Viking Ship Museum (Museum of the Viking Age)

The Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy holds the three best-preserved Viking Age ships in the world — the Oseberg, Gokstad, and Tune ships, all burial vessels found in Norwegian burial mounds. The Oseberg ship in particular is extraordinary: a beautifully preserved 9th-century vessel whose carved prow and intricate woodwork make it the finest surviving example of Viking craftsmanship anywhere.

Note: The museum is closed for a major expansion (reopening 2027 as the Museum of the Viking Age). The new facility will have significantly more space for the ships and their associated grave goods. Check the museum website before visiting, as temporary exhibitions may be running during the construction period. The Bygdøy peninsula itself is worth reaching by ferry from Aker Brygge — the Kon-Tiki Museum, Fram Museum, and Norwegian Folk Museum are all nearby.

things to do museum
A story
The Oseberg ship, found in 1904 under a burial mound in Vestfold, was the burial vessel of two women — one of them likely a queen or high-status figure, the other possibly her servant. It is the finest example of Viking woodcarving in existence: the prow rises in a spiral of carved serpents, and the buried grave goods included a richly decorated sledge, a cart, four beds, and fifteen horses. After 1,000 years in a clay burial mound, the wood survived almost intact.