The History of Oslo: Viking Heritage Tour in Oslo - Oslo_Viking_tour3.jpg
4.8

The History of Oslo: Viking Heritage Tour

  • 3 hours
  • City Highlight Tours
  • Oslo
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Your local for this experience

Experience hosted by Tanya Lisa

  • Private Tour
  • Carbon Neutral

Curious to know more about Oslo’s history? Join a local history expert on an insightful tour that will show you a side of the city that can’t be found in any book. This experience will open your eyes to the past and origins of Oslo from a local perspective as you learn about the Viking Heritage.

Destination
Oslo, Norway
Category
City Highlight Tours
Duration
3 hours
Transport mode
Walking tour
Available languages
English
Included
  • Private Guide
  • Entrance to the Viking Exhibition at the Historical Museum
  • All Withlocals are Carbon Neutral
Excluded
  • Entrance to Viking Museum 'Viking Planet' (to be paid on the spot approximately € 23
  • - per person) - optional

6 reasons to book this tour

  • Dive into the intriguing history of Oslo
  • Get to know more about the Viking Heritage
  • See main landmarks & their historical relevance
  • Enjoy a tour by the side of a history expert
  • Can be 100% personalized to your wishes
  • All your questions answered by your local host

What you can expect

The History of Oslo: Viking Heritage Tour in Oslo - Oslo_Viking_tour3.jpg

If you really want to get to know Oslo, then you must retrace its history. Take a trip back in time on a tour that focuses on the Viking Heritage and hear from a local source, stories, unknown details, and insights that you can’t usually find in a history book.

This history tour in Oslo will show you the story behind landmarks, statues, squares, streets, and symbols hidden in plain sight. Check out the Viking Exhibition in the Historical Museum, Viking Planet, and more historical highlights to help you understand how they connect with Viking Heritage in Oslo and how it affected the city from past to present.

Your local host will conclude the tour at Viking Planet, assisting you with obtaining tickets. Here, you can explore a range of unique experiences showcasing Norway's Viking heritage through virtual reality exhibits.

Each of the hosts in these tours are history experts and passionate about their city. Check out their profiles and pick the one with whom you share interests - they can’t wait to take you on a tour around their favorite subject and to show you some of their favorite spots in the city. Believe us; they have plenty of stories to tell!

The local hosts are natural storytellers, each one with a different background ranging from arts to history. They can’t wait to share some of their unique stories and personal anecdotes with you! Feel like changing the route a bit? No problem, the hosts will be happy to personalize the tour to your wishes and make their city your city!

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

  1. Meeting point

    Meet at at the entrance of the visitors center - Oslo to start your journey

  2. Itinerary

    This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

  3. Viking Heritage

    Your history tour in Oslo will focus on Viking Heritage. Learn the impacts, insights and hear stories related to this historic event from your knowledgeable host. Discover the city as you retrace history and go in-depth on the effects this part of history has on Oslo

  4. Historical Highlights

    Check out main landmarks related to the theme of your history tour and connect their relevance through fantastic stories and facts from your expert local host

  5. Hidden Treasures

    During your tour, you’ll also uncover hidden gems that will show you a different perspective of history as you know it, something you can’t easily find in a history book!

  6. Storytelling Journey

    As you discover the historical side of Oslo, you’ll be able to go back in time thanks to the amazing stories and storytelling skills of your local host. Feel free to ask any questions and feel as if you are relieving history in the present time

  7. Make it yours

    Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

    Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

    Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

  • Feel confident booking

    Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

  • Change of plans?

    Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

  • Loved by travelers worldwide

    Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

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Viviana🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
25 November 2024
Lisa is a fantastic guide, she loves her history and it shows . She will make your only day in Oslo a great time and will give you advise to other places to go and eat after the tour . Great experience
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Mike🇳🇴 Norway
(About local )
20 June 2025
Tanya Lisa is a very nice person, but I think she could improve as a guide in a number of ways. Felt like if I didn’t ask questions we didn’t get a lot of information and in fact over a three hour tour she was asking me what other questions I had more than a few times, so I felt like if I didn’t ask questions I’m not sure what we would learn. When I stopped asking questions she challenged me and said what other questions do I have. Was hoping for more of a guided tour teaching us about Oslo its history and landmarks. Would’ve liked a little more structure to the tour as we had not done a lot of research on Oslo and was hoping to spend the three hours to learn as much as we could. Felt like she was trying to adapt to what we wanted, and we were looking for somebody to lead the way. Very nice person but not the best tour
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Sylvia
(About local )
16 June 2025
Amazing food tour with Tanya Lisa!!! She came to our hotel to get us and had a fantastic walk around Oslo, stopping at local food places. Our favorite was the local seafood store and got a taste of every Norwegian seafood and meats you can think off. The owner was a great story teller with a great sense of humor. Our second favorite was a stop at Salmon with a taste of the best salmon I’ve ever had and a history and information on salmon farming. So interesting!! Tanya Lisa didn’t mind that that our time ran over and walked us back to the hotel telling us about the city as we went along. Best tour!!Best Food Tour
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Alice🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
12 June 2025
Tanya is a top-notch guide. She knows so much about Oslo and is willing to adjust the pace and focus to accommodate her guests. We saw quite a bit in five hours and returned to our ship energized about what we had seen and done.A Guide Par Excellence
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Laurel🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
8 June 2025
This tour is a very nice way to experience life like a local. As we learned during our time in Oslo, Norwegians love to be outdoors. We traveled with Tanya-Lisa for a few hours to 3 very different islands. Tanya-Lisa was a wonderful host, she explained a lot about each place, shared history with us and was even kind enough to provide Norwegian food for us to try. We enjoyed some hiking, beautiful views and the fresh, clean air of Oslo. If you enjoy nature and being outdoors this tour will not disappoint. Experience life like a Norwegian
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Gena🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
6 June 2025
Based upon the other reviews, we think that maybe Tanya Lisa was having an off day. She was nice to meet up with us at our hotel, which saved us time in getting to the starting point. While she was good at pointing things out to us as we walked around, she didn’t have a plan for the tour and it seemed a bit haphazard. We’ve gone on several Withlocals walking tours and the best ones are those where we are shown the city and given some insight, history and background. Oslo Walking Tour
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mike🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
28 May 2025
Tanya knew all the good locations and gave us many recommendations on food during our stay. All of the recommendations we tried were great. She changed the meeting place to our hotel which made things easier for us. We had good communication before the event and her English was very good during the event. She knew a lot of people and places and the few locations with authentic Norwegian food. She was also very informative on the history of Norway. We enjoyed the event and would highly recommend her for a similar event.Great food and experience
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Lennart🇸🇪 Sweden
(About local )
16 May 2025
Tanya took us for an exceptionally interesting walking tour through central Oslo. The weather was nice and she was very accomodative to our special reguests and many questions. She is highly recommended!Superb and knowlegeable guide
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Unknown
(About local )
15 May 2025
We had a nice time with Tanya, she brought us to many different places and we got a nice variety of food to try. In a couple of places we even had the owner come over and answer questions. Only minor issue would be the amount of walking but I think this was self induced as she made some route changes to show use what we asked to see. Overall a nice mix of food and history NIce tour with some flexibility
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Suzanne 🇨🇦 Canada
(About local )
12 May 2025
Tanya Lisa was awesome and very knowledgeable about all aspects of Oslo. It was a great tour. Great tour and very knowledgeable guide
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Richard
(About local )
5 March 2025
Had a wonderful tour with Tanya. Very pleasant and knowledgeable. She shared many good restaurant and museum recommendations.
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Nicole🇬🇧 United Kingdom
(About local )
30 December 2024
We had a lovely walk with Tanya. She showed us the most beautiful parts of Oslo and told us about the interesting history too. The best of the best
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Pam
(About local )
28 December 2024
