From Oslo to Trondheim: 10 things to do in Norway when it rains

Norway is famous for fjords and fells. But the weather can be really bad here. And then? A selection of worthwhile museums and places of pilgrimage from the south to the far north.

The country attracts above all with spectacular nature. But sometimes the weather in Norway is really bad. When it rains and storms too much, alternatives are needed. The good thing is that there are places all over the country where you can learn and experience a lot – mostly without getting wet. Here are tips for rainy days in Norway.

10 tips for rainy days in Norway

1. Coastal fort in southern Norway – perfect when it rains

Nordberg Fort is strategically located in southern Norway near Farsund Airport and was built by the Germans during World War II. The military complex is one of the best-preserved German-owned coastal forts. The large outdoor area with trenches is exciting for children. Nearby are rock carvings from the Bronze Age. Worth seeing and interesting for anyone interested in history.

2. On the trail of oil in Stavanger

The capital of the oil industry has – of course – a petroleum museum. And that’s worth seeing, if only because of the exterior view, which is reminiscent of an oil platform and oil storage facility. You can also learn how poor Norway developed into one of the richest nations in the world thanks to oil discoveries in the 1960s. The Norwegian state invested the oil profits in a sovereign wealth fund, which is now worth over EUR 1 trillion.

The Norwegian Canning Museum is small but mighty in a former canning factory. Not all of the 35,000 labels have space in the exhibition, but at least a colorful selection. In addition, the visitor learns how the fish gets into the can.

3. Tips for Norway’s capital Oslo when it rains

It goes without saying that you have to see Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” in Oslo. Warning: there is not just one “scream”, but many, including paintings, but also prints. On the one hand, “The Scream” is represented in the National Museum, which is scheduled to reopen in June 2022 in a new building. Alongside Munch, other world-class artists such as Picasso, van Gogh, Monet and Matisse are exhibited there.

Since 2021, the most famous Norwegian painter has also had its own new, very chic museum with the simple name Munch. There is also always a version of the famous painting on display there.

Anyone who likes contemporary art is in good hands in the architecturally exceptional Astrup Fearnley Museum, built directly on the sea. In the outdoor area of ​​the privately run museum, in addition to a sculpture park, there is a mini-beach that museum visitors use to cool off in summer temperatures. Therefore also ideal for families.

If you take the passenger ferry to the Bygdøy peninsula from Rådhaus-Kai, the Kon-Tiki Museum with the original raft of explorer Thor Heyerdahl and the polar ship Fram await you. Both worth seeing and family-friendly.

Tip: With the Oslocard you have free entry to almost all museums, public transport and passenger ferries are also included. It’s worth it if you’re staying in town for two or three days and visiting multiple attractions a day.

4. Art Museum with seven locations in Bergen

The second largest city in Norway has a lot to offer when it rains. For example, a sophisticated art museum. The Kode Museum is spread over seven different locations, of which Kode 1 to Kode 4 are close together in the centre.

Kode 3 is home to the third largest Munch collection in the world. “Troldhaugen”, the former house of the composer Edvard Grieg, is also part of the museum complex. It is perfectly situated just a few kilometers outside of Bergen on a hill overlooking the sea.

In the city center is the Leprosy Museum. Leprosy? In Norway? That’s right: leprosy was very common in Bergen in the 19th century. Due to poor living conditions combined with a lack of protein and a cold, wet climate, the disease appeared there until the middle of the 20th century.

This history and the research into the disease by Norwegian scientists can be viewed and read in the former St. Jørgens Hospital.

5. Water cycle and the role of glaciers

Relatively unknown is the chic Folgefonn Center, equipped with all the arts of media exhibition technology, near Bergen in the small municipality of Rosendal on the Hardangerfjord. Folgefonn is the name of a glacier located in the national park of the same name.

The museum provides entertaining and informative information about the global water cycle and the role of glaciers using the fjord as an example. Very worth seeing and entertaining. The easiest way to reach Rosendal is by ferry from Bergen.

6. Everything about the forest in Elverum

The small town is about a two-hour drive north of Oslo inland and is home to the Norwegian Forest Museum. The huge museum deals with all topics related to the forest: animals, plants, mushrooms, hunting, forest fruits, timber industry.

The museum also dedicates its own exhibition to the Glomma River, which flows through Elverum, and displays 40 local species of fish in freshwater aquariums. The perfect family museum where you can easily spend a day and never get bored.

7. Rock and pop in Trondheim

Rockheim is the name of the National Museum for Pop and Rock Music that opened in 2010. The exhibition is particularly dedicated to Norwegian music history. And it’s not just a-ha. The interactive journey through a time tunnel is spectacular, and participation is the order of the day in this museum.

8. Site of a fateful battle

About an hour and a half drive north of Trondheim is Stiklestad, a town that is important to Norwegian history. It was here in 1030 that the fateful battle took place, in which King Olav II Haraldsson’s army defeated pagan chieftains, laying the foundation for the country’s Christianization and the state of Norway.

The Stiklestad National Culture Center next to the historic battlefield explains the history of Norway and has an outdoor area with historic buildings to visit.

9. Commemoration of witch hunts in Vardø

91 people, mostly women, were sentenced to death for alleged witchcraft in Finnmark, the northernmost part of Norway, in the 17th century. The Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, together with the French artist Louise Bourgeois, who died in 2010, created a unique memorial for her in the small town of Vardø.

The Steilneset Memorial consists of a narrow hall about 100 meters long, the exterior of which is reminiscent of the racks for drying cod. In the hall, the life and supposed offense of each individual victim are described, for each one a candle burns. The second element of the memorial is a black glass cube with a burning chair in the middle. The effect of the flame is enhanced by mirrors mounted on the ceiling. Very worth seeing and impressive.

10. Arctic Cathedral in Tromso

Well, you actually go to Tromsø to see the Northern Lights. The city is north of the Arctic Circle, so the odds are not bad. You should definitely see the Arctic Cathedral, preferably from the inside and outside. Walk over the Tromsø Bridge from the city center and you’re there.

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