Oslo Viking Tour: a perfectly planned one-day itinerary

Planning an Oslo Viking Tour? This guide lays out a smooth, walkable + short-hop day that hits Oslo’s must-see Viking museums, a legendary burial mound just outside the city, and fun, Viking-flavored activities after dark. It combines: Museum of the Viking Age (Viking Ship Museum), Historical Museum, The Viking Planet, Raknehaugen, plus four specific extras: RØØR Beer Hall, Oslo Viking Quest (self-guided game), Viking Bar Crawl, and the Historical Museum Shop.

Note: the Viking Ship Museum is being rebuilt and reopens as the Museum of the Viking Age in 2027. You can still get your Viking fix today—see below for how to structure the day around it. 

Morning (10:00–12:15): Historical Museum + shop (city center)

Start at the Historical Museum for the Viking exhibition (VÍKINGR), where you’ll see marquee artifacts including the only known Viking-Age("Gjermundbu") helmet and excellent context on life, death, and society in the Viking Age. Before you leave, pop into the museum shop for quality, research-based replicas and books that beat the average souvenir stand. 

Walk time to next stop: ~12–15 minutes through the center.

Some of the most famous finds from the Historical museum

Late morning (12:30–13:30): The Viking Planet (downtown)

Head to The Viking Planet (Fridtjof Nansens plass 4), Oslo’s digital Viking museum with a 270° cinema, VR experiences, and multilingual exhibits great for getting “at sea” with longships and raids before you go see the real-world sites. 

Lunch tip: Grab something quick near Rådhuset to keep the schedule tight. I reccomend a couple of Bacon-pølser and Soft-Is with strawberry sprinkles.

Virtual immersion screen at the Viking Planet

Early afternoon (13:30–16:00): Raknehaugen (Rakni’s Mound), Jessheim

This will take a good chunk of the day, but I promise it is worth it! Renting a car will save time, but its possible with public transport. Train from Oslo S to Jessheim (~20–25 minutes), then a short ride/walk to Raknehaugen, the largest burial mound in northern Europe, built ca. 533–551 AD using an astonishing 75,000 logs layered beneath the soil. It’s a powerful pre-Viking monument that helps explain why ship burials became such a statement of status. Spend ~45–60 minutes on site; return to Oslo by 16:00–16:15. 
Visit Norway

Raknehaugen

Late afternoon (16:30–18:00): Oslo “Viking Quest” exploration game

Back in the center, keep the theme going with a self-guided exploration game that threads clues around sites like the harbor and Akershus. It’s a fun way to stretch your legs and pack more stories into the day without another formal museum stop. 

https://www.viator.com/tours/Oslo/Oslos-Old-Town-City-Exploration-Game/d902-107194P96?

Early evening (18:15–19:30): RØØR Beer Hall & Dinner

Toast your Oslo Viking Tour at RØØR—a central tap house known for a huge draft list and Norwegian craft selections (check the live board; offerings change). It’s an easy meet-up spot before your themed night tour. 

Dinner Recommendations:

Kaffistova – Historic Oslo restaurant (est. 1901) serving traditional Norwegian “husmannskost.” Try meatballs, cod, or rømmegrøt in a cozy, wood-paneled setting.

Restaurant Schrøder – Classic brown-café style spot known for hearty Norwegian favorites like meat “cakes,” mashed peas, potatoes, and reindeer dishes. Local and budget-friendly.

Den Glade Gris (The Happy Pig) – Modern take on Norwegian comfort food with slow-cooked pork, local ingredients, and a relaxed, rustic vibe. Great for dinner near central Oslo.

Night (from ~20:00): Viking Bar Crawl (optional)

Wrap the day with a Viking-themed bar crawl (guided). It’s more playful than academic, but after a museum-heavy morning and a pilgrim’s trek to Norway’s mightiest mound, it’s a fun way to keep the Norse vibe going with a host who knows the scene. 

Alternatively, grab some "Mjød" from the "Vinmonopolet" (before 20:00) and walk up to the top of the Operahuset and have a fantastic view of the sun going down. This could be at almost midnight if here in the summer, or at 16:00 id in the winter.

What about the “Viking Ship Museum” today?

The world-famous ships (Oseberg, Gokstad, Tune) are being moved and conserved for the new Museum of the Viking Age, opening in 2027 on Bygdøy. Until then, the Historical Museum’s VÍKINGR exhibition is your best in-Oslo look at star artifacts (including that iconic helmet), and The Viking Planet scratches the longship itch with immersive media. Expect the new museum to showcase thousands of objects alongside the ships in a vastly upgraded space. 

Oslo Viking Tour tips

Transit: Oslo’s trains make Jessheim an easy hop for Raknehaugen; budget ~25 minutes each way plus local transfer. 

Pacing: If you prefer more time at the Historical Museum, you can move the exploration game to the evening and still make the bar crawl.

Tickets: Pre-book The Viking Planet time slot on busy days; tours/crawls often require advance booking. 

Plan your Viking vacation Norway (why this day works)

This single day blends scholarship, immersion, and atmosphere: artifacts and myth at the Historical Museum, cinematic/VR context at The Viking Planet, a genuine Iron-/Vendel-Age power mound at Raknehaugen, then activity and nightlife that keep the theme alive. It’s a compact template you can expand into multi-day viking tours in Norway by adding Vestfold’s Borre mounds, Tønsberg’s replicas, and Sandefjord’s Gokstad site on subsequent days. 

FAQ: “Viking history tours Norway”—is Oslo the right base?

Absolutely. Oslo gives you dense museum quality and easy rail links. With this Oslo Viking Tour as day one, add day trips south (Vestfold) for ship-burial landscapes, or north for ring forts and runic stones elsewhere in Norway on longer itineraries.