17 Museums to Explore in Oslo

Checkout places to visit in Oslo

Oslo

Capital and most populous city of Norway. Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping.

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Museums to Explore in Oslo

Astrup Fearnley Museum

Contemporary art museum with a swimming pool and great views of Oslo harbor.

Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art

A beautiful museum that has a large collection of modern and contemporary art counted among the most significant of its kind in Northern Europe. The museum complements works from the permanent collection by rotating exhibitions with internationally renowned artists. The building is designed by the renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano. It is made up of three pavilions that reside under one distinctive glass roof, which is shaped like a sail.

Frogner Park

It contains the well-known Vigeland installation- a permanent sculpture installation created by Gustav Vigeland between 1924 and 1943. The sculpture park consists of sculptures as well as larger structures such as bridges and fountains.

Historical Museum

The Museum of Cultural History is one of Norway's largest cultural history museums. It holds the country's largest prehistoric and medieval archaeological collections, including the Viking ships at Bygdøy, a substantial collection of medieval church objects, and a rune archive. The museum also has a comprehensive ethnographic collection that includes objects from every continent, as well as Norway's largest collection of historical coins.

Holmenkollbakken

The ski museum in Holmenkollen, located underneath the famous ski jump, is the oldest of its kind in the world. The museum presents more than 4,000 years of skiing history, Norwegian polar exploration artifacts, and an exhibition on snowboarding and modern skiing. The observation deck on top of the jump tower offers panoramic views of Oslo. It has also hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics and the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 1930, 1966, 1982 and 2011.

Holmenkollen Ski Museum

The ski museum in Holmenkollen, located underneath the famous ski jump, is the oldest of its kind in the world. The museum presents more than 4,000 years of skiing history, Norwegian polar exploration artifacts, and an exhibition on snowboarding and modern skiing. The observation deck on top of the jump tower offers panoramic views of Oslo.

Intercultural Museum

The Intercultural Museum in Oslo, Norway, was founded in 1990 by Bente Guro Møller. It is a migration museum, and is primarily concerned with the collection, preservation and dissemination of Norwegian immigration history. The museum is open daily (except Mondays), and offers free entry to the main exhibits and the gallery of contemporary art. It also offers guided tours around Grønland, the historical "transit area" in downtown Oslo and one of the most obviously multicultural districts in th

Kon-Tiki Museum

A great place to experience original vessels and up-to-date exhibits on Heyerdahl’s expeditions, including Kon-Tiki, Ra, Tigris, Easter Island, Fatu-Hiva, Tùcume, Galapagos, a 30-meter cave tour, an underwater exhibit with a 10-meter model of a whale shark, Thor Heyerdahl’s library, Thor Heyerdahl the person, and Tiki pop culture.

Munch Museum

The Munch Museum's collection, left to the city of Oslo by the artist, consists of paintings, graphical prints and drawings. By constantly changing the exhibitions, the museum presents the variety in his production. Edvard Munch has a unique position among Nordic painters and is considered a pioneer in expressionism.

Nasjonalgalleriet

The National Museum holds, conserves, exhibits, and promotes public knowledge about Norway’s largest collections of art, architecture, and design. The museum presents permanent exhibitions of objects from its collection and temporary exhibitions of loaned and own material. It is one of ht finest exhibitions in this area.

Norwegian Maritime Museum

The Norwegian Maritime Museum is situated near several other museums, including the Fram Museum; the Kon-Tiki Museum; the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History; and the Viking Ship Museum. The Norwegian Maritime Museum is operated in conjunction with the Norwegian Folk Museum. Its exhibits including shipbuilding, boat models, fishing, marine archeology, and shipping. he museum also displays a collection of more than 40 maritime paintings by notable artists.

Oslo City Museum (Oslo Bymuseum)

The Oslo City Museum is situated at Frogner Manor in the Vigeland park. It is a museum of cultural history with one of the largest collections of paintings in Norway. The history of Oslo is illustrated by thematic exhibitions showing, among other things, the development of Oslo and the city's cultural and commercial activities.

Ringnes Park Museum, EKEBERG

A park with amazing views of Oslo and thought-provoking sculptures.

The Fram Museum

At the Fram Museum you can come on board the ship and see how the crew and their dogs managed to survive in the coldest and most dangerous places on earth - the Arctic and the Antarctic. This Museum also has a polar simulator where you can experience the cold and the dangers of polar expeditions more than 100 years ago.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History

Norsk Folkemuseum, at Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway, is a museum of cultural history with extensive collections of artifacts from all social groups and all regions of the country. It also incorporates a large open-air museum with more than 150 buildings, relocated from towns and rural districts.

The Vigeland Museum

Sculpture museum located in the studio and home of sculptor Gustav Vigeland. This building is regarded as one of the finest examples of neo-classical architecture in Norway. The museum's collection comprises Vigeland's early works, his portraits, and monuments, as well as plaster models for the sculptures in Vigeland Park. The artist's working process is well-documented in the museum, which also shows changing contemporary art exhibitions.

Viking Ship Museum

This is a great museum where the world's best-preserved Viking ships and finds from Viking tombs around the Oslo Fjord. It exhibits the Gokstad, Oseberg, and Tune ships, plus small boats, sledges, a beautiful cart, tools, textiles, and household utensils. It is one of the key attractions in Oslo.

Map of Museums to explore in Oslo