Monuments to visit Oslo

Akershus is home to a medieval castle dating back to the ^13th century, remodeled in the Renaissance style in the first half of the ^17th century. People come to Akershus mainly for its lawns. The fortress occupies a special place as a national monument because of its position in the capital and its history, which is closely linked to royal and state power. Numerous events have left their mark on the site, which today houses a military academy, offices and a number of cultural sites and events. The site also houses the Resistance Museum, which documents the course of the Second World War in Norway, and the Defense Museum. A stroll through the castle gardens will reveal an exhibition of modern art sculptures, and you can also enjoy the magnificent view of the fjord on one side and the town hall square on the other.

Castle and church. A visit to Akershus Castle is a journey through Norwegian history, from the ^14th century to the present day. Few buildings in Norwegian history have played such a central role. From the remains of its medieval roots to the chambers of the Danish-Norwegian kings, the scenery is striking. Obviously, there has always been a church or chapel on the site of the fortress, ever since it was built in the time of Håkon V. But it was after a fire in 1527 that the second floor was partly converted into a church, and completely refurbished by Christian IV around 1630.

Information center. This offers a one-hour guided tour of the fortress, as well as two permanent exhibitions. The first traces the history of prisoners from the Middle Ages to the prison's closure in 1950. The second explains the Swedish army's siege of the Akershus fortress.

Defense Museum. Two exhibitions trace Norwegian military history from Viking times to the present day. Emphasis is placed on several decisive periods in Norwegian history, such as the union with Denmark until 1814, the union with Sweden from 1814 to 1905, the attack on Norway by Germany on April 9, 1940 and the naval warfare of the Second World War.

Museum of the Resistance. Through several exhibitions of photos, original documents and objects, the Musée de la Résistance aims to explain the country's situation during the Second World War.

The Opera House, the famous one! Inaugurated in 2008, this huge building that seems to emerge from the depths, in the heart of the bay of Bjørvika, is now on all postcards. If it is pleasant to walk on the roof of this giant, thought to be the terrace of Osloïtes and which offers a 360° view on the city and the fjord, it is also very interesting to visit the backstage! The Opera is actually composed of the Norwegian National Opera, the Norwegian National Ballet, the Norwegian National Orchestra, and the Norwegian National Opera Choir! So many people are busy in the corridors of the huge structure, whose backstage is partly open to visitors through large windows on the first floor: rehearsal rooms, costume and set design, etc. The Opera offers a rich program and is divided into three stages: the Main Chamber, the Second Chamber, and the Studio. The roof also serves as a stage for some concerts! In addition to the areas accessible to the public, rooms and adapted equipment allow the conception of performances from beginning to end within the building. The guided tour will take you behind the scenes of the fascinating world of the Oslo Opera House. If you were to see only a few places in Oslo, this is one of them. Its architecture, so cold, of marble, but so warm with its cylinders covered with honey-colored wood overlooking the fjord, manages to make us dream and takes us to another place...

Green walk along the Akerselva river with newly developed walking and cycling paths. You can walk to the Maridalen lake which is 10 km away along 20 waterfalls. The walking route can be combined with the bus. You first pass under the Anker bridge, flanked by its 4 bronzes inspired by Norwegian legends. We then walk along old factories, sawmills and other disused mills to finally arrive at the large lake of Maridal.

Holmenkollen, a neighborhood on the edge of the Marka Forest, a beautiful natural wooded area. The forest is visited by locals and tourists alike in summer and winter and offers skiing, sledding, hiking, fishing and tree climbing There is also the Ski Museum, the Ski Jump, the Ski Simulator and even a zip line!

Very easy access by metro from downtown. The view on the city and the fjord of Oslo is great and the place is mythical!

Ski museum and ski jump. The Ski Museum in Holmenkollen, located below the famous ski jump, is the oldest of its kind! It tells more than 4,000 years of skiing history and there are two exhibitions, one on skiing and snowboarding, and the most recent one, "Be prepared", on the theme of climate change. The ski jump is also accessible, and from the top of this tower you will have the pleasure of discovering a 360° view on the city, its fjord and the Marka forest. For the most courageous, a zip line allows you to descend from the ski jump in record time, and at the bottom, a ski jumping and slalom simulator offers you the chance to take the place of great athletes!

