How Long Do You Need in Oslo to Really Experience It?

Be sure to visit the Kon Tiki museum & the fjord country. Bring lots of money!

In Oslo, there are some really good museums:
- The Museum of Folk Art.
- The Kon Tiki Museum.
- The Sonia Henie Museum of Art.
- The Bygdöi Museums of Fishing and traditional life.
- The Akershus fortress.
- The State Gallery.
- The Ibsen Museum.
- The Munch Museum.

After so much culture, stroll through the gentrified harbour area and enjoy the contemporary architecture and go up the Holmenkollen for gorgeous views.

In the outskirts, there are a lot of wooden churches and more historical museums.

Driving to Fjord country would be too far (it is 8 hours to Bergen), but a cruise through Oslo Fjord is very rewarding (IF the weather is fine).

About 1.5 days in Oslo was more than enough for me. But the fjords and Bergen area FANTASTIC.

I enjoyed being a tourist in Oslo because it seemed small scale and easy to maneuver. So that also means to me it takes fewer days to really experience the city if you mean seeing the distinctive attractions plus hanging out in a few locals' spots.

Personally, I like to see the museums that are special/different or world class, usually only 2 or 3 per city (with a few exceptions like Paris). So, certainly the viking ship museum fits in that category for me. Small, but interesting.

Then I like to see the historical sites in the city, preferably with a walking tour, else through the help of a good guide book . In Oslo, this includes the fortress, but again this is relatively small and takes little time to experience.

Add in a few cultural sites and natural sites. For us this included the City Hall and going somewhere on a ferry.

Then some neighborhoods to see the local housing, local restaurants, shops, etc. Your friend should be helpful there, but we chose from neighborhood descriptions combined with tram routes.

With a city the size of Oslo you won't "see it all" in four days if you mean both the tourist and locals' city, but you will see twice what most tourists see in their 1-2 days alotted to Oslo for the tourist highlights.

Don't miss going to Frogner Park to see the Vigeland scupltures. Our time there was the highlight of Oslo for us.

If you will be in Oslo in early October, don't miss the parade for the opening of the Storting (Parliament). Your friend can tell you the exact date - I haven' t been able to find it online - but usually it is around the first weekday of October.

we loved oslo and had two nights there but wouldve loved more
try to fit in the war resistance museum - on bygdoy island
that is a really great little museum

We spend 2 nights in Oslo in June, and I would have liked another day or two. We particularly liked 2 sites mentioned above: Frogner Park and the Viking Ship Museum. The Maritime Museum was also worthwhile.

The New York Times had a "36 hours in . . ." column about Oslo today, reachable at

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/travel/23hour.html?ref=travel

Thanks for all of your feedback everyone! I think these are the top things I'm going to try to make sure I hit:

Vigelands Park
The Kon Tiki Museum
The Viking Ship Museum
Opera House
Munch Museum
Aker Brygge
Boat/ferry down the Oslo Fjord
National Gallery to see the Scream

And then additional time to just see what life is like from a local's perspective, and what my friend's day to day is like.

Anything else I can't miss? I'll be there in two weeks and could not be more excited!

City Hall is a good tourist sight to visit too, the Noble Peace Prize is handed out here each year.

Make sure you go upstairs in City Hall, taking the grand staircase and walking all around the second floor.

The beginning of this album is Oslo:

http://travel.webshots.com/album/573931777aVRbGh

Since you won't have time to venture out into the countryside, visit the outdoor folk museum on Bygdoy...walking distance from the Kon Tiki...
stu

Go to the recently renovated Olympen restaurant (from 1892), a place with a proud history, special atmosphere and traditional Norwegian food to reasonable (by Norwegian standards) prices.
http://olympen.no/olympen