Oslo Christmas Markets: What you Need to Know Before Visiting!
Most people think of visiting northern Norway in the winter for those magical northern lights (which I’m sure is amazing!). However, the Scandinavia Christmas vibes can be amazing and the Oslo Christmas markets can be worth a visit also! Whether you are flying in to Oslo to visit Northern Norway or plan to do a Christmas Market road trip (like us!), be sure to stop by the Oslo Christmas markets!
- The Different Christmas Markets in Oslo
- Oslo Central Christmas Market on Karl Johan: Jul i Vinterland
- The Christmas Fair at Norsk Folkemuseum
- Are the Oslo Christmas Markets Kid Friendly?
- Take a Guided Tour of the Oslo Christmas Markets
- Cash or card at the Oslo Christmas Markets
- What to Wear
- Where to Stay when Visiting Oslo for Christmas
- Oslo Christmas Market Final Thoughts
Work on Monday Travels is supported by readers and, at no cost to you, may earn commission when you book or purchase using our links. Full disclosure found here.
The Different Christmas Markets in Oslo
Unlike many European cities, such as Copenhagen, Oslo really has one major Christmas market. However, it also has another Christmas fair that is located inside the Norsk Folkemuseum (The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History) on the first two weekends of December.
- Winter Wonderland: The Central Christmas market is on Karl Johan, also known as the Winter Wonderland or Jul i Vinterland Christmas market is the main Christmas market in Oslo.
- Dates: November 9-December 31, 2024
- Times: Open 12 pm until 8 pm Monday through Thursday, 12 pm through 9pm on the weekends
- Norsk Folkemuseum: The museum Oslo has a great Christmas fair with crafts, workshops, food, and more. But it is only the first two weekends of December, so plan accordingly if you would like to do both.
- Dates: November 30th through December 1st and December 7 through the 8th
- Times: Open 11am to 5:00 pm (17:00)
Where are the Oslo Christmas Markets Located?
The Jul i Vinterland, or Winter Wonderland, Christmas market is located in Oslo’s city center, well within walking distance of most of Oslo.
- If you begin at Karl Johans gate and continue down the road you will bump right into the Christmas market!
The Norsk Folksmuseum is a little further outside of Oslo’s city center. Address: Museumsveien 10, 0287 Oslo.
- To get to the Norsk Folksmuseum from Oslo’s city center you can:
- Drive: which is about a 13 minute drive
- Bus: Take bus 30 from the city hall to the museum, which is about a 20 minute bus ride and runs about every 10 minutes. The bus stop you will need is called Folkmuseet
- Bike: You can bike to the museum in about 17 minutes
- How NOT to get to the museum:
- The ferry is NOT an option during the Christmas season! The ferry stops running around the beginning of October.
- Walk. The walk from Oslo’s city center to the museum is about an hour 😅
Oslo Central Christmas Market on Karl Johan: Jul i Vinterland
The Christmas market on Karl Johan, again, is more of your typical European Christmas market. It is a square full of outdoor booths and vendors selling different crafts, goodies, foods, Christmas decor and more. It is also home to several fun rids and activities throughout the day and evening.
Daytime Activities
The Oslo Christmas market offers great day time activities. It has booths full of great food and snacks as well as entertainment such as ice skating, a ferris wheel, kids rides and more.
Ice Skating: Located at the Spikersuppa skating rink in the center of the Winter Wonderland Christmas market.It is free to skate if you have your own skates, Visitors without skates can rent some for about NOK 200 ($18.70 USD).
Ferris Wheel: At the end of the skating rink you will notice a ferris wheel, which you can take rides on. Tickets can be purchased on sight, and in all honesty, I can’t remember the exact price and the info is scarce online. However, the similar wheel located in Helsinki is about $16 USD, so that is my best guess.
Kids Games/Rides: There are a few free rides for the kids including a big slide as well as a beautiful carousel!
Nighttime Activities
The Oslo Christmas market stays open through the night, and in my humble opinion, really comes to life at night! It still boasts the ice skating fun and the ferris wheel towers in the background. However, the market at night just has a little more magic to it.
If you want to try the famous gløgg, or mulled wine, you can head into the Julenissens Gløgghus where you are to keep the alcoholic beverages. However, inside they have a great upstairs that overlooks the Oslo Christmas market and skating rink and they also have a fireplace downstairs that gives the best Christmas market vibes!
