Not to miss in Oslo: Fight like a Viking
- The editorial team
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Viking Ship museum in Oslo is temporarily closed, but if you still want a Viking experience, there is an alternative. Put on VR-goggles, pick up a bow, and find yourself on a Viking ship under attack. Welcome to one of Oslo’s most surprising museums.
You are standing on the deck of a longship. Arrows are incoming from the shore. You reach for your bow. This is not a video game at home; this is The Viking Planet, a museum in the heart of Oslo. History has never felt quite this close.
The Viking Planet is a digital portal to the Viking Age, offering a wide selection of unique experiences and engaging exhibitions. Beyond the VR game, the centrepiece experience is The Ambush, a 12-minute award-winning VR film in which you step back more than a thousand years to board a Viking ship and participate in a raid on the west coast of Norway. Produced in collaboration with Ridley Scott Associates and the UK’s Dimension Studio, the film was honoured with the award for Best Virtual Reality Film at the Aesthetica Film Festival in the UK.
There is also a 270-degree cinema experience, a hologram theatre where life-sized Vikings materialise before you, and interactive timelines walking you through the major events and battles of the age.
Located just across the plaza from Oslo City Hall, the museum recommends allowing 1.5 to 2 hours for a full visit. Tickets can be purchased online in advance or at reception on the day, and holders of the Oslo Pass receive free entry.
Meanwhile at Bygdøy — A Museum Being Reborn
The Viking Ship Museum will remain closed until 2027. It is being completely transformed into a new institution called the Museum of the Viking Age. The current plan for reopening is late 2027.
The new Museum of the Viking Age will triple the original size, with over 9,000 square metres of public space and 5,500 dedicated to exhibitions, plus thematic zones, a research centre, a restaurant, a lecture hall, and a dedicated children’s area.
In the meantime, select artefacts, including the only complete Viking helmet ever found, are on display at the Historical Museum in Oslo’s city centre.
Vikings Beyond the Norwegian Capital
For those who want to chase the Vikings further across Norway, the trail doesn’t end in Oslo.
Lofotr Viking Museum, Lofoten Islands
Located at Borg on the island of Vestvågøya in Lofoten, this museum centres on an 83-metre-long reconstructed longhouse, the largest found from the Viking Age. Visitors can take part in a Viking feast, row a Viking ship, shoot a traditional bow and arrow, and try their hand at timber-frame construction. Every August, Lofotr hosts one of Norway’s most atmospheric Viking festivals, featuring market stalls, combat demonstrations, storytelling, and traditional games.
Web: museumnord.no
Njardarheimr Viking Valley, Gudvangen
Nestled on the shores of the Nærøyfjord in Norway’s fjord country, this reconstructed Viking village is home to around 400 Vikings who have deep knowledge of Viking life and invite visitors to learn and take part in daily activities.
Web: vikingvalley.no
Avaldsnes, near Haugesund
Avaldsnes was one of the most important seats of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway. The Nordvegen History Centre, the Viking Farm at Bukkøy, and St. Olav’s Church together tell the story of Norway’s earliest royal history.
Sverd i Fjell (Swords in Rock), Hafrsfjord
Just outside Stavanger, this striking monument of three ten-metre swords standing in the rock commemorates the Battle of Hafrsfjord, fought between 872 and 900 AD, after which Viking King Harald Fairhair united Norway into one kingdom.
Web: fjordnorway.com
Midgard Viking Centre, Borre
The Midgard Viking Centre near the Oslofjord sits alongside the burial mounds at Borre, one of Scandinavia’s most significant ancient grave sites, and is close enough for an easy day trip from Oslo.
Web: vestfoldmuseene.no
