Oslo

Oslo is the capital of Norway and it's largest city. Founded by King Harald III of Norway around 1048, it was built again in 1624 after an extensive fire. When the city was rebuilt the ruler of the time, King Christian IV, renamed the city, Christiania. In 1925, however, the city took back it's original name of Oslo. Now considered a global city and ranked "Beta World City Plus" by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network in 2008, Oslo has been considered one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Olso is a green city with over half of it's municipality covered by forests and parks with outdoor recreation always available. Located at the head of the 100-kilometer Oslofjord, the city is close to 40 islands that can be reached by ferry. The Oslofjord is perfect for boat sightseeing, swimming, boating and island hopping and the forests and parks are good opportunities for biking, hiking and cross-country skiing.

Along with The Royal Palace that can be seen at the end of Main Street Oslo offers a variety of theaters, operas, folk dances, concerts and festivals. The city is also home to some amazing cultural institutions such as the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, the Norwegian Opera and Ballet and the National Theater.

Top attractions include Vigelandsparken Sculpture Park, the Opera House, Akershus Fortress and the Viking Ship Museum. Vigeland Sculpture Park shows the works of Gustav Vigeland in a 80 acre park setting. The sculptures are bronze and granite and are divided into six sections called the Main Gate, the Bridge, the Children‘s Playground, The Fountain, the Monolith Plateau and the Wheel of Life. The Opera House has won the culture award at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona in October of 2008. Sir Peter Cook said The Opera House has “in its scale, ambition and quality raised the bar for Norwegian architecture.” The Viking Ship Museum has items from Tun, Gokstad (Sandefjord), Oseberg (Tonsberg) and the Borre Mound cemetery. It also displays the Viking Age Osberg ship, Gokstad ship and Tune ship.http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Articles/Norway/East/Oslo/To-do--see/

• Vigelandsparken Sculpture Park
• The Opera House
• Holmenkollen Ski Jump
• Historical Museum
• Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (Norsk Folkemuseum)
• Fram Museum
• Kon-Tiki Museum
• Viking Ship Museum
• Norwegian Maritime Museum
• Gamlebyen (the old town)
• Akershus Fortress
• Munch Museum
• The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
• TusenFryd Amusement Park
• The Royal Palace, home of Norway’s King Harald V and Queen Sonja.
• The Nobel Peace Center
• The Holocaust Centerhttp://www.visitnorway.com/en/Articles/Norway/East/Oslo/Attractions-in-Oslo/