Bygdoy near Oslo, a beautiful peninsula
Bygdoy is technically only a peninsula. Oslo actually has a pretty good idea of how to enjoy comfortable island life. Still, there is a special vibrant atmosphere on the “island” south of Oslo, which delivers a really good travel experience. There are about 3.300 inhabitants on Bygdøy or in English Bygdoy, and together with the inner city, the peninsula is one of the more expensive places to live in Oslo, but we are only visiting.
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Bygdøy Norway sun and sea, what´s not to like?
Bygdoy/Bygdøy from irresistible shopping to excursions in the most beautiful hilly landscape
What does the place have to offer that makes it so attractive? If you start with the road to Bygdoy, the only access is at an always well-visited boat harbor at the end of Karenslyst Allé, which is also a shopping street with everything from cafes, to bathing articles to gourmet food from trendy Maschmanns. From here you drive through the hilly landscape with views of fields and meadows. Not far from the island you will find both Det Norske Kongehus’ farm and the Royal Family’s summer residence. Even when Bygdoy does not have a royal visit, it is rare that the garden is not to be spotted behind the lattice around the king’s property, and one quickly senses that one is on your way into an exclusive company.
Bygdøy “summerhouse” owned by the Norwegian Royal Family
An insight into Norwegian culture from Vikings to the present day on Bygdoy
If you continue up Bygdoyveien, after a few hundred meters you reach the first of a number of museums on Bygdoy: the Norwegian Folk Museum. This is especially a Christmas attraction for families with children, where you can get a taste of Norwegian folk history among old wooden buildings, both indoors and outdoors. On the further journey through Bygdoy, you then pass the Viking Ship Museum, which can also sometimes fill bus 30, which transports people to and from the peninsula every day. If you take bus 30 all the way to the terminus, you end the museum trip down by Bygdoy’s eastern coastline, whereas many as three different candidates for an excursion destination bid. On the left side, you first have the Kon-Tiki Museum, where you can see the original draft, which the Norwegian naval legend Thor Heyerdahl crossed the seas back in the 1940s. Next door is the Fram Museum, where the tales of the polar expeditions and the ships that made them possible are the primary focus. Finally, there is the Norwegian Maritime Museum, which can tempt most people interested in life at sea and all that it entails.
Bygdoy, Oslo, as beautiful as it gets
Summertime on Bygdoy´s white beaches
Although the many museums in Bygdoy are of course among the primary tourist attractions on Bygdøy, there is more to come. Bygdøy is also home to a handful of embassy homes that mingle with other sumptuous villas that hide around the island. There is not much noise: apart from the embassies and the royals, it is primarily wealthy Norwegian families who live on the peninsula, and there is hardly any other place on the planet where the almost silent Teslas make up such a large proportion of the total car volume. Combined with large forest areas with lots of path systems, beautiful coastlines, and some of Norway’s best beaches in the summer, we are beginning to see the contours of truly comfortable island life.
Bygdøy/Bygdoy Sjøbad (sandy beach)
As previously mentioned, the primary transport to the island is by bus 30. But during the summer months, there are also ferries between the inner city and certain places on Bygdøy. Should you be lucky enough to be near Bygdøy during the late summer, you must not deceive yourself for that boat trip; the early autumn colors inside the island and the view of the modern villas by the water with associated private boats give another nice perspective on one of Norway’s most coveted places.
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