Vigeland Park in Oslo: Opening Hours, Museum and Guided Tours
4 min read
Vigeland Park needs no booking: the Vigeland Museum says the park is always open. A guided tour only makes sense if you want the stories behind the figures. The 90-minute guided walk of Vigeland Park costs €47.42; the cheaper guided walk further down runs in summer only.
What the park is
According to the Vigeland Museum, the park is Gustav Vigeland’s life work, with more than 200 sculptures in granite, bronze and wrought iron. It was installed mainly between 1940 and 1949, after over 40 years of work. The starting point was the Fountain, and the Monolith and the Bridge were added to the plan. One tour listing adds that the Monolith has 121 human figures carved from a single block of granite, and that it took three stonemasons 14 years. One of the best-known pieces is the “Angry Boy” (Sinnataggen).
Getting there and what is open
One guided-tour listing places the main entrance on Kirkeveien, a big gate close to the bus and tram stop Vigelandsparken. The Vigeland Museum, on Nobels gate 32 just south of the park, names tram 12 or bus 20 to Frogner plass as its stops.
The museum has its own hours. According to its website it is closed on Mondays and open Tuesday to Sunday 12 pm–4 pm, with last admission at 3:45 pm. From June to August it opens 10 am–5 pm. It is also closed on 1 January, 1 May, 17 May and 24, 25 and 31 December. Wheelchair users can enter by an inclined plane and reach the permanent collection on the first floor, but there is no lift between floors, and the museum is a protected building, so check with the museum if you need more. The museum has a wheelchair to borrow. Hours and tickets for the museum are on its own website.
Guided tours compared
| Tour | Length | Meeting point | Language and season | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided walk with hidden stories | 1.5 hours | Vigelandsparken | English | €47.42 |
| Oslo City Walks: Vigelandsparken with a guide | 1.5 hours | Main entrance, Kirkeveien | English; Wednesdays, June to 15 September, 5 pm | €28.45 |
| Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Vigeland Park by bus | 3 hours | Haakon VIIs gate 1 | English; daily except 17 May, 19 September and 25 December | €56.90 |
The hidden-stories walk begins at the Main Gate and covers the iron gates, the Angry Boy, the Fountain and the Monolith, ending with a discussion of what the park says about human life. The listing mentions stories, symbolism and photo opportunities; check the booking page for exactly what the price includes.
The Oslo City Walks tour meets at the main entrance. The listing says the guide speaks Norwegian and English, the tour suits families and the page carries a wheelchair-accessible label. Because the page limits it to Wednesdays from June to 15 September, it is not a winter option.
The bus tour combines a panoramic drive through the centre, a stop at the Holmenkollen ski jump, where the page notes the 1952 Winter Olympics took place, and a guided walk through the park. The page has a skip-the-ticket-line label and names entrance to the ski museum at Holmenkollen among its inclusions, but the itinerary gives the Holmenkollen stop 30 minutes, described as a break with views, so ask the operator whether a museum visit fits in.
Our recommendation
For most visitors, walk the park on your own first, since it is always open. Book the hidden-stories walk if you want the guide’s explanation, and the bus tour if you would rather see the ski jump and the park on one short outing. The Oslo City Walks tour fits a summer Wednesday evening. For other ways to see the city on foot, browse the walking tours page, and for the museums by the water, see the Munch, National Museum and Opera House guide.
