Five great spots to find creative inspiration in Oslo

If you're looking to get your art and design fix in Oslo this year, then our guide to some of the top spots for creative inspiration will ensure you're suitably satisfied. Norway's capital has a whole host of wonderful culture to offer, including a huge outdoor sculpture park, impressive museums and unique art galleries that won't disappoint. Having visited myself, I can confirm that Oslo is a great place for a creative city break.

Written By: Katy Cowan

4 October 2017

1. Vigeland Park, Oslo

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The Vigeland Park is the world's largest sculpture park made by a single artist and is one of Norway's most popular tourist attractions. Open to visitors all year round, it's the perfect place to find inspiration, as there are over 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland, in bronze, granite and wrought iron. We especially love the famous The Angry Boy.

Take a Bus 20 or Tram 12 to get there. All westbound lines (T-bane) to Majorstuen station | Find out more

2. The National Gallery, Oslo

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If art is your thing, The National Gallery is a must-see for creative inspiration. Founded in 1837, it houses Norway's largest public collection of paintings, drawings and sculpture. The Scream, Madonna and The Sick Child are just some of the highlights of the museum's ample collection of works by Edvard Munch. But there's plenty more to discover.

All buses and trams to Nationaltheatret and Tullinløkka | Find out more

3. The National Museum – Architecture, Oslo

From the permanent exhibition "Building ideas. From the Architecture Collection, 1830 to the present". Photo: The National Museum / Thea Tønnessen

Can't get enough of architecture? Oslo has its own museum dedicated to the craft. Launched in 2008, The National Museum – Architecture is housed in a building that is a juxtaposition of classicism and modernism – an encounter between Grosch and Fehn, Norway’s most important architects of the 19th and 20th centuries respectively. And the museum’s temporary exhibitions explore both contemporary architecture and historical themes.

Address: Bankplassen 3, Oslo. Trams: 12,13,19 to Kongens gate | Find out more

4. Munch Museum, Oslo

Edvard Munch [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

You can't visit Oslo, or Norway for that matter, without discovering more about the country's Edvard Munch, one of Modernism's most significant artists. Lucky for you, there's the Munch Museum – built in 1963, a hundred years after the Nordic artist's birth. And if you visit in 2019, you can see its brand new home at Bjørvika in the Oslo's harbour area, close to the Opera. Designed by Spanish architects Herreros Arquitectos, who won a competition to design its new home.

Address: 53 Tøyengata | Find out more

5. Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Museum of Cultural History), Oslo

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If you're curious about how people lived in Norway from 1500 to the present day, then you simply must visit Norsk Folkemuseum. It's Norway's largest museum of cultural history and has 160 buildings in its open-air space, representing people's homes and local facilities throughout the ages. You'll get to see the difference between town and country, plus social classes. What's not to love?

Bus: 30 Bygdøy from downtown Oslo to stop Folkemuseet | Find out more

Main image courtesy of Adobe Stock