It is unclear why Alfred Nobel chose Norway to administer the Peace Prize, but whatever the reason, it is a committee of five Norwegians, appointed for six-year terms by the Norwegian Storting (parliament), that chooses the winner each year, and their meetings are held here behind closed doors. You can, however, visit the library, which contains some 200,000 volumes on international history and politics, peace studies and economics.
Nobel Institute
Oslo
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.49 MILES
Around 1100 years ago, Vikings dragged up two longships from the shoreline and used them as the centrepiece for grand ceremonial burials, most likely for…
1.91 MILES
Opened to much controversy in 2013, Ekebergparken cemented Oslo's reputation as a contemporary-art capital and, in particular, one devoted to sculpture. A…
0.6 MILES
This private contemporary-art museum resides in an arresting, silvered-wood building designed by Renzo Piano, with a sail-like glass roof that feels both…
0.17 MILES
While downstairs houses a small and rather idiosyncratic museum, it's Ibsen's former apartment, which you'll need to join a tour to see, that is…
1.15 MILES
The centrepiece of Frognerparken is an extraordinary open-air showcase of work by Norway's best-loved sculptor, Gustav Vigeland, and is home to 212…
1.21 MILES
Centrepiece of Oslo's rapidly developing waterfront, the magnificent Opera House (2008), reminiscent of a glacier floating in the waters of the Oslofjord,…
0.75 MILES
When Oslo was named capital of Norway in 1299, King Håkon V ordered the construction of Akershus, strategically located on the eastern side of the harbour…
0.4 MILES
Norwegians take pride in their role as international peacemakers, and the Nobel Peace Prize is their gift to the men and women judged to have done the…
Nearby Oslo attractions
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A thoroughly modern library where you can view important documents of Norway's cultural heritage, from 13th-century manuscripts to magazines, films and…
0.17 MILES
While downstairs houses a small and rather idiosyncratic museum, it's Ibsen's former apartment, which you'll need to join a tour to see, that is…
0.22 MILES
The former palace stables, used for half a century as storage, were reopened as a public gallery space by Queen Sonja on her 80th birthday. The charming…
0.22 MILES
The Norwegian royal family's seat of residence emerges from the woodland-like Slottsparken, a relatively modest, pale-buttercup neoclassical pile. Built…
0.31 MILES
The westside's best commercial gallery. Set in a former garage, it represents an interesting line-up of emerging and established conceptual artists,…
0.34 MILES
Rising up above the western end of central Oslo is the sloping parkland of Slottsparken, one of the capital's first public parks. Filled with rambling…
0.4 MILES
Norwegians take pride in their role as international peacemakers, and the Nobel Peace Prize is their gift to the men and women judged to have done the…
0.47 MILES
The Historical Museum is actually three museums under one roof. Most interesting is the ground-floor National Antiquities Collection (Oldsaksamlingen),…