Museums · Oslo · Norway
6 best museums in Oslo
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
.jpg){kind=link}
Quick answer
Start with MUNCH, National Museum and Fram Museum. Together the 6 picks below take roughly 11–15 hours across 4 areas; all charge for entry.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 6
- Free entry
- 0
- Time to see them all
- 11–15 hours
- Areas
- Bjørvika, Aker Brygge and Bygdøy
Museums in Oslo
.jpg){kind=link}
Museum · Bjørvika
1.MUNCH
The 13-storey MUNCH museum opened in 2021 to hold the huge collection Edvard Munch left to the city, including painted, drawn and printed versions of The Scream, which are shown in rotation to protect them.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- Rainy day
- Views
_(2).jpg){kind=link}
Museum · Aker Brygge
2.National Museum
Norway's National Museum moved into its stone-clad building beside City Hall in 2022, uniting the national collections of art, architecture and design.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Iconic
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Museum · Bygdøy
3.Fram Museum
The museum is built around Fram, the wooden ship used by Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen on Arctic and Antarctic expeditions between 1893 and 1912.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Museum · Bygdøy
4.Norwegian Museum of Cultural History
Norsk Folkemuseum is an open-air museum of more than 150 buildings moved from across Norway, including the Gol stave church from around 1200, turf-roofed farmsteads and an 'Old Town' of Oslo apartments furnished from different decades.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Architecture
Museum · Bygdøy
5.Kon-Tiki Museum
Thor Heyerdahl's balsa-wood raft Kon-Tiki, which drifted from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, is displayed here alongside Ra II, the papyrus reed boat he sailed across the Atlantic in 1970.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Museum · Kjelsås
6.Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology
Norsk Teknisk Museum fills a large hall at Kjelsås, near the top of the Akerselva, with steam engines, early cars, aircraft and computers, plus a hands-on science centre where children can experiment with electricity, water and light.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Bjørvika | MUNCH | 2–3 hours |
| Aker Brygge | National Museum | 2–3 hours |
| Bygdøy | Fram Museum, Norwegian Museum of Cultural History and Kon-Tiki Museum | 1.5–2 hours + 2–3 hours + 1 hour |
| Kjelsås | Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology | 2–3 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 6, 6 mid-priced. Book ahead for MUNCH. The longest visit is MUNCH; group the rest by area to save travel time.
- MUNCH: Timed tickets bought online help on summer weekends and for popular temporary exhibitions.
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 (Bjørvika): MUNCH, at least 2 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Aker Brygge and Bygdøy): National Museum → Fram Museum, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Bygdøy): Norwegian Museum of Cultural History → Kon-Tiki Museum, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 4 (Kjelsås): Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology, at least 2 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
- Bjørvika and Sørenga — New waterfront quarter of the Opera House, MUNCH, the Deichman library and a seawater pool
- 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?
MUNCH. The 13-storey MUNCH museum opened in 2021 to hold the huge collection Edvard Munch left to the city, including painted, drawn and printed versions of The Scream, which are shown in rotation to protect them.