Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Nobel Peace Center is a museum in Oslo, Norway, devoted to the Nobel Peace Prize and the people and organisations who have won it. It sits on the waterfront in a former railway station, a few steps from the City Hall where the prize is presented each year.

The story behind it

The prize begins with Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor and businessman who made his fortune with dynamite. When his brother Ludvig died, a newspaper mistakenly printed an obituary for Alfred, and it is said to have called him a merchant of death. The mix-up reportedly pushed him to think about how he would be remembered. In his will he left his fortune to fund annual prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace.

Four of those prizes are awarded in Stockholm, but the Peace Prize is the exception: it is awarded in Oslo, and the ceremony takes place at the City Hall on 10 December, the day Nobel died in 1896. The first prizes were given in 1901. The Peace Center tells the story of the prize and its laureates in the city that hosts it, in the old Vestbanen station building.

What to look for

• The building itself, a former railway station, which is a surprising home for a museum about peace and worth a look from the square outside.
• The City Hall nearby, where the prize ceremony is held each December, so you can see both halves of the Oslo Nobel story in one short walk.
• The harbour setting, with the water and the waterfront promenade close by, which makes the square a pleasant place to pause.
• The exhibitions inside, which focus on the work of Nobel Peace Prize laureates and the causes they stood for.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about an hour if you plan to go inside, or just a few minutes for a look at the building from outside.
• Check current opening hours and entry details before you go, as they change through the year.
• Combine it with the City Hall and a stroll along the waterfront, since all of them are within easy walking distance.
• Daylight suits the harbour views best, but the square is easy to enjoy at any time of day.

See it on a quest

Rather than visiting the Nobel Peace Center in isolation, you can reach it on foot as one stop on Oslo Old Town: Viking Tales, a self-guided walk through the old part of the city with a Viking theme. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle based on what is in front of you, so you notice details you might otherwise walk past. You start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.