Up until the pandemic me and my best friend had an annual tradition of going on a European city break together. We’ve been to Prague, Copenhagen, Stockholm/ Gottenburg, Romania, Budapest and then Oslo. Generally, we pick a few places with cheap(ish) flights where we can also get reasonably priced accommodation. And we’d put a location from a hat. A few years ago we headed to Oslo after finding flights for less than £100 return. And a hotel at less than £150 each for two nights.

Scandinavia is known for being pretty expensive, and I won’t lie things were on the pricier side. But it wasn’t unbearable, and there were ways to make the trip cheaper. Like taking food from the buffet breakfast to have for lunch, not drinking alcohol and taking in some of the free sights in the city.

Here are some of the top things to do in Oslo:

Head to Popsenteret

You can buy an Oslo pass which is about £55 for a 48-hour pass. And it includes loads of attractions alongside tram and bus travel. One of the attractions you can use it in is Popsenteret which is a pop music museum. You can travel throughout the eras of different music (both Norweigan and others). You can record your own song, master it and create a front cover which was lots of fun. And there were loads of instruments you could have a play around with. Although I was pretty poor with them!

Top things to do in Oslo: Head to the Noble Peace Centre

Oslo is where the Noble Peace Prize is given out each year in December and you can visit the centre to explore more. Downstairs is a changing exhibition which was about climate change when we went. Then upstairs was an exhibition on the current years Nobel Peace Prize which was very moving.

You can read more about past winners and find out more about how the prize came to be which was super interesting.

Go to the Norsk Folkemuseum

There are loads of museums in this area of Oslo but the Norsk Folkemuseum was one of our favourites all about the cultural history of Norway. There are loads of exhibitions inside and outside all about the country which were fascinating. Outside there were lots of replicas of what housing and villages would have been like in the past which was great to wander around.

Top things to do in Oslo: Fjord Sightseeing boat tour

It wouldn’t be a trip to Oslo without heading out to the Fjords. Our two-hour boat ride took us around loads of the islands and fjords which was beautiful to see and fascinating to learn about. Although it was absolutely freezing on our boat even in September so I’d recommend taking plenty of layers with you when you go.

Explore Frogner Park

One of the top things to do in Oslo is to explore the sculpture parks which are totally free to enter. The actual park is absolutely huge and beautiful in itself (a great spot to stop and eat lunch in). Lining a large walkway are loads of stone sculptures all depicting people and their relationships from parents and their children to brothers and sisters.

Then at the end, you walk up some steps to the main sculpture. It’s a great space to wander around and you can easily spend a few hours here.

Top things to do in Oslo: Explore Ekebergparken and marvel at the views over Oslo

Ekebergparken is another of Oslo’s sculpture parks, but this one is even bigger. And the sculptures are hidden among nature, so you need to explore to find them. We didn’t find them all as it was quite late when we went, but the ones we did spot were awesome.

The whole park is set on quite a steep hill but there’s a viewing area near a restaurant which offers lovely views out over the city from the Ski slopes to the hills. You can see some of the fjords and the water around the city here as well.

Have you ever been to Oslo?