link to the related Norway post from my time in Lofoten
overview
What a fun little city.
Well, it' not exactly a small city, because the greater urban area does have over a million people in it. However it does have a welcoming neighborhood feel. The main downtown area is very walkable. You could get from the Opera house on one side of it to the Royal Palace on the other side in 25 minutes. A little quicker with their multiple public transit options (subway, street cars, buses ... and technically boats, but that wouldn't help in this situation).
There's a pedestrian shopping and entertainment street. There's a few parks, random art, the hidden gem pubs and the typical chain restaurants. You have great views of the harbor (especially from the mentioned Opera house) and can still get into the natural environment quickly away from shore. There's a few cool neighborhood areas just outside downtown (also walkable), which include Bygdøy, Frogner, and Tøyen to name a few.
I spent part of my first arrival day checking out areas around my hotel. That included the harbor, Opera house, Royal Palace, and the new luxury neighborhood of Aker Brygge. It has sculpture gardens, bars, restaurants, art stores, a walking tour path, a beach and swimming area, among other public spaces.
The second day was a big museum and park day. I got the Oslo 24 hour pass and it was completely worth it. It covered all the city transportation, and I took them all. It also included entry into most of the tourist sites around town. I started with a ferry ride to the Bygdøy peninsula. It includes museums galore: Fram, Kon-tiki, Maritime, Norwegian Cultural History, Viking ship, Holocaust and Pharmacy museums. I saw the first 5 of that list and they were all entertaining. The Viking ship was the smallest and had the least to do, however it was so packed. I think most big tour buses and paid packages include that. If you go, it's fine to skip that one because you learn and see so much more at the rest of them.
Probably the most impressive of those that I saw in the morning was the Cultural history. It has indoor displays about the local nature, clothing, art, and history. But the amazing part is the outdoor sections covering over a 1000 years of the past. There are a ton of old buildings from towns and villages around the country. Some of them are the originals that have been moved, and others are replicas that have been rebuilt using only the tools that would have been available at that time. A countryside area includes a working farm with livestock, gardens, mills, textile machinery, and other tools from 17th and 18th century living conditions.
In the afternoon of my big tour Olso pass day, I continued with some more local displays. First up was the Oslo city museum with all the information you could want about how the city came to be. There was also the Vigeland museum, about a local sculpture who carved average everyday people in the buff, and a display of all his works in the nearby Frogner park. Also visited the Munch museum for the local artist, most famous for the Scream painting. Next up was the Natural History and Zoological museums. Right next door was the botanical gardens, so I walked through them back towards the city center. I closed out the day with a visit to the Nobel Peace museum.
There's definitely more to do that what I covered as well. You could check out the Astrup museum and center, Akershus fortress and castle grounds, Ekeburg neighborhood and it's sculpture park, the ski jump and winter Olympics training grounds, the National theater, day trips to islands in the harbor, or eat and drink all day from the best chefs in the country at the Mathallen.
Recommend:
- Fram museum
- Norwegian Cultural History living museum
- Frogner park and Vigeland sculptures (free)
- Nobel Peace museum
- Botanical gardens (free)
- Aker Brygge food and drink
- Opera building with harbor and city views from the top
- Mathallen
Trip Map
related:
Copenhagen Denmark
Malmo Sweden
Stockholm Sweden
Lofoten Norway
Pictures
see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums
or for this Oslo trip: Oslo Norway album
some of my favorites:
Links
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MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen
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