Having spent a couple of months in Oslo, we’ve had ample opportunity to visit many museums. And we’ve reported on the National Museum in Pipervika and the Munch Museum in Bjørvika. They were two of our favourites. But there are so many more! (P.S. we did get to the bar on the top floor of Munch Museum and it was spectacular!)
We really liked the Akershus Fortress, which dates from the medieval period: cool stuff, good views. And the small but awesome Home Front Museum is located there. We are a sucker for a good diorama, and this place had them like crazy. So ok yes, it was a bit dated. But it was also full of excellent things: photos, documents and newspapers, maps, clothing, recordings, videos, shells, things in which resistance fighters hid radios, printing presses, you name it. We did not know much about Norway’s role in WWII. Perhaps you do not either? Two fun facts: you have probably heard of a quisling but did you know that he was Norwegian? Also, Hitler was convinced that the Allies would try to make landfall on the west coast of Norway. And – partly because of this – they didn’t.
The Astrup Fearnley Museum is a stunning building with an impressive array of contemporary art (one of the largest collections in Europe). Ai Weiwei, Elmgreen and Dragset, Rachel Harrison, Romuald Hazoumé, Nan Goldin, Jeff Koons, plus tons of others we hadn’t heard of.
Finally, there are a slew of museums out at Bygdøy, an easy ride from Pipervika harbour. The Norwegian Folk Museum is an enormous open-air space with more than a hundred buildings (houses, churches, forges, etc.), plus folks dressed in period costumes. Also lots of exhibits of artifacts and items from everyday life. The Fram Museum houses the wooden polar ship Fram, plus exhibits of other important voyages by sea and air. The Kon-tiki Museum contains Thor Heyerdahl’s raft, as well as memorabilia and his personal library.
There are also some museums we did not get to. But it’s not our fault! About every fourth person we told we were going to Oslo had been there. All of them told us to make sure we went to the Viking Ship Museum; one friend from college called it his favorite museum anywhere. Alas and alack: it’s closed for remodeling until 2026. So is the Ibsen Museum, which was also his house. And so was the Architecture Museum, though some of its highlights are in the Nationalmuseet Our best guess is that they closed all of these during our visit this to make sure we have to return.
