Oslo walking tour & city guide

The waterfront

The Oslo Opera House slopes into the water, and you can walk on its white marble roof. Nearby, the Munch Museum holds The Scream. Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen are waterfront districts of restaurants and galleries, and Akershus Fortress overlooks the harbor.

Parks and museums

Vigeland Park has more than 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. On the Bygdøy peninsula, museums display Viking ships, the polar ship Fram and the Kon-Tiki raft. Karl Johans gate leads to the Royal Palace.

A day in Oslo

Start at the Opera House and walk up its sloping white marble roof for a view over the fjord. Follow the harbor promenade past the new Munch Museum and the city hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, to Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen, a modern waterfront district with art and restaurants.

In the afternoon, visit Vigeland Park, filled with more than 200 sculptures of human figures, or take the ferry to Bygdøy, a peninsula of museums including the Fram polar ship and the Kon-Tiki raft. In the evening, Grünerløkka is the place for cafés and bars.

Good to know

Oslo is an expensive city, but many attractions are free, including Vigeland Park and the Opera House roof. The Oslo Pass covers transport and museums. Public transport, including ferries to the islands of the Oslofjord, is efficient.

Summer brings long, light evenings and swimming in the fjord. In winter, the hills of Holmenkollen, with its famous ski jump, are reachable by metro, and locals ski right from the end of the line.