We hope you’re enjoying our new series of blogposts on the best cities in Europe to enjoy on your mobility scooter or wheelchair. This time, we’re heading to one of the most accessible cities in Europe: Oslo. It is a modern city with a long and ancient history, and it is just perfect for a few days away. It is certainly a place that has a lot going for it for the scooter user, not least an easily accessible public transport system and many different accessible sites to visit. Here is our guide to the best accessible activities for you next trip to the Norwegian capital.
Meet the Vikings at the Ship Museum
Think of Norway, and you’ll inevitably think of the Vikings. The Viking Ship Museum is the perfect place to get more of a sense of these fascinating people and their particularly close relationship with the sea. The centrepiece of the museum is the stunning Oseberg Ship which was discovered in the early 1900s and dates from before 800 A.D. The whole of the museum and all of its exhibitions are entirely accessible to those of us using mobility scooters and wheelchairs. The team there are great too, so if you’ve got any questions before your visit then just give them a call on 0047 2213 5280 to talk through your accessibility needs.
Get a view from the top of the Oslo Opera House
This is something a little more unusual. The Oslo Opera House isn’t just home to some truly remarkable musical talent. It is also one of the few opera houses in the world where mobility scooter and wheelchair users can actually enjoy the view from its rooftop. This beautiful modern building has been designed with accessibility for all in mind, and is a great place to enjoy both inside and outside. The marble-covered roof of the opera house is the perfect spot to get a sense of this unusual city. It offers a stunning view across the archipelago with its brightly coloured houses and the dramatic mountains beyond. It’s free to access, and completely unmissable.
Visit the fortress that defends Oslo
It’s unusual that a castle is accessible to visitors on mobility scooters and wheelchairs but then, this is Norway, and the team at Akershus Fortress have clearly thought about making it as open as possible to all. Of course, this magnificent castle and its church are ancient buildings and also feature plenty of cobblestones, so everything is relative: but much of it is still reasonably easy to get around. Some of the paths are steep, but it is well worth the effort to get to some of the spectacular view points that give you impressive views out across the fjord and the centre of the city itself. To find out more about visiting this historic 700 year old building, head here.
The Edvard Munch Museum
Most of you will be familiar with Edvard Munch’s most famous painting, ‘The Scream’. But this wonderful museum is a great way to get a far more detailed understanding of this well loved Norwegian artist. There are well over 1,200 of his paintings here, housed in a number of galleries that are all completely accessible to those of us who use mobility scooters and wheelchairs. The museum itself is all set to move to a spectacular new building on the waterfront in 2020, so this is a great opportunity to see many of these works before they are packed up for the big move. To find out more about the Munch Museum, head to their main page here.
Did you know?
The Edvard Munch Museum’s most famous painting, ‘The Scream’, was stolen from the museum’s walls back in 2004, although it has since been recovered.
Getting to Oslo
There are plenty of regular flights to the Norwegian capital from most of the UK’s main airports, including those in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Aberdeen. Oslo airport itself is run by Avinor, who offer an assistance service for those of us with different mobility needs. If you would like to find out more about what they offer (basically everything from help with checking in to help getting onto the aircraft) then head to their dedicated page here.
Once you’ve arrived, it’s also relatively simple to get from the airport to the city centre. There are plenty of accessible taxis and buses available, but we also recommend the Airport Express train, Flytoget, as a quick and easy way to get to the city. It leaves every ten minutes and costs NOK180: the good news is that it is completely accessible to all and has spaces for up to six wheelchair users on each train into Oslo.
If you want more general information on getting around the city itself, then the Norwegian tourist board’s official site, here, is a great place to start.
Travelling with scooters
The great news for those of you travelling abroad is that Quingo Scooters are all approved for air travel by IATA so you won’t have any problems taking them on the plane. That said, it is always well worth getting in touch directly with any train, bus and airlines you want to use just to double check their rules on scooters before you go. For more handy tips on travelling with your scooter by air, take a look at our page here.
Share your accessible getaways abroad with us
Do you have any accessible getaways abroad recommendations? In Europe or perhaps further afield? If you do, we’d love to hear from you, so drop us a line and we’ll feature them.
About Quingo Scooters
The Quingo Scooter range features six models to suit your needs and budget. New models are now available from just £22/week on our new contract hire scheme which includes all servicing and maintenance, Insurance, Roadside Recovery, Call Outs and Consumables including Batteries and Tyres. For more information on this or the latest Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any Service questions you can always contact us or call customer services on 01582 430 900.
Keep up to date with the latest mobility scooter advice, tips and interesting places to visit on the Quingo Scooter Users Blog. Connect with Quingo and keep up to date with all our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.
All Quingo Personal Mobility Vehicles are provided by Forever Active, the UK’s exclusive distributor. Forever Active is a trading name of Advantage Marketing Corporation Limited (AMC). AMC Limited is an appointed representative of First Senior Insurance Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. First Senior Insurance Services FSA Register number is 30847
