The Royal Palace in Oslo and Oscarshall at Bygdøy

The Royal Palace in Oslo is open to the public during the summer. All visitors must follow a guided tour. The season lasts from mid June – mid August. Tickets are usually available from early in March. During the season, guided tours in Norwegian are given every day at the following times:
Monday – Thursday: 11:00-17:00; Friday: 12:00-17:00 Saturday – Sunday: 10.00 – 17.00
But consult the website for exact information

The tours last about one hour and begin every 20 minutes.

During the season, guided tours in English are given: All days at 12:00, 14:00, 14:20 and 16:00

Oscarshall

We also recommend a visit to Oscarshall, the Royal “Summer Palace” This is a small, beautifully maintained palace on the peninsula of Bygdøy in Oslo. During opening hours you are welcome to wander in the grounds, from the palace right down to the sea and you will find lunch or a snack at the Queen Josephine café. However joining a guided tour is a very special experience for the palace transports visitors back to the mid 1800’s.

Oscarshall is open from 1st June to 30th August, from Wednesday to Sunday. From 31st August to 9th September the palace is only open at weekends Friday – Sunday.
Opening hours are from 11:00 – 17:00.

The Bear Park (Bjørneparken) – the place to get close to bears, moose, lynx, reptiles as well as farm animals.

At the Bear Park at Flå, the animals are housed in large natural enclosures. You can watch the animals up close and learn about them from the park presenters. In March of 2016, the park opened the largest crocodile exhibition in Norway, with 30 crocodiles, snakes and tortoises.
There is a lot for kids to explore and do in the play areas, such as an obstacle course, zip-line, outdoor and indoor playgrounds. There are also several restaurants.

The park is open every day from Easter to the middle of October:
From March 19th 10 – 16:00; from May 1st 10 – 18:00 and from August 15th 10 – 17:00 Tickets can be purchased at the entrance and the park advises early as possible arrival. Adult ticket NOK 290,-, child 240,-

Bear Park 3539 Flå, Norway Latitude: 60.434673 | Longitude: 9.445649 Altitude: 203 meters

Henie Onstad Kunstsenter / Art Exhibition Centre

The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (HOK) is located in the beautiful park and recreation area of Høvikodden on the Oslo fjord peninsula, surrounded by public trails, wharfs and shorelines. The statues outdoors in the park are well worth looking at. The exhibitions change several times a year. For example from 3rd January to 3rd May the Henie Onstad Centre is hosting an absolutely fascinating exhibition of Picasso’s Suite 347 which consists of 347 erotic etchings and engravings. The suite of works has only been presented in its entirety once before. In addition the exhibition presents Picasso’s work in the Government Quarter in Oslo.
From 3rd January to 23rd August 2020 there is a mini exhibition of Claude Monet’s motifs from Norway. These paintings are really beautiful and a treat for those who love Impressionist work.

The museum ticket is NOK 120,-, students NOK 70,- with free entrance for children and youths below 18 years.
Opening hours:
Monday: closed
Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 – 17:00 but open until 22.00 on Thursdays
The centre is closed on 1st, 17th and 30th May; 21st December – 26th December and on December 31st and January 1st.

The photos shown below are from the permanent Yayoi Kusama installation – Hymn of Life (on the upper left hand side), the Picasso Exhibition and the Monet exhibition (on the lower right side)

Sonja Henie was one of Norway’s most famous women, winning three Olympic gold medals, six European Championships and ten World Championships in figure skating and, after 1936, becoming a very successful film actress in Hollywood. Sonja and her husband Niels Onstad donated all her awards, films and documentation as well as their art collection to the Exhibition Centre at Høvik in Bærum.
Today the Henie Onstad Art Centre is well known for its modern art exhibitions, sculpture park and events.

Henie Onstad kunstsenter Sonja Henies vei 31, 1311 Høvikodden, Norway

Mini cruise round the Oslo fjord islands

Drive from Vollen to Sandvika and walk down to the river landing stage at Kadettangen. There the boats “M/S Rigmor” and “M/S Rigfar” leave for a 90 minute ferry boat trip with great views of the coastlines, lighthouses and islands. The ferry leaves at weekends from 18th May – 2nd September and daily except Mondays from 23rd June to 12th August at the following times: 10:30, 13:30 and 15:45. Unlike the 12:00 Mini-cruise which does not make any stops, the regular ferries stop at a number of islands to let off and fetch passengers.

12:00 Mini-cruise – Recommended for sightseeing. Does NOT stop at the islands.

