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Karl Johans Gate, starting at Oslo Sentralstasjon (Oslo Central Station, also called Oslo S or simply Jernbanetorget ("railway square" in Norwegian), and ending at the Royal Palace, forms the backbone of downtown Oslo. Many major museums and historic buildings lie between the parallel streets of Grensen and Rådhusgata. West of downtown are Frogner and Majorstuen, residential areas with fine restaurants, shopping, cafés, galleries, and the Vigeland sculpture park. Southwest is the Bygdøy Peninsula, with a castle and five interesting museums that honor aspects of Norway's taste for maritime exploration.
Northwest of town is Holmenkollen, with its stunning bird's-eye view of the city and the surrounding fjords, a world-famous ski jump and museum, and three historic restaurants. On the more multicultural east side, where a diverse immigrant population lives alongside native Norwegians, are the Munch Museum and the Botanisk Hage og Naturhistorisk Museum (Botanical Gardens and Museum of Natural History), where you can see Ida, the oldest primate fossil ever found, our 47-million-year old ancestor. The trendy neighborhood of Grünerløkka, with lots of cafés and shops, is northeast of the center.
A feat of world-class engineering, this beloved ski jump was first constructed in 1892 and has been rebuilt numerous times, remaining a distinctive part of Oslo's skyline. The cool, futuristic-looking jump you see today still hosts international competitions. The ski-jump simulator puts you in the skis of real jumpers, and the world's oldest ski museum presents 4,000 years of ski history. Guided tours of the museum are available.
Tucked away in Frogner Stadium, this is Norway’s only museum devoted to ice skates and ice-skaters. Gleaming trophies, Olympic medals, and plenty of skates serve to celebrate the sport. Photographs of skating legends such as Johann Olav Koss, Hjalmar Andersen, and Oscar Mathisen line the walls. Take a look at ways that skates have evolved—compare the bone skates from 2000 BC to the wooden skates that came later.
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