2 Best Sights in Bygdøy, Oslo

The Fram was used by the legendary Polar explorer Roald Amundsen when he became the first man to reach the South Pole in December 1911. Once known as the strongest vessel in the world, this enormous Norwegian polar ship has advanced farther north and south than any other surface vessel. Built in 1892, the Fram made three voyages to the Arctic (they were conducted by Fridtjof Nansen and Otto Sverdrup, in addition to Amundsen). Climb on board and peer inside the captain's quarters, which has explorers' sealskin jackets and other relics on display. Surrounding the ship are many artifacts from expeditions. It boldly calls itself "the best museum in Norway," and it must be agreed that this is the quintessentially Norwegian fun-for-all museum.

The museum celebrates Norway's most famous 20th-century explorer. Thor Heyerdahl made a voyage in 1947 from Peru to Polynesia on the Kon-Tiki, a balsa raft, to lend weight to his theory that the first Polynesians came from the Americas. His second craft, the Ra II, was used to test his theory that a reed boat could have reached the West Indies before Columbus. The museum also has a film room and artifacts from Peru, Polynesia, and Easter Island. Open 10--6.