Summary

The web content outlines a travel itinerary for a 24-hour visit to Oslo, focusing on museum exploration, particularly the Kon-Tiki and Fram Museums, and includes a visit to the Royal Park.

Abstract

The article titled "What to Visit in 24 Hours in Oslo" details a couple's museum-centric day in Oslo as part of their honeymoon in Norway. They chose activities that wouldn't occupy the entire day, allowing them to experience multiple attractions. They visited the Fram and Kon-Tiki Museums in Bygdoy, accessible by bus, and highlighted the value of the Oslo Pass for transport and museum access. The Kon-Tiki Museum showcases Thor Heyerdahl's expeditions, while the Fram Museum features the polar ship Fram. They also visited the National Maritime Museum and the National Museum, the latter of which had a mix of art and replicas of historical objects. The day concluded with a visit to Slottsplassen and the Royal Park. The author recommends the Fram and Kon-Tiki Museums, especially for families, but had mixed feelings about the National Museum.

Opinions

The author is not typically a museum enthusiast but found the Fram and Kon-Tiki Museums to be short and interesting, suggesting they are appealing even to non-museum-goers.
The Oslo Pass is recommended for its convenience in providing public transport access, free museum entry, and restaurant discounts.
The Kon-Tiki Museum is praised for telling the story of Thor Heyerdahl's famous expeditions.
The Fram Museum is highlighted for its centerpiece, the polar ship Fram, and is considered extremely interesting.
The National Museum, which opened in June 2022, was a disappointment to the author due to its focus on replicas of famous objects rather than original artworks.
Slottsplassen and the Royal Park are described as beautiful and not crowded, providing a peaceful end to the day.

What to Visit in 24 Hours in Oslo

Honeymoon in Norway Day 2 — A day of museums

Slottsplassen the Royal Palace in Oslo -Photo by the Author

In our itinerary, we only had one day to spend in Oslo. But there are so many things to do between cruises, hikes, museums, guided tours, kayaking, sight viewing tours and so much more. How to choose?

The way we chose was based on the rest of the activities we had booked during our holidays. That quickly eliminated fjord cruise, kayaking and other adrenaline activities. Then we wanted something that will not take all day so we can do more than one activity on that day, which eliminates guided tours or sight viewing tours.

So what did we choose? Well, one thing had grabbed my intention as we were walking the previous night through the centre. Signs for the Fram Museum.

Now I have a confession, I’m not a museum person. However, when it is something short and different I’m interested. And the Fram Museum looked like one of those. Right next to it was the Kon-Tiki Museum, another one that look quite different and interesting. They are located in Bydgoy which is outside of Oslo, and you can get there either by bus or sail across with a boat. We chose the bus as it’s a great opportunity to see the surroundings.

TIP: Oslo has a day pass, which gives you access to public transport, free access to museums and activities as well as discounts in restaurants. They have a 24, 48 and 72 hours pass, that you can either buy from the Oslo Pass mobile application or buy a pass from the Visitor Center.

Kon-Tiki Museum

The Kon-Tiki museum tells the story of Thor Heyerdahl, one of history’s most famous explorers, who in 1947 crossed the Pacific Ocean on the balsawood raft Kon-Tiki. Thor Heyerdahl after succeeding in his Kon-Tiki continued his adventure with his voyage on the Ra and Tigris reed boats.

The Kon_Tiki on the left and the Ra on the right — Photos from the Author

Fram Museum

Just next to the Kon-Tiki museum you’ll find the Fram museum. It tells the story of the Norwegian polar expedition and at its centre, it has the world´s strongest wooden polar ship, Framof Gjoa. You can go on board and take a look around in her cabins, lounges, cargo hold and engine room.

Both were extremely interesting and I highly recommend both of them, especially for families with children.

Next to the Fram museum, there is the National Maritime Museum which also seemed very interesting but unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time.

National Museum

After those two museums and a quick lunch at the cafeteria, we went back to Oslo centre and there we visited the National Museum.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for us. The museum opened 11th of June 2022 and exhibits and promotes Norway’s largest collections of art, architecture and design. But it also has a large exhibition about…. replicas of famous objects from around the world. They have a Roman, Greek and Egyptian exhibition where they had replicas of famous statues, which to be honest wasn’t really what we wanted to see. So mixed feelings about this one but other visitors might find it amazing.

Slottsplassen and the Royal Park

To finish the day on a high we quickly pop to see Slottsplassen (palace square) and the Royal Park. The park is absolutely beautiful and not crowded (at least when we visited). We even got to see what I think was a guard change.

That’s it for our first official day in Norway. Subscribe to find out the about the rest of our adventure!