I'm going on a Norwegian cruise which has some days in the Oslo area. Any advice on visiting the Fram Museum vs. Viking Ship Museum vs. Museum of Cultural History? Another question: we'll visit the Maloy Raid Center so I wonder if there's much overlap with the Norway Resistance Museum (an option in Oslo).
Thank you for advice.
Highly recommend the Vigeland sculpture garden at Frogner Park.
Viking Ship Museum is no option because closed until 2027.
Recommend Norsk Folkemuseum.
The Historical Museum has some Viking material on display. It's a good option until the Viking Ship Museum reopens.
I also liked the National Museum and MUNCH. Both are quite new. I went to the National Museum primarily for the art, but it also shows decorative art and a fashion collection.
The Astrup Fearnley Museum is good for those who like modern art. The Henie Onsted Kunstsenter also has a good modern-art collection. It's outside Oslo but accessible via bus and a short walk.
I haven't been to the Maloy Raid Center, so I can't comment on how much that might be duplicated by the Norway Resistance Museum. The latter is a bit of a walk from the nearest public-transit access point, as I recall, so a visit there might take more time than expected.
Oslo has a lot more museums. A bit of Googling might turn up something aligned with your personal interests.
Have you also considered the Norse Folkmuseum - an open air museum of historic buildings from the region? We spent all day - I am an open air museum enthusiast, I know not everyone is. (oops -edit, recommended above also)
https://norskfolkemuseum.no/en/the-open-air-museum
Fram Museum - I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. I'm sure we didn't spend more than 90 minutes, so possibly a quicker stop. Kind of "old fashioned" with signboards, but a lot of info in English that I enjoyed. Good if interested in polar exploration and history.
Kon-Tiki Museum - across from Fram. Another quicker stop. If you've seen the 1950s documentary or more recent movie re-make, this was an interesting stop.
Museum of Cultural History is farther out than the others from central Oslo. We didn't make it there as other spots were easier to access and combine.
Munch is very well curated.
As mentioned, the National Museum is quite good and convenient. Art and history under one roof!
(June 2023 trip)
Personally I'm very fond of the Norwegian Maritime Museum. But in the end it is a matter of personal preference and what you're interested in.
^^^^ Interesting - I generally enjoy maritime museums and have seen many world-wide. Oslo's was one I was quite disappointed in. My companion felt the same. I refrained from mentioning this above as people have different interests and reactions. Glad to see that Badger has had good experiences! (The Maritime Museum is very convenient to Kon-tiki and Fram.)
Not a criticism of Badger's preferences, but as indicated, an indication of how people's preferences differ and the need to review websites and reviews for individual interests!
I'm certainly no connoisseur of maritime museums, so I might have set the bar lower. But on the other hand I'm less impressed by the Kon-Tiki museum. It's worth a visit if you are in the area (after all, I've been to it twice) but there are better museums in Oslo in my opinion. And it underlines my point that it at least partly depends on personal preference. I do agree about Fram though, I really like that museum.
For the interested: there is a special topic maritime museum in Sandefjord focusing on whaling, the Hvalfangstmuseet and the former whaling boat Southern Actor.
We were in Oslo in 2023 and purchased the Oslo Pass for 3 days. I was quite pleased with that because it allowed us to visit a lot of them briefly without necessarily feeling that we needed to get our ‘monies worth’ at each one. We just spent time in the parts we really wanted to see - the Viking exhibits in the Historical Museum, stave church in the Folk museum, the Scream in the Munch museum and also the National museum. One of our favourites was the Fram. Kontiki was worth a short visit, being next to the Fram. We also weren’t overly excited by the Maritime museum. I’m very interested in the resistance movements but the Oslo museum was a bit tired.
The pass included public transport, and it was easy to get around to the museums and sculpture park by tram and bus and my husband also used the pass to take a trip to an island on a ferry when he was museumed out. We found the pricing to be quite reasonable - I think under $100 each for the 3 days. And all conveniently done on our phones.
Thank you all for the advice. I'm watching the Viking TV videos on Norway culture and history. Very helpful as well.
Other Viking museums you will find in Roskilde (DK), Haithabu museum village (Germany), on Lofoten (Norway), Haugesund (Viking Planet and Haraldshaugen) and many other Viking places in Norway.
I spent a whole day at The Fram Museum ( and the adjoining Gjoa installation ) If you are somewhat familiar with the likes of Fridtjof Nansen ( Norwegian explorer and statesman) and particularly Roald Amundsen , the first to The South Pole in 1910 It is a must see . To fully appreciate this museum , read the story first - https://www.amazon.com/Last-Place-Earth-Amundsens-Exploration/dp/0375754741 and the fine film made of the tale - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8hB3TPEJcQ&list=PL9805401331EBEDEF
Make sure to see the paintings of 1880-1910, which are very atmospheric and criminally underrated. It was a golden age.
