If you're not here for the restaurant, the cafe, the bars or the live-music venues, it's still worth popping in for a poke around both the spectacular mash of contemporary and traditional architecture, along with installations by six Norwegian artists, including some surprising interventions by Hanne Friis and Vanessa Baird.
Sentralen
Oslo
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.98 MILES
Around 1100 years ago, Vikings dragged up two longships from the shoreline and used them as the centrepiece for grand ceremonial burials, most likely for…
1.25 MILES
Opened to much controversy in 2013, Ekebergparken cemented Oslo's reputation as a contemporary-art capital and, in particular, one devoted to sculpture. A…
0.72 MILES
This private contemporary-art museum resides in an arresting, silvered-wood building designed by Renzo Piano, with a sail-like glass roof that feels both…
0.54 MILES
While downstairs houses a small and rather idiosyncratic museum, it's Ibsen's former apartment, which you'll need to join a tour to see, that is…
1.82 MILES
The centrepiece of Frognerparken is an extraordinary open-air showcase of work by Norway's best-loved sculptor, Gustav Vigeland, and is home to 212…
0.51 MILES
Centrepiece of Oslo's rapidly developing waterfront, the magnificent Opera House (2008), reminiscent of a glacier floating in the waters of the Oslofjord,…
0.27 MILES
When Oslo was named capital of Norway in 1299, King Håkon V ordered the construction of Akershus, strategically located on the eastern side of the harbour…
0.34 MILES
Norwegians take pride in their role as international peacemakers, and the Nobel Peace Prize is their gift to the men and women judged to have done the…
Nearby Oslo attractions
0.12 MILES
Built in 1866, Norway's yellow-brick parliament building is one of Europe's more charming parliaments. If you find yourself really hooked on Norwegian…
0.18 MILES
An independent gallery with a good reputation for interesting shows from up-and-coming artists, housed in an interesting 1930s building.
0.19 MILES
The highly regarded National Museum of Contemporary Art is keeper of the National Gallery's collections of post-WWII Scandinavian and international art…
0.22 MILES
This twin-towered town hall, completed in 1950 to commemorate Oslo's 900th anniversary, houses the city's political administration and is filled with mid…
0.24 MILES
The highlights of a visit to Oslo Cathedral, which dates from 1697, are the elaborate stained-glass windows by Emanuel Vigeland (brother of Gustav) and…
0.27 MILES
When Oslo was named capital of Norway in 1299, King Håkon V ordered the construction of Akershus, strategically located on the eastern side of the harbour…
7. Norwegian Resistance Museum
0.3 MILES
Within the Akershus Fortress complex the Norwegian Resistance Museum stands adjacent to a memorial for resistance fighters executed on this spot during…
0.33 MILES
In the 17th century Christian IV renovated Akershus Castle into a Renaissance palace, although the front remains decidedly medieval. In its dungeons you…