Oslo winterpark/summerpark. To the delight of visitors, Oslo's summer park in Tryvann has one of the largest and most beautiful climbing parks in Scandinavia. In winter, the park becomes the largest ski resort in the city's surroundings, making it possible to go skiing by subway, only 30 minutes from the city center!

Red brick building flanked by two large towers visible from quite a distance. The architecture of the town hall is not a masterpiece of design as the Scandinavians know how to do, but at least it has the merit of facing the fjord. On its steps, bronze workers are lined up, more realistic than life, made by Per Palle Storm, one of the great Norwegian sculptors. The walls inside are covered with monumental frescoes from the 1930s-1960s.

Since its construction began in 1824, the Royal Palace has been a symbol of Norwegian history and one of the country's most emblematic buildings. Although the original plans called for the palace to be H-shaped, financial problems led to a revision of the plans and the construction of a U-shaped palace. When Charles XIV John of Sweden died in 1844, the palace was clearly too small for the successor's family, so the wings were lengthened. Since 1849, when it was first occupied, the palace has undergone numerous transformations, particularly over the last century. It is now used primarily as a reception area and as the King's official office. This long yellow building, not very imposing in size, is beautifully situated on the Bellevue promontory at the end of the main avenue Karl Johans gate. Changing of the Royal Guard at 1:30 p.m. On June 7th square, a statue of the first king, Haakon, sculpted by Nils Aas, bears a striking resemblance to Giacometti's sculptures (the late king was very tall and skinny). Surrounding the palace is the Royal Park, one of the city's oldest and largest. It was designed in parallel with the construction of the castle, according to the ideal of the time. The guided tour takes in the palace's most beautiful and important rooms: the luxurious suite of King Haakon VII, the Bird Room painted in trompe-l'oeil by Johannes Flintoe, and the Ballroom.

Following the national competition in 1911, the festival hall was decorated with frescoes by Edvard Munch, who narrowly won the competition over Emanuel Vigeland, the sculptor's brother. The three main frescoes arewith the rising sun, history with the old man and child on the bank bills, and Alma Mater, a robust young woman breastfeeding. Nice to see the environment of the Norwegian students!

The Norwegian Parliament is one of the capital's most imposing buildings. Designed by Swedish architect Emil Victor Langlet, it dates back to 1866 and stands out for its spherical shape and yellow color. The interior is richly decorated. It features Oscar Wergeland's painting of the signing of the Constitution, reproduced in every history book. Although it is no longer possible to visit Parliament, a digital guided tour is available on the Parliament website. It presents the different rooms and the Norwegian political system.

In the rue de Damstredet, you'll find a charming collection of colorful doll's houses, which are actually workers' dwellings from the late ^18th century. Telthusbakken, on the other hand, is bordered on one side by old cottages in the same style, and on the other by the gardens of the street's inhabitants. The Kjaerlighetsstien, the path of love, runs through the middle of the plots in the direction of Maridalsveien. At the top of these two streets is the Vår Frelser cemetery.

Tomba Emanuele is the name that Emanuel Vigeland, brother of the sculptor Gustav, gave to the building. He had decided to build a museum and then wanted to make it his mausoleum. When he died, the windows were walled up and his ashes were placed inside. The vaulted room without light that contains the Vita fresco is amazing. No daylight filters through this remarkable odyssey of existence, from birth to death, where erotic scenes and naked bodies follow one another to compose a piece that shocked contemporaries. This work of a lifetime, which covers more than 800 square meters, is impressive.

This ancient residence was built in the 1720s on the remains of the so-called Bishop Castle (Bispeborgen), which dated back to the ^13th century. Today, one of the halls (Medieval Hall) still belongs to the old structure, but the rest of the building is Baroque. The mansion is located in the heart of the medieval park, which includes the Church of St. Clement. Guided tours are free. Coffee shop on site.

The former apartments of the great playwright Henrik Ibsen, where he lived from 1895 until his death in 1906, have been transformed into a museum in recent years. The original furniture was salvaged from the Bygdøy open-air museum to bring it back to its original setting. The museum has been restored and recently reopened. It features an interactive exhibition dedicated to the artist's life and work, and now boasts its own theater stage!

Visit the new Deichman Library for hours of fun! A magnificent building, inside and out. Each year, an author's work is selected and placed in the bookshop of the future, to be published only 100 years from now! For each manuscript, a tree has been planted in Marka's forest, which will be used to print the future book. Deichman is full of surprises: great spaces for little ones, sound niches, art, serenity, workshops. Super café-resto & wifi.