How to Spend 2 Days in Oslo
Norway is a remarkably beautiful country, and one of the most incredible cities I have ever been to is Oslo. Oslo has wonderful museums, architecture, and fantastic cultural experiences that are hard to come by for an American. If you are looking to spend 2 Days in Oslo, here are some of my favorite things to do in the city!
Being the capital of Norway, Oslo has quite a mixture of city life and culture that you can find right at your fingertips. If you are a solo or budget traveler, I would recommend staying at the Citybox. It's a great hotel in the city center where they even have a fridge to heat food or leftovers. There is an automated place to grab your keys, a supply rack to grab extra towels, and a luggage room to store your luggage if you arrive before your check-in time. After you check in to your hotel, I would recommend doing a city walk.
On your city walk, I would visit Oslo Domkirke. It is one of the oldest churches in Oslo and has been a site for royal weddings since Norway gained its independence in 1905. When you walk in, you can see the wonderfully painted ceilings and the elegant staircase. It is a site not to miss in Oslo. Afterwards, you can head towards the photographic street of Damstredet & Telthusbakken. Damstredet is a cobbled street with wooden houses originally from the 1800s. On your way to Telthusbakken, you can stop by the park called Utsikten playground to see a great view of the city and to get a quick bouldering session in. Afterwards, you can head to Telthusbakken, a street with small wooden houses, and another large garden area, called Egebergløkka. Along the gardens, you can walk the romantic Kjærlighetsstien.
Stave Church
If you are a coffee drinker, you can head over to Tim Wendelboe for some high-quality coffees. Once you've got your caffeine fix, I would head over to Mathallen Oslo or Syverkiosken. Mathallen Oslo is an indoor market where you can find cafes, eateries, speciality shops, and small local shops. It is a bit pricey. If you are looking for a cheaper option, you can head over to Syverkiosken, which is a small hot dog stand. The local shop owner is very sweet and happy to provide recommendations for hot dogs if you need them.
For those who are intellectually curious and love learning about how to make the world a better place, there is no better recommendation than visiting the Nobel Peace Center. I cannot rave enough about how wonderful this museum is. Located in an old train center, visitors can learn all about Alfred Nobel and his aspirations to make a difference. Instead of giving his inheritance to his family, he decided to create financial awards for exceptional individuals who excelled in different categories such as peace, physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and economic sciences. There is an exhibit where you can find all the Nobel Peace Prize winners and learn more about their incredible work.
For dinner, you can head to the Oslo Street Food. This food court has a variety of different options to choose from, as well as a great bar to grab a beer.
On your second day, I would head over to a farther-away place, the Vigeland Sculpture Park. It's a completely free outdoor park where you can see over 200 sculptures that took over 40 years to create. It is the largest sculpture park made by a single artist, Gustav Vigeland. There are a couple of different elements to the park: the monolith and the fountain. All of these works were meant to be commissioned for other places in the city but were eventually placed at the park where Vigeland's studio was. These sculptures are a world-renowned landmark to depict the different stages of the human experience. If you have a bit more time, you can even visit the Vigeland Museum to learn more about these sculptures and the artist who made them.
After your art fix, it would be a great time to head over to Norsk Folkemuseum. This museum is a great place to learn about the culture of the Norwegian people and where they started. Inside this open-air museum, you can walk around to see medieval Norwegian structures, see animals at the farm, and experience the culture through interactive talks and dances. One of my favorite things was seeing one of the most famous Norwegian structures: a stave church. Gol Stave Church is one of 28 surviving churches in Norway. In addition, they have a permanent exhibit on Sami culture where you can learn more about the natives of Norway.
Head back to the city center for lunch and enjoy some modern food at Sentralen kafe. After lunch, I would head over to the most famous art museum, Munch Museum, to see Edvard Munch's collection. If you are an art history nerd like me, you can see all 3 different versions of The Scream that are rotated every 30 mins. This museum is huge, with over 5 floors to explore and a rotating exhibit. There is even an exhibit to go inside his home where you can find a little mouse version of him doing various activities.
After this, you can briefly check out the Oslo Opera House to view the beautiful architecture. Lastly, there is no visit that is complete without jumping into the harbor in Oslo. I went to the Oslo Floating Sauna, where you can experience the ice-cold water of the harbor of Oslo right after being in a sauna. It was an unforgettable experience that I will definitely do again.
If you are looking for things to do after Oslo, I would highly recommend checking out the Norway in a Nutshell itinerary and making your way to Bergen!
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