 to 18 on Sat and Sun.
The total cost is 150 NOK, for children 4-17 years old – 100.
National Museum of Modern Art in Oslo
The attraction is part of the National Gallery, the exposition consists of five thousand works of local and European masters, who worked after 1945. Here are collected more than 5 thousand exhibits, which are constantly exhibited. However, connoisseurs of art are more attracted to temporary exhibitions, which can be found on the official website of the museum.
The exposition consists of paintings, photographs and sculptures. Any means of expressing fantasies, creativity and talent can become part of the exhibition.
The most interesting expositions:
- “Inner room 5”;
- “The Man Who Never Threw Out Anything” is a work of the Russian artist Ilya Kabakov.
Of course, all tourists are sure to pay attention to the famous painting Scream by the Norwegian artist Munch.
O.Hjorth Café is located on the museum’s grounds. Here you can order a set lunch. Be sure to visit the store with a large assortment of books on art.
Address: Bankplassen, 4, Oslo.
Schedule:
- weekdays (except Thursday) – from 11-00 to 17-00;
- Thursday – from 11-00 to 19-00;
- Weekends – from 12-00 to 17-00.
- The day off is Monday.
Ticket price for adults is 130 kroons, for students – 90, children under 18 years old – free of charge. You can also visit the museum for free with the Oslo Pass.
Oslo Munch Museum
Visiting the museum, many discover that Munch’s brush belongs not only to the world-famous Scream painting. The vast majority of paintings can not be called positive.
The attraction exhibits 28 thousand exhibits, including more than 1100 paintings, 17800 posters, 7700 drawings and sketches, more than 20 sculptures, as well as a collection of photographs.
The museum shows documentaries about the life and career of the master.
Address: Toyengata, 53.
Working hours:
- in the summer – from 10-00 to 17-00, without days off;
- in winter – from 10-00 to 16-00.
Entrance to the museum is free for children under 18 years of age. A ticket to the Munch Museum in Oslo costs 100 kroons.
Museums in Oslo are visited annually by millions of tourists. The opinion of vacationers is unambiguous – the capital of Norway is an unforgettable city with a unique atmosphere, despite the rather high prices.
All the museums described in the article and the main attractions of Oslo are marked on the map in Russian.