Sails every Saturday and Sunday from 18. May to 2. September. Also sails on Whit Monday.
Sails daily (except Mondays) from 23rd June to 12th August.

Enjoy the Oslo fjord for an hour and a half sailing to idyllic places not visited by ordinary ferries. The captain tells something of history and facts of current interest. Beginning at Sandvika, you sail past the Nesøya island through the sound, along the Holmen fjord, through “Dinner bay” out between Gåsøya & Ostøya islands where you can see the whole inner fjord into Oslo. Then back to Sandvika about 13:30.

Ferry and Minicruise: Arrival times at the islands are approximate. Be at the landing stage at least 5 minutes early.

The ferry takes passengers to the islands but you can take the boat as a sight-seeing trip. However the Mini-cruise is recommended as this is a guided trip and does not stop at the islands. These tours take 90 minutes.

For more information about the ferry and mini-cruise departure times, consult side 2 i “Rigmor tidende”: http://www.rigmor.no/?page=16

10:30 Ferry

Sails every Saturday and Sunday from mid May to the beginning of September. Also sails on Whit Monday

Sails every day except Monday from 23rd June to 12th August: Leaves Sandvika 10.30, Borøya 10.45, Brønnøya Nord & Ostøya 10.50, Brønnøya Øst 10.55, Langåra & Brønnøya Syd 11.10, Hareholmen & Høyerholmen 11.20, Brønnøya Øst & Ostøya 11.35,
Brønnøya Nord & Borøya 11.45, arrival Sandvika 12.00

13:30 Ferry.

Sails every Saturday and Sunday from mid May to the beginning of September. Also sails on Whit Monday

Sails every day except Monday from 23rd June to 12th August

Leaves Sandvika 13.30, Borøya 13.45, Brønnøya Nord and Ostøya 13.50, Brønnøya Øst 13.55, Langåra og Brønnøya Syd 14.10, Hareholmen and Høyerholmen 14.20, Brønnøya Øst and Ostøya 14.40,
Brønnøya Nord and Borøya 14.45, arrival Sandvika 15.00

15:30 Ferry

Sails every Friday and Sunday from mid May to early September

Sails every day except Monday from 23rd June to 12th August

Leaves Sandvika 15.30, Borøya 15.45, Brønnøya Nord & Ostøya 15.50, Brønnøya Øst 15.55, Langåra & Brønnøya Syd 16.10, Hareholmen & Høyerholmen 16.20, Brønnøya Øst & Ostøya 16.35,
Brønnøya Nord & Borøya 16.45, arrival Sandvika 17.00

Hop-on Hop-off Tours of Oslo

Spend a day seeing the sights of Oslo, the oldest of the Scandinavian Capitals, from an open-top, double-decker tour bus. Your pass is valid for a full 24-hour period, and you can hop on and off at your leisure. You will enjoy 360-degree views from the open top of the bus and learn about the city’s history from your multilingual audio guides. The full loop lasts 90 minutes and frequency at the stops is every half hour. Book your ticket online

Stops include:
• Oslo City Hall
• Oslo Cruise Terminal & Akershus Fort.
• Oslo Opera House
• Oslo Central Station
• Clarion Royal Christiania Hotel
• Grand Hotel & Karl Johan Street
• Oslo Parliament & Karl Johan
• The Royal Castle & The Ibsen Museum
• Vigeland Sculpture Park
• Norwegian Museum Of Cultural History
• Viking Ship Museum
• Kon-Tiki, Fram & Norwegian Maritime Museum
• Norwegian Museum Of Cultural History
• Aker Brygge

Useful to know:

Stop 1 is at the City Hall

The bus operates from 1st April – 30th October 2019

First departure is at 10:00

Last departure is at 16:30

There will be earlier departures when cruise ships are in port

Asker Museum

Asker Museum is a fifteen minute drive from Vollen. The house was home to some of Norway’s important artists, Tilla and Otto Valstad, and Hulda and Arne Garborg. The garden is my favourite part of the museum – it is Baroque inspired and beside the many little paths there are charming animal sculptures to surprise visitors.
You’ll enjoy the Museum shop with old fashioned toys and gift articles, and I enthusiastically recommend a stop in the Kafé Gunhild for Ice-cream, waffles, yeast scones and so on. Children will also enjoy the traditional play apparatus or visiting the barn, climbing on the tractor or looking at the free range hens.

Asker museum Norway
Latitude: 59.85368 | Longitude: 10.455727