The Adventure Island in Oslo

Bygdøy is considered a summer paradise for the residents of Oslo. Here we find Huk, the city's most visited beach, as well as the charming Paradisbukta beach. Yet, not everyone knows that the area features other treasures and hidden gems.

Among beautiful villas and majestic trees, you will find wonderful museums hidden away. Each of them tells a completely unique story from bygone times and provides remarkable memories. Be a polar explorer on a real polar ship, travel back in time, or even attend an unforgettable summer excursion on the fjord. Or how about a voyage of discovery at the summer palace in the forest? Or a horseback ride in the beautiful scenery that surrounds it?

Find a map and a compass, the adventure island awaits!

Follow the fjord out of the city centre

The journey out to Bygdøy is an experience in and of itself. During the summer, you can start the day on the Bygdøy ferry, boarding from the wharves at Rådhusplassen.

If you go outside the busiest hours, travelling with bus number 30 is another good alternative. The bus goes six times an hour and takes you past the Opera, the marvelous buildings at Frogner, and towards all the experiences at Bygdøy, one by one.

If you are the outdoorsy type: A city bike ride to Bygdøy is an astonishing experience, just follow the fjord out of the city centre.

Animal magic at the Royal Manor

Surrounded by green pastures, the Royal Manor is the jewel of the king's public park. How about starting your adventure here? Bygdøy Royal Manor is actually Oslo's largest producer of organic milk, and is run by the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History.

Come here to feel the barn's calming atmosphere, go horseback riding, or meet the Canadian miniature pig Nella, to the excitement of both adults and kids. You can even pet a hen and hold her egg in your hand.

The farm has 13 ponies, and in the barn the happy cows freely move around. This is a perfect place to teach children where their food comes from and how animals should be treated.

On the first Sunday in May, horn music wails over the courtyard. The stage is set for the biggest event of the year: The cows are let out to graze.

During the summer it is possible to order a family tour around the premises.

Also, the King himself manges the main building, which makes your trip to the Royal Manor even more exciting. Maybe he spots you from the window?

Royal tour of Oscarshall

From a rural footpath, where a cyclist or a deer may pass you by once in a while, you can catch a glimpse of the beautiful summer palace Oscarshall through the woods. Surrounded by fields, trees and chittering birds on one side, and the fjord on the other, it completes the feeling of being in a fairy tale.

The palace was erected on behalf of King Oscar, between 1847 and 1852, and is one of Norway's most important National Romantic memorials. Here you can join a tour in royal surroundings, and wander off in the romantic park that goes all the way down to the sea.

There is a pavilion in the park, as well as an outdoor stage, where sometimes you may even catch a performance with not only music, but dance and theatre too.

By the way, from Oscarshall it is only a nine minute walk to Rohdeløkken Café from 1873. The dining place is named after the previous owner, consul general Ernst Rohde, who was one of the king's most trusted men. A small, secret oasis down by the sea.

A secret garden

Speaking of food and hidden gems, have you been to Gartneriet? The premises alone are well worth a visit.

The light and the scents inside are heavenly, and Gartneriet is also self-sufficient and the food 100 % organic. The ingredients in every meal comes from the Royal Manor – unless it is grown from right across the table you are sitting at.

Gartneriet opened in August 2019, and has a creative and playful approach to the culinary arts, the menu actually changes several times per week. And honestly, a dessert made with milk from a royal cow sounds pretty tempting, does it not?

Travel back in time at Norsk Folkemuseum

In the age of technology it is particularly interesting to see how people used to live in earlier times. At the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History you can do just that! As one of the world's largest and oldest open-air museums, it shows daily life in the cities and on the countryside in Norway, from the 16th century to today.

To literally walk through centuries, peek through doors and imagine the different lives that were lived once upon a time, is truly an amazing experience. Here you can see charming old houses from rural Norway placed on farmyards, as well as city houses located in the residential quarter of the museum's Old Town. Not to forget Gol Stave Church from the 1200s, which is one of the museum's biggest attractions. There are actually 160 buildings here, each one with their own remarkable history.