- If you aren’t into gløgg, they also have red wine, white wine, beer, hot cocoa, tea or coffee
- You can also snack on some porridge or lompe (a Norwegian dish of sausage in bread)
Of course, the daytime activities such as the ice rink and rides are also available at night until the market closes.
The Christmas Fair at Norsk Folkemuseum
Again, the Christmas fair is a little different than a traditional Christmas market and it doesn’t run daily. It is only open on the first two weeks of December. However, when it IS open, it provides a lot of things to do and has great traditional Norwegian Christmas activities!
It also provides some indoor Christmas market activities, which can be a nice break from the cold weather!
Cost: NOK 180 (~$16.85 USD), children 0-17 are free to enter.Included with an Oslo pass.
Activities Provided
- 100 stalls of Christmas crafts, food, clothes and more
- “Christmas for a Thousand Years” which is a exhibition Norwegian traditions over 1,000 years plus many nativity scenes from around the world
- Santa’s Yard where there are games, Christmas jazz, fire pits and more
- Exhibition of Polish Christmas traditions including food, decoration workshop and a Polish nativity scene
- Christmas workshop where kids can make horses, boats and nativity scenes out of recycled materials
- Lantern workshop where you can make your own lanterns out of mason jars
- and more!
Are the Oslo Christmas Markets Kid Friendly?
Again, the Oslo Christmas market is very kid-friendly. There were kids running around everywhere, especially during the day. Both the Jul i Vinterland Christmas market as well as the Christmas fair at the Norsk Folkemuseum are really catered to entertain kids.
If you are wanting to choose which is more kid-friendly, I would say the Norsk Folkemuseum has more interactive activities and workshops to keep the kids entertained, but both are great options for families.
Take a Guided Tour of the Oslo Christmas Markets
Want to experience the Oslo Christmas magic with a little more insight from a local? You can opt to take a walking tour through the Oslo Christmas market!
- Time: About 2 hours that begin at 2:00 pm
- Sites: The tour begins at the karl Johans Gates and goes by the Oslo Cathedral, Parliament building, theatre, and Royal Palace before heading into the Jul I Vinterland Christmas market
- Price: 38 Euros per person
- Included in the price: Local guide, tastes of Christmas sweets and a cup of non-alcoholic gløgg
Cash or card at the Oslo Christmas Markets
As is becoming more common, most vendors accept credit card. However, it doesn’t hurt to have a little cash for smaller purchases in case they have a minimum amount spent to use a credit card.
Prices Inside the Markets
As with the rest of Scandinavia, expect high prices inside the Christmas markets in Oslo. For example:
- A crepe with nutella at the food stalls are about NOK 90 ($8.42 USD)
- Gløgg with wine is about NOK 109 ($10.20 USD)
- Gløgg without wine is about NOK 55 ($5.15 USD)
- And a classic corndog is NOK 99 ($9.26 USD).
What to Wear
Oslo in December is chilly, to put it lightly. You are going to want to dress in ALL the layers, even during the day. You are going to want to wear layers while walking around Oslo in December.
- Sweater- Either a thick sweater or choose a thinner sweater but make sure you have a good base layer to go underneath.
- Thick jacket- I highly recommend one that goes AT least, below the butt but below the knee is even warmer!
- Long Johns- I recommend layering a warm base layer underneath your top AND your bottoms, so be sure to have jeans or leggings that can fit a layer underneath.
- Scarf, gloves, beanie- Cover up ALL of the places where your body heat can escape: head, neck, hands. and feet!
SHOP
Where to Stay when Visiting Oslo for Christmas
This really accounts for visiting Oslo. at any time, but you should stay within walking distance of Oslo’s city center. Oslo is. a walkable city, so be sure to stay where you can take advantage of that.
We stayed at Comfort Hotel Xpress Station which was one of the more affordable options that was still in walking distance of everything.
- It was also close to the Oslo sauna experience (which I HIGHLY recommend!), which was convenient for our itinerary
- It is also close to the train station if you are training in from the airport and is a 7 minute walk from the Karl Johans gate.
Oslo Christmas Market Final Thoughts
In full honesty, the Jul i Vinterland Christmas market isn’t quite as big as some of the other European Christmas markets. However, we combined this Christmas market wth others in southern Scandinavia and really enjoyed the whole trip!
Here is a 7 Day Scandinavia itinerary that includes multiple Christmas markets in big cities such as Oslo and Copenhagen as well as cute, small European cities such as Helsingborg and Helsingør!
Save Pin for Later!