7/2/2024 - adults were about $20 US dollars and kids under 18 years old were free, that is 1-17…read moreyears old. There are three floors and only staircases to walk up. No elevators. You can't bring backpacks in and they give you free storage. The Viking items were on the 3rd floor. I liked still the Viking items. Also, Ancient Aliens on a rock? Hmm, misunderstood technology. It looks like a humanoid being in a space suit with a flying saucer. You decide. Well worth the money. Restrooms on every floor as well. The upper floor was the best. Also, they have a huge relax zone for kids and families with tables, chairs and crafts.

This is a small museum with a lot of great artifacts on 3 levels. Unfortunately, there is NO AUDIO…read moreGUIDE or LIVE GUIDE to explain all of the items on display (which I would have gladly paid extra for). Worth a visit if you have the Oslo Card, but I'm not sure it would be worth paying full admission. Artifacts included Arctic, Vikings, Indians and a large display of gold coins. Lockers are provided free of charge and they make you put your backpack in the locker. Photography is allowed throughout the museum.

Highlight of our Oslo trip hands down!…read more There are indoor and outdoor exhibitors, making this museum agreeable to whatever the weather has in mind for the day. While the indoor exhibits are fun and educational, my family and I found the outdoor displays especially interesting and fun. Tons of photo opps, and lots of places with shade if you're worried about sun exposure. Inside there are even legos and books (in Norwegian) for children. Be sure to look for: -Kong Oscar church (absolutely beautiful) -the horses! -staff dressed up in traditional Norwegian clothing Keep in mind: -outdoors has some inclines (not the most stroller friendly, but doable) Tip: bring a selfie stick to get some photos in front of some of the very tall outdoor displays!

This is a super cool museum that I would recommend you go when the weather is nice. I unfortunately…read morevisited while it was extremely cold and couldn't see the entire museum because a lot of it is outdoors. But from what I did see it has a lot of history and seeing historical buildings was super cool! The inside museums were cool too going through the history of attire, homes, jobs, etc. If you want to learn more about Norways history visit this museum!

Excellent museum, be sure to stand on the ship during the Stormy seas for an almost 3D experience…read more The displays were very thorough and informative, I learned a lot about Arctic exploration. We spent 1 and a half hours here and certainly didn't read everything. Walk through the tunnel to the display of aviation history at the North Pole and take in the 5 minute simulation of the first flight to the North Pole, complete with vibrating seats.

Probably the best and most interesting museum in Oslo that we visited! It tells the story of the…read moreFram, which is a ship instrumental in both artic and antarctic exploration, detailing everything about the journeys, crew, impacts, and all related. The most impressive is that they have the actual ship in the museum, where you are able to go inside and see all the decks and the places where the crew would have been living in. There is also a separate connected building that similarly displays the Gjoa. This area is less traversed, but it was still a very interesting read! Would highly recommend trying to fit this into your schedule!

Excellent modern museum. I learned so much. There is an extensive history of his life, his family…read moreand his studies, including an interactive mock-up of his home. Plus of course many of his works including a rotation of three of his "The Scream" works. Some aspects of the exhibit are a bit depressing as he was a very troubled person with many medical issues. There are also sections with adult content so parents with children should be aware. Be sure and have a drink at the rooftop bar for excellent views.

Visiting this museum has got to be one of the highlights of visiting the city of Oslo. It's an…read morearchitecturally beautiful building with views of the city, holding all of his famous artwork. Before you begin viewing the artwork, it's best to check your purse or bag in the cloak room, unless you don't mind security going through it. I enjoyed the interactive aspects of the museum. This includes walking through a skeletal mock-up of his home, from one dark and eery black room to the next. I picked up the phone that was ringing, but no one was on the other end...There's also a room exhibiting his prints only. At the back, an etched table, along with materials where you can create your own prints. As expected, the room where "The Scream" is being exhibited is the most crowded. Glad I had the chance to view all three versions. The price of admission includes the headphone set tour, which I opted out of.

The Viking Ship Museum is a must-do, if you're ever in Oslo. Ticket prices for adults are 100 NOK…read more($12 USD) and entry is free for children. However, I recommend purchasing the Oslo Pass, since it grants you free admission to all museums and public transportation. There are about 6 museums located in this area of Bygdøy. The Oseberg Viking Ship and the Gokstad Viking Ship are impressive. There is also a visual presentation of viking history every 15 minutes. The museum has many viking artifacts. It's small. You can probably see the whole thing in about one hour or so. The gift shop is also the cheapest of all the museum gift shops. 4 stars. Wonderful museum.

The Viking Ship Museum is part of the Museum of Cultural History of the University of Oslo. With…read moreyour NOK 100 or $11.24 USD ticket purchase at the entrance door to the Viking Ship Museum you are also entitled to free admission to the History Museum of Oslo located on the University of Oslo campus. You can use Mastercard, Visa or the Oslo pass. Tickets can not be purchased online. The Fram, Norwegian Maritime and Kno-Tiki museums are nearby. Three Viking ships are displayed here. the Oseberg (820 AD), Gokstad (900 AD), Tune (910 AD). These were all excavated between 1854-1904. The Borre Mound cemetery was a major source of artifacts including skeletal remains, wood carvings, sledges, small boats, cart tools and household utensils. There are not as many artifacts as you might find in other museums but the Viking Ship Museum allows you to get up-close to the ships. Information is presented in both Norwegian and English and a QR code lets you download additional information. You can also download a free app at ITunes or Google Play. There is a museum brochure in 14 different languages as well. A film "The Viking Alive" is screen all day in a separate room and on the wall. The cafe serves light food and rinks during the summer. The gift shop has unique Viking era jewelry, souvenirs, games, toys and books. Toilets are in the basement.