In a log house from Numedal you will not only get to prepare old fashioned soft Norwegian flatbread (lefse), you will also get to try it for yourself while it is fresh, straight from the griddle.

The museum's grocery store is also worth a visit, and the children can enjoy listening to fairy tales, as well as meeting new friends among the animals at Trøndelagstunet.

If you are really lucky, you get to experience the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History's dance group perform Norwegian folk dance to live music, in traditional folk costumes – called bunad.

Ship ahoy at Bygdøynes

Down by the sea at idyllic Bygdøynes, there are three museums that in each way tell important stories about exploration and life on the seven seas. We recommend a visit to all three of them!

How about exploring the polar regions? The Fram Museum beautifully depicts the historical Norwegian polar explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen. As soon as you walk in the door to the museum you will take in an impressive sight: The 39 metre tall polar ship Fram from 1892 is standing right in front of you.

Not only is the view of the polar ship incredibly impressive, but the fact that you can enter it yourself, see how the polar explorers lived on the ship; where they slept and where they ate, is quite remarkable. Above and around the ship, a 270-degree film is shown with sound effects, so hold fast if you find yourself on the deck when the storm hits.

Walk through the polar simulation "The dark walk", but look out for polar bears and sailors sick with scurvy! The stories are told in ten different languages, helped by the museum's many interactive movie projectors. It is not by chance that the 'Oscars of higher education', the THEA Award, went to the Fram Museum in 2020.

Most people have heard about Thor Heyerdahl's world famous Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, and perhaps you have seen the movie, but did you know that the original Kon-Tiki raft is on display at Bygdøy? Since 1950 the Kon-Tiki Museum has had over 20 million visitors, which is not that strange considering the amazing story of Heyerdahl's journey across the Pacific Ocean.

Not only does the museum tell the story of the Kon-Tiki expedition. It also encompasses reports from many of Heyerdahl's other journeys: From his first trip to Fatu Hiva to the expeditions to Galápagos and Easter Island. In the biographical section you can get to know about Thor Heyerdahl as a person and visit his extensive library.

In the museum's lower floor there are model sharks and fish swimming around the raft, as well as a 30 metre long cave that provides a feeling similar to the atmosphere of the mysterious Easter Island.

Right next to the Fram and the Kon-Tiki, the Norwegian Maritime Museum is located. Here you will find exciting experiences for both kids and grown-ups, with both indoor and outdoor exhibitions for you to check out. Inside, Norway's oldest boat – the Sørum dugout – is on display. It is around 2200 years old. The museum also has a café, as well as a terrace with a beautiful view of the fjord.

And here comes an unusually good suggestion for a true explorer: How about a trip with the schooner Svanen from 1916? She is the only preserved three-masted ship from the Norwegian merchant fleet, and was donated to the Norwegian Seafaring Museum (Norsk Sjøfartsmuseum) in 1973. Now she offers summer trips with maritime activities, which means that you can bring friends and family on an unforgettable voyage of discovery on the fjord!

Get a crash course in map reading and navigation, or maybe you just want to enjoy a glass of wine and some prawns onboard?

Important knowledge at the Holocaust Center

At the top of a beautiful avenue you will find Villa Grande. This was the place of residence of Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling during the Second World War. Since 2005 it has been the location for the Holocaust Center, the centre for studies of the Holocaust and religious minorities.

The main attraction is a permanent exhibition on the Holocaust, where the story of the Norwegian jews during the Second World War is the focal point. The centre also illuminates other genocides, and shows how historical events are still relevant today. Maybe not the most uplifting experience, perhaps, but still immensely important during turbulent times.

Kafé Villa Grande serves delicious food, and in the garden outside there is a majestic outdoor terrace with a great view of the fjord. The garden is beautiful, with birds chirping and old benches. Here you can enjoy the silence, as well as your meal, while you squint at the sun shining through the trees.

And last, but not least

At Bygdøy there are an abundance of experiences for many an adventure.