Experience the interesting Oslo

If you’ve seen Oslo in pictures before, you’ve probably noticed the super modern opera house, the painter Munch with his painting “The Scream,” a couple of museums and maybe also the fact that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded there. All this and more can be found in Oslo.

What should you see, do and experience in Oslo?

At the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, can you see Edvard Munch’s world-renowned artwork, the Expressionist painting, versions of which the painter worked on between 1893 and 1910. It’s called The Scream. Norway doesn’t have as many art collections as in Oslo. A new national museum is currently being built in the city center and will be the largest in Scandinavia. It will be located on the ground of the former Vestbanen railway station and is scheduled to open in 2022.

The Opera House, home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, is currently Norway’s largest cultural building. Its minimalism and functionality blend in with the surroundings and the cityscape. You certainly won’t miss it, standing on the water in Bjørvika Harbour.

Fjords and islands characterize the whole country, including the capital. It’s worth buying a 24-hour ferry ticket and taking a city cruise. One of the capital’s most enchanting spots is the Oslofjord, a part of the Skagerrak Strait that connects the North Sea and the Kattegat region with the Baltic Sea. The Oslofjord is not a fjord in the geological sense – in Norwegian the term fjord refers to a variety of waterways.

If you are interested in history, castles and palaces, you should not miss the 13th-century Akershus Fortress. If you want more solitude and fewer tourists, take the number 11 tram and spend a few hours in the huge Frogner Park with the world’s largest statuary installation – Vigeland.