Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Greater Oslo
Holmenkollen Ski Jump & Museum
SKIING, MUSEUM
9am-8pm Jun-Aug, 10am-5pm May & Sep, 10am-4pm rest of year)
The Holmenkollen Ski Jump, perched on a hilltop overlooking Oslo, offers a panoramic
view of the city and doubles as a concert venue. During Oslo's annual
ski festival
, held in
March, it draws the world's best ski jumpers. Even if you're not a dare-devil ski jumper,
the complex is well worth a visit thanks to its ski museum and a couple of other attrac-
tions.
9am-8pm Jun-Aug, 10am-5pm May & Sep, 10am-4pm rest of year)
leads you through the
4000-year history of Nordic and downhill skiing in Norway. There are exhibits featuring
the Antarctic expeditions of Amundsen and Scott, as well as Fridtjof Nansen's slog across
the Greenland icecap (you'll see the boat he constructed from his sled and canvas tent to
row the final 100km to Nuuk).
Admission also includes a visit to the
ski-jump tower
. Part of the route to the top of the
tower is served by a lift, but you're on your own for the final 114 steep steps. Outside, the
40; 9am-8pm Jun-Aug, 10am-5pm May & Sep, 10am-4pm rest of year)
is good for a laugh, but
don't try it if you have a weak stomach. To get to the museum, take T-bane line 1 to Hol-
menkollen and follow the signs uphill.
Nordmarka
FOREST
The woodland north of the Holmenkollen Ski Jump, known as Nordmarka, is a prime des-
tination for hiking, mountain biking, sledding and skiing. It's also the geographical centre
of the city, which must make Oslo, quite appropriately, about the only capital in the world
to have a wild forest at its heart! For skiers, there is
Tryvan Vinterpark
. In the summer
the
Tryvannstårnet observation tower
is a good place to start a hike or a bike trip.
Make sure you take a container for picking blueberries in summer. From the Holmen-
kollen T-bane station, take the scenic ride to the end of the line at Frognerseteren and look
for the signposted walking route.
