Oslo's museums punch well above their weight for a city of 700,000 people. The Munch Museum alone holds 26,000 works — the largest collection by a single artist in the world. The National Museum is one of Europe's great art institutions, having opened its vast new building in 2022. And on the Bygdøy peninsula, four world-class museums cluster within walking distance of each other.
The Oslo Pass is the most practical way to tackle multiple museums. It covers entry to most major paid institutions plus unlimited public transport, and usually pays for itself within 4–5 museum visits. A 24-hour pass covers one intensive museum day; a 48 or 72-hour pass makes more sense for longer stays.
Several excellent Oslo museums are entirely free — including the Armed Forces Museum at Akershus Fortress, the Natural History Museum at Tøyen, the Oslo City Museum, and the Nobel Peace Center. These are worth factoring into your itinerary before spending on the paid attractions.
Included with the Oslo Pass
These 14 museums are free with the Oslo Pass — plus unlimited public transport.
Fram Museum
Go aboard the world's strongest wooden ship and relive Norway's heroic polar expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic.
National Museum
Norway's largest art museum — successor to the original National Gallery — home to Munch's The Scream and 7,000 years of Nordic and European art.
Norwegian Resistance Museum
A powerful museum inside Akershus Fortress documenting Norway's Nazi occupation, the resistance movement, and the liberation of 1945.
Munch Museum
Home to The Scream and 28,000 works by Edvard Munch — Oslo's most iconic museum in a striking 13-floor waterfront building.
Norwegian Folk Museum
Scandinavia's largest open-air museum with 160 historic buildings, a medieval stave church, and costumed staff bringing history to life.
Kon-Tiki Museum
See the original Kon-Tiki raft and the Ra II — Thor Heyerdahl's legendary ocean voyages brought to life on Oslo's Bygdøy peninsula.
Holmenkollen Ski Museum & Jump Tower
Ride the lift to the top of Oslo's iconic ski jump for panoramic city views — plus the world's oldest ski museum with 5,000 years of skiing history.
Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology
Oslo's best family museum — 50+ interactive exhibitions on science, technology, oil, aviation, and Norwegian industrial history.
Vigeland Museum
Gustav Vigeland's preserved studio — original plaster models for all the Vigeland Park sculptures, 200m from the park itself.
Nobel Peace Center
The official home of the Nobel Peace Prize — every laureate since 1901 profiled in depth, from Marie Curie and Mandela to Malala.
Cultural History Museum
Oslo's Historical Museum at the University — Norway's finest Viking-age gold and jewellery alongside Egyptian mummies, medieval church art and Norse antiquities.
Ibsen Museum
Step inside the preserved apartment where Henrik Ibsen lived and wrote until his death in 1906 — frozen in time, exactly as he left it.
Natural History Museum
Oslo's Natural History Museum at Tøyen: dinosaur skeletons, Arctic wildlife, Norwegian geology and whale bones — plus the free Botanical Garden on the same campus.
Norwegian Maritime Museum
A thousand years of Norway's relationship with the sea — from Viking boats to modern shipping — on the scenic Bygdøy peninsula.
All Oslo Museums
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Fram Museum
Go aboard the world's strongest wooden ship and relive Norway's heroic polar expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic.
Viking Ship Museum
Home to the Oseberg and Gokstad ships — the world's best-preserved Viking vessels. Currently closed for reconstruction, reopening as the Museum of the Viking Age in 2027.
National Museum
Norway's largest art museum — successor to the original National Gallery — home to Munch's The Scream and 7,000 years of Nordic and European art.
Norwegian Resistance Museum
A powerful museum inside Akershus Fortress documenting Norway's Nazi occupation, the resistance movement, and the liberation of 1945.
Munch Museum
Home to The Scream and 28,000 works by Edvard Munch — Oslo's most iconic museum in a striking 13-floor waterfront building.
Norwegian Folk Museum
Scandinavia's largest open-air museum with 160 historic buildings, a medieval stave church, and costumed staff bringing history to life.
