Oslo Sightseeing Tour with Holmenkollen Ski Jump & Vigeland Park

Holmenkollen Ski Jump

Holmenkollen is a hill on the north-western edge of Oslo where ski jumping competitions have been held since 1892, making it one of the oldest ski arenas in the world. The ski jump you see today, a sleek steel structure opened in 2010, is the latest of many rebuilt on the same spot. In 1952 the arena hosted the Winter Olympics, and every March it still welcomes international skiing and jumping events.

The coach stops here for about 30 minutes. From the area at the foot of the jump you look up the ramp and back over the city, the forested hills and the islands of the Oslofjord far below. The ski museum and the platform at the top of the jump have separate tickets and are not included in this tour. For travellers wondering whether the Holmenkollen ski jump is worth visiting, the view alone makes the trip up the hill worthwhile.

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Vigeland Sculpture Park, inside the larger Frogner Park, is the world's largest sculpture park created by a single artist. Sculptor Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943) spent much of his life designing it, and it contains more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and wrought iron showing people at every stage of life, from babies to old age.

Your guide leads an hour-long walk along the central axis: the bridge lined with lively bronze figures, the fountain supported by giants, and the plateau crowned by the Monolith, a column carved from a single block of granite and covered with intertwined human figures. Entry to the park is free and it is open all day, so you can return on your own later. This guided walk explains the meaning behind the works and the artist's life.

Central Oslo by coach

The tour begins with about an hour's panoramic drive through the centre of Oslo, Norway's capital, a compact city between the fjord and wooded hills. Your guide introduces the main landmarks from the bus and tells the story of how a small medieval town grew into a modern capital after Norway's independence in 1905.

The meeting point is close to the red-brick City Hall and the waterfront, and the tour ends with another short drive through the city before returning there. If you have a single day in Oslo, this tour gives you the layout of the city, so you can choose which museums and neighbourhoods to explore on foot afterwards.

The Oslofjord views

Oslo sits at the head of the Oslofjord, a long inlet of the sea dotted with small islands. From Holmenkollen, the view takes in the whole sweep of the fjord, the harbour and the city spreading along the shore, one of the best viewpoints in the capital.

On clear days, especially in late spring and summer, the light over the water is beautiful, and in winter the snowy hills around the ski arena make the scene even more striking. Bring your camera: this is where most travellers take their favourite photos of Oslo during the tour. The ski arena also hosts large events in winter, when the hill fills with spectators and the forests around turn white.