The Vigeland Sculpture Park was quite an impressive collection of sculptures and wrought iron works…read morecreated by Gustav Vigeland. It was one of the world's largest outdoor park by one artist. From the entrance gate it confirmed Tony's just how far we'd have to walk to see all of Vigeland's works. The intricate wrought iron gates at theme trance was just a taste and more of that seen as we god into the maze section (closed at the time of our visit). The bridge contained more statues and the most popular was the Angry Boy. A must see with that expression so plainly etched on his face and the in the position of the body. The massive fountain formed from bodies holding a huge bowl on top was a reflection of the burdens we shoulder. The tree of life was reflected plaques mounted all around the fountain and showed our life to death progress. The Monolith at the top of the hill was carved from a single block of granite and was a site to behold with the many carved bodies intertwined together reaching upwards. The Wheel of Life sculpture at the very end was the final piece in this part of the park. The museum was located ten minutes away from the park in a building erected by the City of Oslo for Vigeland. He turned over all of his work to the city after his passing as part of his agreement and funding. The museum housed many of the models used for those sculptures in the park as well as the wrought iron works that were never installed. The portion of the museum where Vigeland lived was only open at certain times but not during our visit. Well worth taking a short tram or bus ride away from the heart of Oslo.

This is a sculpture garden filled with over 200 sculptures (and over 600 individual figures)…read moredesigned by Gustav Vigeland from 1940 to 1949. I doubt you have ever seen anything like this. I am including lots of photos because it's impossible to describe what this is like. The focus of the sculptures is the cycle of life and this is literally shown as babies turn into children, who then turn into adolescents, adults, and old people, and eventually die -- as the circle continues. You will notice that the statues are very realistic and are not romanticized in the least. They are regular human beings. You will also notice, of course, that they are all naked. The purpose of this is to emphasize their humanity without relying on class or wealth that becomes more obvious when people wear clothes. This might make some people uncomfortable, but it is done without any intention of being erotic. The inspiration for Vigeland's work comes from Rodin's nude sculptures. However, the realistic human statues remind me of Pompei -- real human people caught in a fragment of time. That said, is it worth your time while in Olso? Absolutely! This will overwhelm your senses and be etched in your memory -- in a good way.

One of the lesser known historical spots in Oslo. Located in a residential neighbourhood this…read moremausoleum dedicated to Emmanuel Vigelands is the completely opposite to his brothers work in Vigelands park. He painted this mausoleum before he died and his ashes are located just above the doorway to the mausoleum. It's only open on Sundays from 12:00-16:00 and there is an entrance fee. Once inside you are in an echo chamber and you can hear a pin drop for well over ten seconds. You have to be silent and enter the dark room and once your eyes adjust to the darkness more of the paintings on the walls will appear and it's amazing. The walls depict the cycle of line and the whole chamber is covered top to bottom with paintings of different scenes through this cycle. An extremely unusual experience and the art work is amazing. Plan to spend 15-20mins in here as it takes a while to adjust in the dark. If you are afraid of dark spaces this is not the place for you. Very few people know about this place and you need a car or a good walk from the tram to get here. A not to be missed sight in town if you happen to be here on a Sunday. There were only about 20 people there when it opened and almost all Norwegian except me :-) A colleague of mine who is a lover of art brought me here and I am so glad he did :-) A special place in Oslo.

Turn your phone off, put on overshoes, and try to be as silent as possible. Then enter through the…read more5 ft. door and step into complete darkness. At this point, you have already bowed to the artist Emanuel Vigeland, whose ashes are stored just above the low entrance door. Over the next 15 minutes, your eyes will slowly, slowly adjust to the light, and a whole world will be gradually revealed, frightening or exhilarating, depending on your take on the Bosch-like piles of human shapes from babies to skeletons. Take care not kick one of the chairs in the darkness though, the sound in the completely empty church-like building will be as loud as a gunshot. This was possibly the most unique museum experience of my life! It's worth walking here, not only because of the lack of parking space, but also because there is a plethora of beautiful old and new architecture to be discovered in the residential area around the museum.

I remember long ago learning about the Kon-Tiki when I was much younger and now finally got to see…read moreit in person while in Oslo. The museum was a short ferry ride on the Bygdoy ferry that departed from City Hall Pier 3. The ferry ride and museum admission were included in our Oslo Pass. Once inside the Kon Tiki balsa wood ship was to the left and the Ra II reed boat was to the right. The museum seemed a little older but overall presented the Kon Tiki expedition in an easy to follow manner with lots of interesting artifacts. It was also surprising to learn about the post sailing and the effort needed to bring the Kon Toki back to Norway which eventually led to the renovation and housing in this museum. Thor Heyerdahl also funded and led other expeditions and the Easter Island one was covered in detail while following a tunnel down below. The Ra II was housed in the final section of the museum. It was another proof of concept that worked out the second time with this reed boat. The expedition also collected details about the oil spills found on their journey and the resulting actions taken. While it's convenient to see this museum after the Fram or Maritime museums (located right across the parking lot from each other) one may want to split the visit so you don't get overloaded with seeing boats.

This museum packs a lot into a small space. Basically a museum built to commemorate the voyages of…read moreThor Heyerdoll, it preserved two of his boats the Kontiki and the raw two that made groundbreaking voyages using only the current for power. There were many fascinating things about life on board, and Thor hired all himself, as well as the wildlife they encountered on their voyages.

Let's say you were just at the national gallery and felt inspired to paint your next masterpiece…read more This place has you covered. The staff is friendly and helpful.