Work in the woods
Dalí, Rodin and Bourgeois among the trees, unfenced.
Helge Høifødt — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kjetil Ree — CC BY-SA 3.0 · MOs810 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jim Killock — CC BY-SA 2.0
Ekebergparken is a sculpture park on a wooded hill south-east of central Oslo, looking down over the city and the fjord — free and open around the clock all year. The collection is contemporary and strong: work by Salvador Dalí, Auguste Rodin, Louise Bourgeois, James Turrell, Anish Kapoor, Sarah Lucas and others, distributed along woodland paths with no fences and no large signs. You come upon a work among the trees rather than being led to it, and that is a deliberate choice in the design. The hill has another story: from here, according to his own notes, Edvard Munch watched a red sunset over the fjord and described a feeling of a scream passing through nature — the origin from which he painted The Scream. The spot is marked on the path. Access is by tram from the centre and a short climb.
Dalí, Rodin and Bourgeois among the trees, unfenced.
The city and the Oslofjord from the hilltop.
Kongsveien 23, 0193 Oslo
The Medieval Ruins of OsloFew visitors to Oslo know that the present city is not on its original site. Med11 minutes walk4.2
The Munch MuseumThe Munch Museum is the world's largest home of The Scream: a leaning glass towe12 minutes walk4.6
The Oslo Opera HouseOslo's Opera House is the only building on earth designed to be walked on top of14 minutes walk4.6
Christian Frederiks plass and the Oslo TigerThe square directly in front of Oslo Central Station carries the sculpture every19 minutes walk4.4
ØstbanehallenØstbanehallen is the original building of Oslo's East Station, opened in 1854 fo19 minutes walk4.0Two versions are on display in Oslo: one in the National Museum and another in the new Munch Museum on the waterfront. Munch made four principal versions in different media along with lithographs. The National Museum shows the best-known version, and the Munch Museum rotates its versions to protect them from light — so you may not see the same one on two visits. Both are new buildings and worth visiting in any case.