Emanuel Vigeland Museum
A dark mausoleum where every surface is covered in Emanuel Vigeland's Vita fresco — thousands of intertwined figures in one of Scandinavia's most unusual art experiences.
Kon-Tiki Museum
See the original Kon-Tiki raft and the Ra II — Thor Heyerdahl's legendary ocean voyages brought to life on Oslo's Bygdøy peninsula.
Holmenkollen Ski Museum & Jump Tower
Ride the lift to the top of Oslo's iconic ski jump for panoramic city views — plus the world's oldest ski museum with 5,000 years of skiing history.
Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology
Oslo's best family museum — 50+ interactive exhibitions on science, technology, oil, aviation, and Norwegian industrial history.
Holocaust Center (HL-Senteret)
Norway's dark WWII chapter documented — 773 Norwegian Jews were deported and murdered. Free memorial museum in the former Nazi residence Villa Grande.
Vigeland Museum
Gustav Vigeland's preserved studio — original plaster models for all the Vigeland Park sculptures, 200m from the park itself.
Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art
Norway's leading private contemporary art museum in a landmark Renzo Piano building on the Tjuvholmen waterfront.
Nobel Peace Center
The official home of the Nobel Peace Prize — every laureate since 1901 profiled in depth, from Marie Curie and Mandela to Malala.
Henie Onstad Art Centre
Norway's premier modern art collection on the Oslofjord shore — combined with Sonja Henie's three Olympic gold medals and her Hollywood legacy.
Cultural History Museum
Oslo's Historical Museum at the University — Norway's finest Viking-age gold and jewellery alongside Egyptian mummies, medieval church art and Norse antiquities.
Ibsen Museum
Step inside the preserved apartment where Henrik Ibsen lived and wrote until his death in 1906 — frozen in time, exactly as he left it.
Armed Forces Museum
Norway's military history from Viking age to the Cold War — free inside Akershus Fortress, with tanks and aircraft on outdoor display.
Natural History Museum
Oslo's Natural History Museum at Tøyen: dinosaur skeletons, Arctic wildlife, Norwegian geology and whale bones — plus the free Botanical Garden on the same campus.
Norwegian Maritime Museum
A thousand years of Norway's relationship with the sea — from Viking boats to modern shipping — on the scenic Bygdøy peninsula.
Oslo City Museum
Oslo's complete history from Bronze Age to modern capital — free entry in the beautiful Frogner Manor, right next to Vigeland Sculpture Park.
National Museum – Architecture
The architecture branch of the National Museum, housed in a historic 1830 bank building near Akershus Fortress — dedicated to Norwegian architectural history from medieval stave churches to Snøhetta's Opera House. Free admission.
Intercultural Museum
Free museum in Oslo's most multicultural neighbourhood — exploring Norway's immigrant heritage and the diversity that defines modern Oslo.
Art Galleries in Oslo
7 galleries
National Museum
Norway's largest art museum — successor to the original National Gallery — home to Munch's The Scream and 7,000 years of Nordic and European art.
Vigeland Sculpture Park
Free outdoor park with 212 bronze and granite sculptures by Gustav Vigeland — the most visited attraction in Norway.
Munch Museum
Home to The Scream and 28,000 works by Edvard Munch — Oslo's most iconic museum in a striking 13-floor waterfront building.
Ekebergparken
Free outdoor sculpture park with 30+ artworks and panoramic Oslo Fjord views — where Munch stood when he painted The Scream.
Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art
Norway's leading private contemporary art museum in a landmark Renzo Piano building on the Tjuvholmen waterfront.
Henie Onstad Art Centre
Norway's premier modern art collection on the Oslofjord shore — combined with Sonja Henie's three Olympic gold medals and her Hollywood legacy.
Tjuvholmen Sculpture Park
Free outdoor sculpture park on the Oslofjord waterfront — 40+ works by international artists, a public beach, and the Astrup Fearnley Museum next door.