Tanya Lisa gave us a fabulous tour. She customized our tour to give us the places we wantes to visit and then showed us so much more. She dilled us with interesting stories and was swnsitive to our wishes. Fabulous Tour
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bruce🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
5 November 2024
Tanya Lisa is yr Best Choice for Oslo visitors seeking to get off tourist track - she shared hidden secrets, best eating places where locals go & where to experience best views of city, best sunsets & hidden corners that make Oslo such a treasure!Tanya Lisa is #1 Tour Guide in Oslo!
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bruce🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
5 November 2024
Tanya Lisa was prompt, prepared & organized She created a tour customized for the two of us, identified spots to see sunset, have cocktails & enjoy dinners - all where locals go! Tonya Lisa is #1 guide in Oslo!Tanya Lisa is Best Guide in Oslo!
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Jonathan🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
16 September 2024
My wife and I had a great private tour with Tanya Lisa on a Sunday afternoon. She was promptly on-time; started off at warp speed and never let-up. She gave us a quick orientation overview, and even from the outset was listening to our questions and wants. We then went on a whirlwind tram tour of the major sites we wanted to see, getting far more done than I could have imagined. She was terrifically knowledgeable about the city -- historically, artistically, physically, and functionally -- and gave us a plethora of recommendations and suggestions for touring, shopping and eating. All in, we would highly recommend Tanya Lisa. High-speed high-quality highlights tour
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Ana🇨🇦 Canada
(About local )
6 September 2024
The tour was a great mix of food, history and culture. We tried different types of local delicacies and unique desserts while learning the history behind each food item. Tanya knows Oslo as the back of her hand and shared great recommendations on where to go during our stay while ensuring we were making the most of the tour. Exploring Oslo with a local
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Brent🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
30 August 2024
70 minutes into a walk (with an unexpected dead end in a military base, a detour, a locked stairway and Tanya questioning the honesty of a kind hearted local) we had a taste of Norwegian proteins. Tanya was knowledgeable with regards to Norwegian culture, customs, and architecture, but failed at working with us and reading obvious signals that we wanted to pivot her (poorly-choreographed) tour in other ways. We even outright asked for changes which she chided away. We were a group of four (which included 3 adults and an 9yr old). At multiple times during the tour we requested to pivot or make stops, and she was abrasive, dismissive or steering in alternate directions. She ordered and pushed food on us which we clearly had no interest in further consuming. Simply put, if a group has tried a food and doesn’t want to consume it further, don’t go into a diatribe about how Norwegians don’t waste food… we didn’t want more sour cream soup, or molded sliced beef. I’ve been on 6+ food tours in other European cities (within the last 4 years), all with positive experiences, and all at costs lower than this (per person). I even discussed other tour experiences with Tanya and she reflected that “people do not typically take food tours in Oslo.” Okay… then why are you representing to be an expert in doing just that? I wanted to just forget about the experience. Write it off… but it’s been bothering me 900€ and a week later. I honestly think that if you are an older group and are doing an architecture or city tour you would have a fine, educational time with Tanya. That said, I don’t think there is merit in her giving a food tour. Guide and food… not for us
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Delene🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
3 January 2024
Wonderful experience walking around Oslo with spectacular one of a kind food experiences. Norergian food with Oslo overview
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Diana🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
30 July 2023
This tour was interesting - some of the local food was great and some not to my taste, but I’m glad we tried it all! The tour guide had a lot of information, and she was able to get some of the locals to tell us interesting facts, so that was great. The portion sizes were HUGE - way too much food to eat for a tasting tour. We didn’t even go to dinner that night because we had so much. I would recommend that the tour be a bit more curated and not include a stop at the grocery store, but otherwise it was a nice afternoon. The most interesting stop was at Salmon restaurant. You learn more about the salmon farming industry there and the different salmon preparations were amazing!Decent Tour
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Karin🇨🇭 Switzerland
(About local )
1 May 2023
On this tour you get to eat Norwegian specialties and see the most important sights! Thank you Tanya! We have enjoyed it very much!We enjoyed this tour!
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jack🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
19 April 2023
Tanya was very knowledgeable and helpful, my short time in Oslo was well spent with her. The tour does just hit the highlights so plan on returning to places of interest. Great guide

Withlocals experiences
are always

Private & personalizedNo strangers, just you. Fully customize your trip to your needs.
With a local expertFrom historical facts to the most up-to-date health regulations.
Without the crowdsExperiences designed to take you away from the crowds towards authentic local spots.

Other City highlight tours in Oslo

€86.03per person