With kids · Oslo · Norway
Oslo with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Grzegorz Wysocki, CC BY 3.0
Quick answer
Oslo is easy with children: museums are hands-on, parks and playgrounds are everywhere, and forest lakes, ski slopes and island beaches are reached by metro, tram or ferry. Pushchairs work well on the low-floor trams and the metro. Top picks: Vigeland Park, Fram Museum and Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. Families usually base themselves in Frogner and Majorstuen.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 8
- Best area for families
- Frogner and Majorstuen
- Rainy-day options
- 3
- Busiest months
- July
Best things to do with kids
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Park · Frogner
1.Vigeland Park
Inside Frogner Park, Gustav Vigeland's sculpture installation lays out more than 200 bronze, granite and wrought-iron figures along a central axis, from the bridge with the much-photographed Angry Boy (Sinnataggen) to the 14-metre Monolith of intertwined bodies. It is open to all and free, and the wider park has a large playground, lawns and a café.
Come early on a summer morning or in soft evening light, when the bridge statues are free of tour groups.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Art
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Photo spot
Museum · Bygdøy
2.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. 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.
Pair it with the Kon-Tiki Museum across the square; both are at Bygdøynes, the stop for the summer ferry.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Museum · Bygdøy
3.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. In summer, staff in costume bake flatbread and tend farm animals; indoor halls cover folk costume, Sami culture and toys.
Start at the stave church before the crowds arrive, then let children loose among the farm buildings.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Architecture
Museum · Bygdøy
4.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. 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.
Visit after the Fram Museum, which is a one-minute walk away.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Landmark · Holmenkollen
5.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. 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.
Ride metro line 1 to Holmenkollen station and walk about 15 minutes uphill; in winter, continue by metro to Frognerseteren for sledging and cross-country trails.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Views
- Kids
- Active
- History
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. It is one of the best rainy-day options in Oslo for families.
Combine it with the Akerselva river walk, which starts just down the hill.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Island · Oslofjord
7.Oslofjord islands
Public ferries run by Ruter link the city waterfront with the inner fjord islands, so a regular public-transport ticket covers a day of island-hopping. 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.
Pack a picnic and swimsuit; island cafés are few and close early outside high summer.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Low cost
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Nature
- History
- Couples
Nature · Nordmarka
8.Sognsvann lake
Metro line 5 ends at Sognsvann, a forest lake on the edge of the Nordmarka wilderness about 20 minutes from the centre. An easy 3.3-kilometre trail circles the lake, and longer marked paths lead deeper into the forest towards Ullevålseter. Locals swim here in summer, grill on the shore and ski the groomed trails in winter.
Walk the loop anticlockwise and stop at the beach on the far side for a swim or a picnic.
- Time needed
- 1.5–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Active
Rainy-day ideas
- Fram Museum — Pair it with the Kon-Tiki Museum across the square; both are at Bygdøynes, the stop for the summer ferry.
- Kon-Tiki Museum — Visit after the Fram Museum, which is a one-minute walk away.
- Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology — Combine it with the Akerselva river walk, which starts just down the hill.
Where families should stay
$$$$ · Best for families, quiet stays, shopping and luxury
Frogner and Majorstuen
Frogner is Oslo's grand residential west end, with embassies, 19th-century apartment blocks and Frogner Park, home to the Vigeland sculptures. Majorstuen, just north, is a transport hub where the metro lines to Holmenkollen and Sognsvann meet, and Bogstadveien runs downhill with a long line of shops and cafés. It is quieter than the centre and well suited to families.
- Good
- Leafy, calm streets; Fast metro access to Holmenkollen and the forest; Vigeland Park on the doorstep
- Watch out
- Expensive and mostly residential; Limited nightlife
- Nearby
- Vigeland Park, Bogstadveien, Majorstuen metro station, Oslo Museum at Frogner Manor
Family travel tips
- Children under 6 travel free on Ruter services, and older children pay reduced fares.
- Many museums are free or reduced for children, and family tickets are common.
- The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History has farm animals and costumed activities in summer.
- Supermarket picnics and the free Sørenga seawater pool make good low-cost summer afternoons.
- In winter, rent sledges near Frognerseteren for the long Korketrekkeren toboggan run down to Midtstuen.
Day trips for families
- Drøbak (About 1 hour by bus, longer by summer boat) — A white-painted wooden town on the narrows of the Oslofjord, with a year-round Christmas shop, a small aquarium and fjord-side restaurants.
- Fredrikstad (About 1 hour by train) — Fredrikstad's Gamlebyen (Old Town) is one of the best-preserved fortified towns in Scandinavia, with star-shaped ramparts, moats, cobbled streets and craft shops.
- Lillehammer (About 2 hours 15 minutes by train) — The host town of the 1994 Winter Olympics sits on Lake Mjøsa.
When to go with children
The best months overall are May–September. July is the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Oslo good for kids?
Oslo is easy with children: museums are hands-on, parks and playgrounds are everywhere, and forest lakes, ski slopes and island beaches are reached by metro, tram or ferry. Pushchairs work well on the low-floor trams and the metro.
+What can kids do in Oslo?
Vigeland Park, Fram Museum, Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, Kon-Tiki Museum and Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museum.
+Where should families stay in Oslo?
Frogner and Majorstuen: Elegant west-end apartment streets, Vigeland Park and the Bogstadveien shopping street.