The debating chamber
Seen on the free guided tour.
Christian David — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gunnar Klack — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Premeditated — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Øyvind Holmstad — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Storting is the seat of the Norwegian parliament, standing at one end of Karl Johans gate — Oslo's principal street — while the Royal Palace stands at the other. The arrangement is deliberate and says something about the balance of power. The building dates from 1866 in a manner mixing Italian Renaissance with neo-Romanesque, centred on a semicircular domed chamber housing the debating hall. The stone is yellow and red, the main entrance has steps and a fountain, and its facade is among the most photographed sights in Oslo. Visiting is possible but organised: free guided tours on set days, more frequent in summer when parliament is not sitting, taking in the chamber and the halls. They are booked in advance and identification is required. At other times the facade and the square in front are free to see, and it is a central gathering and protest point in Norwegian political life.
Seen on the free guided tour.
Among the most photographed sights in Oslo.
Karl Johans gate 22, 0026 Oslo
The Nordic Bible MuseumA small museum in central Oslo, opened in 2019, whose collection treats the Bibl4 minutes walk4.9
The National TheatreOslo's National Theatre opened in 1899, and its position halfway along Karl Joha4 minutes walk4.7
The 22 July CentreThe 22 July Centre documents the worst day in modern Norwegian history: on 22 Ju5 minutes walk4.6
The Old Fire StationA late nineteenth-century fire station building in the Gamlebyen district east o5 minutes walk4.6
The National Museum of Art, Architecture and DesignNorway's National Museum is all Nordic Europe's largest: opened (2022) in a mass7 minutes walk4.5The city's main street, running about a kilometre and a half uphill from the central station to the Royal Palace. Along it or beside it stand most of the centre's landmarks: the cathedral, the old market, the parliament, the National Theatre, the old university and the palace park. Walking it end to end is the first thing a visitor does in Oslo, and it takes half an hour without stopping — or half a day with.