History · Oslo · Norway
8 historic sites to see in Oslo
The places that tell the story of how the city came to be.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Grzegorz Wysocki, CC BY 3.0
Quick answer
Start with Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museum, Akershus Fortress and Royal Palace and Palace Park. Together the 8 picks below take roughly 12–16 hours across 4 areas; 3 are free.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 8
- Free entry
- 3
- Time to see them all
- 12–16 hours
- Areas
- Holmenkollen, Sentrum and Bygdøy
Historic sites in Oslo
Landmark · Holmenkollen
1.Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museum
The Ski Museum at its base covers 4,000 years of skiing and polar expeditions, and a lift and stairs take you to a platform at the top of the jump with a view down over Oslo and the fjord. A zipline runs from the tower in season.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Views
- Kids
- Active
- History
Castle · Sentrum
2.Akershus Fortress
The ramparts are free to walk and give some of the best views of the Opera House and Aker Brygge. Inside the grounds are the castle itself, with the Royal Mausoleum, and Norway's Resistance Museum about the German occupation of 1940–45.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Views
- Outdoors
Palace · Sentrum
3.Royal Palace and Palace Park
The surrounding Slottsparken is a free public park with ponds and old trees, and the changing of the guard takes place in the palace square daily at 1:30pm. Guided tours of the interior run only in summer.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Kids
- Outdoors
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Architecture · Sentrum
4.Oslo City Hall
Entry is free, and the main hall and upstairs rooms are covered in murals of Norwegian life, work and the wartime occupation by artists including Henrik Sørensen and Alf Rolfsen. The courtyard has carved wooden friezes of Norse myths.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Museum · Bygdøy
5.Fram Museum
You can climb aboard and walk through the cabins, and a second hall holds Gjøa, the first ship to sail the Northwest Passage. Exhibits cover sledging, polar clothing and the race to the South Pole.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Museum · Bygdøy
6.Norwegian Museum of Cultural History
In summer, staff in costume bake flatbread and tend farm animals; indoor halls cover folk costume, Sami culture and toys.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Architecture
Museum · Bygdøy
7.Kon-Tiki Museum
A model whale shark hangs beneath the raft, and the exhibits on Easter Island and Heyerdahl's other voyages are compact enough for an hour.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Island · Oslofjord
8.Oslofjord islands
Hovedøya has the ruins of a 12th-century Cistercian monastery, meadows and small beaches; Gressholmen and Lindøya have painted summer cabins and swimming rocks. Services are most frequent from late spring to early autumn.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Low cost
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Nature
- History
- Couples
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Holmenkollen | Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museum | 2 hours |
| Sentrum | Akershus Fortress, Royal Palace and Palace Park and Oslo City Hall | 1–2 hours + 45 minutes + 45 minutes |
| Bygdøy | Fram Museum, Norwegian Museum of Cultural History and Kon-Tiki Museum | 1.5–2 hours + 2–3 hours + 1 hour |
| Oslofjord | Oslofjord islands | Half a day |
Booking and timing
Of these 8, 3 free, 1 low cost, 4 mid-priced. Book ahead for Royal Palace and Palace Park. The longest visit is Oslofjord islands; group the rest by area to save travel time.
- Royal Palace and Palace Park: Summer interior tours have limited places; buy tickets ahead if you want to go inside.
How to fit them into 4 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Holmenkollen and Sentrum): Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museum → Akershus Fortress → Royal Palace and Palace Park, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Sentrum and Bygdøy): Oslo City Hall → Fram Museum, at least 2 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Bygdøy): Norwegian Museum of Cultural History → Kon-Tiki Museum, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 4 (Oslofjord): Oslofjord islands, at least 3 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- January: highs of 0°C (32°F), about 10 rainy days, very quiet crowds. Cold and dark, with about six hours of daylight; snow often covers the forest trails, and cross-country skiing starts at the metro stations.
- February: highs of 0°C (32°F), about 7 rainy days, quiet crowds. Usually the snowiest, most reliable month for skiing and sledging above the city, with days lengthening quickly.
- March: highs of 4°C (39°F), about 8 rainy days, quiet crowds. Bright, crisp days with snow still on the hills; a good month for skiing in the morning and museums in the afternoon.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Sentrum and Karl Johans gate — The main pedestrian street from Oslo Central Station to the Royal Palace, with Parliament and the National Theatre
- Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen — Former shipyard turned glassy waterfront of restaurants, galleries and fjord ferries
More of Oslo
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Oslo?
Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museum. The steel ski jump, rebuilt for the 2011 Nordic World Ski Championships, stands on the ridge above the city at the end of metro line 1.
+Which of these are free in Oslo?
Akershus Fortress, Royal Palace and Palace Park and Oslo City Hall.