Oslo Experience Guide: The Best Things to Do in the Pearl of the North
Explore Oslo: The Best Activities for a Memorable Experience
Oslo is renowned for its iconic architecture, beautiful city parks, vibrant nightlife, and culinary experiences. Let’s take a closer look at what you must not miss in Oslo!
Enjoy Outdoor Life
Oslo offers nearby hiking areas, city parks, magnificent architecture, and modern museums. But a city walk in downtown Oslo gives you the opportunity to really feel the city’s pulse. Exiting Oslo Central Station, you meet the main street in Oslo, namely Karl Johans gate. Karl Johans gate offers a wide range of shopping opportunities, restaurants, and bars. You can admire both the Parliament, the National Theatre, and the Royal Palace while walking through Karl Johan.
In winter, you can also try ice skating along Karl Johan. The Spikersuppa skating rink is located right next to the Parliament and offers free admission. Spikersuppa is open from the end of November to March and is a melting pot for locals during the winter months. You can bring your own skates for a free experience or pay 200 kroner to rent skates.
A short walk northeast of downtown Oslo, you find Grünerløkka, or Løkka as the locals call the area. Grünerløkka is undoubtedly the city’s coolest neighborhood, where you can admire street art and graffiti before sitting down at a trendy bar to enjoy elegant drinks. On weekends, there are many small markets and concerts held in the green areas or along the river that runs through the district. There are also exciting niche stores and thrift shops where you can make great vintage finds. A district where nothing is boring!
While on a city walk, do not forget Tjuvholmen, where you can revel in luxury. Here you find Norway’s most expensive apartments, some with price tags of over 200 million kroner. Along the promenade, you will find world-class dining, and right at the tip of Tjuvholmen is also the Astrup Fearnley Museum. This is one of the leading museums for contemporary art in the Nordics, and even from the outside, it reflects modern architecture.
Park Walking in Oslo
Vigeland Park
Part of Frogner Park is dedicated to the artist Gustav Vigeland and is a famous sculpture park named Vigeland Park. Here are iconic statues like The Angry Boy, The Monolith, and The Wheel of Life, but also over 200 other magnificent sculptures. Vigeland Park is one of Norway’s most visited attractions, with nearly a million people admiring Vigeland’s sculptures annually.
Ekeberg Sculpture Park
If you want to combine the best of ancient culture and modern art, the sculpture park in Ekeberg will delight your eyes. You will be able to find rock carvings from the Stone Age and burial grounds dating from around 900-400 BCE. Among the Norwegian nature, you will also find beautiful modern sculptures. These are made by well-known artists such as Damien Hirst, Dan Graham, and Louise Bourgeois. The park also has beautiful viewpoints overlooking Oslo and nearby nature, adding a little extra to the experience.
Botanical Garden
At Tøyen, you will find an enchanting botanical garden. There is a great botanical diversity divided into several sections so you can almost travel the world inside the garden. You will find 300 species in the Herb Garden that are all medicinal and utility plants, while the Rock Garden specializes in Norwegian and foreign mountain plants. The collection here displays around 1700 mountain plants. The Fragrance Garden is a feature specially developed for visually impaired and wheelchair users, where all the plants smell delightful. Once inside Grandma’s Garden, you can get acquainted with typical Norwegian garden plants, while the Palm House offers tropical species. In winter, you can warm up inside the tropical greenhouse to take a break from the cold!
Iconic Buildings
Akershus Fortress
A medieval fortress from the 14th century. This building has been used as both a military facility and prison and is now a must-visit attraction for visitors to Oslo. Just outside the fortress, you will have a great view of the Oslofjord.
The Palace
You cannot visit Oslo without stopping by the Palace. Here lives Norway’s royal family, and the grand building in yellow, white, and light green is located at the very end of Karl Johans gate. In summer, it is possible to join a guided tour to learn even more about the royal family in Norway and the tasks the monarchy has these days.
Opera House
True contemporary architecture inspired by Norwegian ski slopes. The Opera House is a work of art in itself and has become a striking landmark for Oslo. Outside, you can admire the architecture and have a great view of the harbor, and inside, you find the main stage for both the National Opera and the National Ballet. Concerts are also regularly held on the roof.
SALT
SALT is more than just a building. It is more than a concert venue. It is more than food trucks. It is more than wellness in the many saunas. SALT is a combination of stages, bars, food trucks, saunas, and a melting pot for cultural gatherings. Whether you want a good view of the Opera House and Barcode, a simple lunch, or to feel the warmth in one of the saunas, SALT will give you some of the best Oslo has to offer.
Museum Walk
MUNCH
At the MUNCH museum in Oslo, you can admire art by Edvard Munch, but also 1100 other paintings, 4500 drawings and watercolors, 6000 books and documents, and 18,000 graphic works. It is a museum for contemporary art of world-class, and impressively has thirteen floors. If you are an art nerd, you should set aside a whole day to admire everything MUNCH has to show!
National Museum
An area of over 10,000 square meters spread over 90 rooms is synonymous with a grand National Museum of world-class! The new National Museum opened its doors in 2021 and displays everything in art, design, and architecture from our time back to ancient times. Enjoy all the beautiful artwork before you come up on the rooftop terrace. There you have a view over the town hall, Oslofjord, and Akershus Fortress, and can enjoy some well-deserved food and drink.
Deichman Bjørvika
Deichman is one of the iconic buildings in Barcode, right next to the Opera House. It is all of Oslo’s main library spread over six floors with modern architecture both outside and inside. Deichman is however more than just a library. You will find stages, a cinema hall, workshops with equipment, a podcast studio, study rooms, conference rooms, and much more. It’s no wonder it was named the world’s best public library in 2021! Make a trip and see what’s on the program for the day: there are indeed events to take part in every single day.
