Oslo with Kids: 2-Day Itinerary, Bygdøy Museums & Oslo Pass

Visited September 2017 · updated September 2026 with 2026 prices and the Viking Ship Museum closure

Disclosure: Visit Oslo gave us a 24-hour Oslo Pass for this trip. Everything else we paid ourselves, and the Oslo Pass maths below is ours, including where it doesn’t pay off.

Planning Oslo with kids in 2017, I found almost nothing written for families. Everyone writes about the fjords, and Oslo gets a paragraph. So here’s the version I wanted then. It covers two days in Oslo with a 4-year-old and a napping toddler: one day walking the centre for free, one rainy day on the Bygdøy museum peninsula with an Oslo Pass. It also has the thing most guides skip, which is whether the Oslo Pass pays off for a family at all.

We were staying with friends on a farm about 30 minutes outside the city, so we gave Oslo two full days and the rest of the week to the countryside and a day trip to Lillehammer.

Quick answers

• How many days in Oslo with kids? Two is right: one for the centre on foot, one for the Bygdøy museums.
• Is the Oslo Pass worth it for families? Usually for the adults, rarely for the kids. Children under 18 get into Norsk Folkemuseum, the Maritime Museum and the Historical Museum free, and under-6s ride public transport free.
• Best museums for kids: the Fram (you walk on board a polar ship), Kon-Tiki and the Norsk Folkemuseum open-air museum.
• Viking Ship Museum: closed until late 2027. Go to the Historical Museum’s Viking exhibition instead.

Day 1: Oslo’s centre on foot (all free)

Walk on the Oslo Opera House roof

Our first stop, and still my favourite view in Oslo. The Opera House slopes straight up out of the water in Bjørvika, and you can walk all the way up the white marble roof for free. On top, the Oslofjord opens out on one side and the city on the other. The marble is so white that even on a cloudy day you’ll want sunglasses. The kids loved running back and forth across the open roof.

Getting lost on the way to Parliament

We had a map. We still got lost looking for the Parliament, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Oslo mixes glass-and-steel new districts with old streets, and wandering between them with a stroller is easy: flat, clean, and quiet compared with Barcelona.

City Hall and the harbour

We ended up at the harbour in front of City Hall, which we loved because we love boats. This is also where the ferries to Bygdøy leave. We stopped to check the times for the next day. City Hall is free to visit and far more impressive inside than the brick exterior suggests, with huge murals covering the walls. Next door, Aker Brygge has a waterfront promenade with restaurants, marina views and plenty of space for kids.

The Royal Palace park and the ducks

For our kids, this was the highlight of day 1. The Palace Park (Slottsparken) is spotless and green, with ponds full of ducks. We’d brought bread, and Damian and Marc would happily have stayed all afternoon. The changing of the guard happens daily at 13:30, so time your walk for it if the kids like soldiers.

Karl Johans gate and Stortinget

From the palace, walk down Karl Johans gate, Oslo’s main street, to the Parliament building (Stortinget). What I remember is the open square in front, where the kids could run and jump after a long day. Parliament tours are free but only run on summer weekday mornings, so most visitors see it from outside.

Want more free stops? Our list of free things to do in Oslo adds Vigeland Park, Ekebergparken, the Botanical Garden and the old wooden streets of Damstredet.

Day 2: Bygdøy museums with an Oslo Pass

It rained most of day 2, which decided the plan: museums and ferries. We activated our 24-hour Oslo Pass at the harbour and took the boat from City Hall pier 3 to Bygdøy, about ten minutes across the water. Ruter tickets don’t work on this ferry, but the Oslo Pass does. Out of season, bus 30 goes there instead.

We visited five museums in one day, which was one too many with a 4-year-old and a toddler:

• Norsk Folkemuseum: an open-air village of old farmhouses, with a playground where our boys almost forgot to eat. Free for under-18s.
• The Fram: you walk on board the polar ship. Damian declared himself “a real pirate”. The best museum of the day for kids.
• Kon-Tiki: Thor Heyerdahl’s raft, with a short film first. Marc slept through it.
• The Maritime Museum: our fifth, and the kids had had enough. Free for under-18s.
• The Viking Ship Museum: Damian loved it in 2017, but closed since 2021 until late 2027. See what to see instead with kids.

Full guide with the best order, 2026 prices, opening hours and the ferry vs the bus: Bygdøy museums with kids →

End the day on the fjord

Back at City Hall, we got straight on another boat out among the Oslofjord islands, which the Oslo Pass also covers. After a day of museums it was the most relaxing hour we had, looking at Oslo from the water. Don’t skip it.

Is the Oslo Pass worth it for families?

Buy it for the adults, and usually not for the kids. Children under 18 already get into Norsk Folkemuseum, the Maritime Museum, the Historical Museum and MUNCH free, and under-6s ride Oslo public transport free. For our Bygdøy day as a family of four, two adult 24h passes (NOK 1,160) plus the kids’ tickets at the Fram and Kon-Tiki (NOK 240) cost NOK 1,400, against NOK 1,740 for four passes.

2026 prices: 24h NOK 580 adult / 290 child (6–17) · 48h 845 / 420 · 72h 995 / 495.

The full maths for 24h and 48h, with and without under-6s →

Where to stay in Oslo with kids

We didn’t use a hotel, because we stayed with friends on their farm outside Oslo. Our shortlist by area, with what to check before booking, is in where to stay in Oslo with kids. The quick version:

What we’d do differently

• Four museums, not five. We had nothing left by the Maritime Museum. Start at the Fram while the kids are fresh.
• Buy adult passes only. In 2017 we didn’t know how many Oslo museums let children in free.
• See the Opera House inside. We were in a hurry and only did the roof.
• Pack bread for the palace ducks and a picnic for Bygdøy. Eating out in Oslo is expensive, and the museum picnic spots are good.

More from this trip: Lillehammer with kids · six days on a Norwegian dairy farm · free things to do in Oslo · all our Norway posts.

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