Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (Norsk Folkemuseum) Tours and Activities

Jutting out into Oslo Fjord, the Bygdøy Peninsula is a one-stop leisure destination just west side of the city center. It is Oslo’s ‘Museum Island’ and hosts several maritime museums as well as the open-air Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (Norsk Folkemuseum).

Highlighting Norway’s colorful cultural history from 1500 to present day, this wonderfully family-friendly museum presents an array of more than 150 buildings brought together from all over the country, each representing different regions and eras and including a reconstructed traditional Sami goahti (tent) and the exquisite, 13th-century wooden stave church from Gol, north of Oslo.

There are several streets of wooden houses from Oslo and its suburbs, as well as a three-story, 19th-century apartment block, rebuilt here to showcase life in the Norway of the last two centuries, from an elegant Art Nouveau interior to a suitably scruffy 1980s student bedsit. Permanent exhibitions include a collection of Sami national costumes from the northern reaches of Lapland, toys and folk art. There’s a full schedule of temporary exhibits and photographic displays, plus folk dancing and horse-and-carriage rides; the museum’s staff are all kitted out in traditional costume and run a farm and saw mill.