Fodor's Expert Review Vikingskipshuset

The Viking legacy in all its glory lives on at this classic Oslo museum. Chances are you'll come away fascinated by the Gokstad, Oseberg, and Tune, three blackened wooden Viking ships that date from AD 800. Discovered in Viking tombs around the Oslo fjords between 1860 and 1904, the boats are the best-preserved Viking ships ever found; they have been on display since the museum's 1957 opening. In Viking times, it was customary to bury the dead with food, drink, useful and decorative objects, and even their horses and dogs. Many of the well-preserved tapestries, household utensils, dragon-style wood carvings, and sledges were found aboard ships. The museum's rounded white walls give the feeling of a burial mound. Avoid summertime crowds by visiting at lunchtime.