One Day in Oslo, Norway on a Cruise

Highlights from a day spent in Oslo, Norway while on a family cruise of Northern Europe.

Oslo, Norway was one of the cities that our family visited while on a Baltic cruise for our summer vacation when our daughters were 12 and 9 years old.

Oslo is the largest city in Norway and has been the capital of the country since 1814. Oslo is well-known as a great destination for outdoor activities due to its location which is at the head of the Oslo fjord and surrounded by forested hills. It is also notorious for being one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Our ship was only docked in Oslo from 7am – 2pm which was the shortest day of any of our ports of call and we had a lot of ground that we wanted to cover.

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Arriving in Oslo

With only a few short hours in Oslo, we opted to jump on the Hop On, Hop Off bu (HOHO) in order to get around as efficiently as possible. While planning for this port we had decided that our priorities were to see Vigeland Sculpture Park and the Nobel Peace Centre. We were also hoping to have time to walk around the city a bit and see Akershus Fortress. We had really wanted to visit the Viking Ship Museum as well but there did not seem to be any possible way to fit it in.

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Our first stop on the HOHO bus was Vigeland Sculpture Park which is located in Frogner Park, a popular recreational area for the people of Oslo. The Sculpture Park is also one of Oslo’s most popular tourist attractions with over 1 million visitors a year.

The park is the life’s work of the sculptor Gustav Vigeland and contains more than 200 sculptures made from bronze and granite. Vigeland was also responsible for the design and architectural layout of the park. The sculptures depict human relationships and the central theme is the cycle of life.

Sculptures in Vigeland Park, Oslo, Norway. — Monolith Plateau at Vigeland Park

The work is breathtaking and if we had not been on a tight scedule, we easily could have spent the better part of the day in this park admiring the brilliant work of Vigeland. As it was, we had only about 45 minutes before we had to get back on the HOHO to head downtown if we were going to have any hope of seeing anything else.

The statue known as Angry Boy is a crowd favourite and was popular with our family as well. We also liked the one we dubbed Bad Hair Day!

Statue of crying boy toddler in Vigeland Park, Oslo, Norway. — *Vigeland Park, “Sinnataggen” also known as “Angry Boy”*

Smiling young girl in pink jacket standing in front of The Fountain at Vigeland Park in Oslo, Norway. — The Fountain at Vigeland Park

Young teen girl in pink hoodie at Vigeland Park, Oslo with The Monolith in background. — At The Monolith in Vigeland Park, Oslo

Young girl in pink jacket posing in front of two statues at the Monolith Plateau in Vigeland Park, Oslo, Norway. — The Monolith Plateau at Vigeland Park

Teen Girl in pink hoodie in front of sculpture in Vigeland Park, Oslo. — “Dancing Young Woman” (which we referred to as “Bad Hair Day”) in Vigeland Park

Radhuset and the Nobel Peace Center

Our next stop was downtown outside Radhuset (City Hall) and the Nobel Peace Center. the Peace Center was officially opened by King Harald in June 2005 as part of the celebrations to mark Norway’s centenary as an independent country.

Young girl in pink jacket outside Radhuset (City Hall) in Oslo, Norway. — Outside Radhuset (City Hall) in Oslo

The objective of the organisation is to spur reflection and debate on issues relating to war, peace and conflict resolution. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded here in Norway each year while the other four Nobel prizes are awarded in Sweden. According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize is to be awarded to the person who “shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.

Dad and two daughters standing in front of the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway. — Outside the Nobel Peace Center

The Electronic Wall Papers is a fascinating exhibit which allows visitors to navigate through information, photos, texts and videos about each of the Nobel Peace laureates on a digital touch screen. The Nobel Field is also a very interesting display where each of the past laureates has a screen set in a garden of fibre optic lights.

My 6 year-old daughter and I enjoyed spending some time in the Children’s Activity centre which was a very low-key area where we looked at books and did some individual activities. This activity room has since been completely revamped and renamed “Nansen and I” and focuses on teaching children about refugees in an interactive way. I would love to return to Oslo and visit the Peace Centre again as we easily could have spent more time here if we hadn’t been a bit rushed.

Young girl in pink jacket with small stuffed giraffe in children's activity area at Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway. — With Fred the Giraffe at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo

Walking Around Oslo

Upon leaving the Nobel Peace Center, we decide to have a bit of a walk around town before heading back towards the ship which was docked by Akershus Fortress. We walked by the Royal Palace, the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) and the Grand Hotel.

Two girls standing outside the Royal Palace in Oslo, Norway on an overcast day. — Outside the Royal Palace in Oslo

Two girls standing outside the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway. — Outside the Grand Hotel in Oslo

Two girls standing outside Stortinget in Oslo, Norway. — Walking around Oslo – Stortinget in background

Akershus Fortress

And finally, we had a brisk walk through Akershus Fortress on our way back to the cruise ship docked on the other side. We were running short of time so couldn’t stop to explore the fortress (also known as Akershus Castle) which was built in the 1300s to protect Oslo and withstood many sieges through the ages. The fortress is still a military area but it is open to the public daily and guided tours are available in the summer.

Oslo was the one port of call on our cruise where I got back on the ship feeling shortchanged. I really felt that we hadn’t even begun to see Oslo and I wanted to see so much more. I feel quite sure that we will return in the future and spend more time in Oslo – perhaps in conjunction with a cruise of the Norwegian fjords.