8 Highlights from the Summer at MUNCH

Travelling to Oslo? With only a five-minute walk from the Central Station, MUNCH is ideal to visit. Experience the iconic masterpieces by Edvard Munch alongside the best view of the city and the Oslo Fjord. Here’s a guide to help you make the most of your visit!

You see the sculpture The Mother, a dark bronze sculpture by artist Tracey Emin, standing 9 metres tall. In the background, you can see the MUNCH building and a blue sky. Photograph. — Photo: VisitOSLO/Fara Mohri

1. Take A unique journey through the art of Edvard Munch

At MUNCH you can always experience Edvard Munch's diverse artistic career in our ongoing collection-based exhibitions. Here you can discover unknown gems and get close to world-famous masterpieces such as The Scream, The Sun, Madonna and Vampire. This summer, you can also explore how Edvard Munch’s art reflects the profound changes in medical treatment and care that occurred during his life.

In the Edvard Munch: Lifeblood exhibition, Munch’s artworks are presented alongside medical objects and images, including a baby incubator, glass sputum bottles, archival photographs, and nursing badges. Together, the artworks and these historical items ask provocative questions about our modern experiences of health and illness, birth and death, the giving and receiving of care.

2. Don’t miss the Scream

With its iconic status and clear symbolism, there is little doubt that The Scream is a highlight for many visitors. You’ll find three versions at MUNCH - a painting, a drawing and a print. One of these is always on display, in the meantime the two others rest in the dark. All versions of the motif are made on cardboard or paper, which makes them more fragile than oil paintings on canvas. By protecting them and limiting the time they are exposed to light, the museum ensures that future generations can enjoy and marvel of Munch's powerful motif.

Prepare your visit with the story behind The Scream

3. Be captivated by colours

MUNCH is more than Edvard Munch. This summer you can explore our exciting program of contemporary art. Enjoy a playful exhibition by Kiyoshi Yamamoto and be captivated by Kerstin Brätsch's sensuous, colourful visual style.

4. Eat and drink in spectacular surroundings

When you're done exploring our exhibitions, visit our top floor and enjoy the beautiful fjord- and city view. Have a drink at our rooftop bar while you sit outside taking in the sunset. Treat yourself with a dinner made by Michelin-chefs at our fine dining restaurant, or enjoy baked goods and a homemade lemonade in our café on the first floor.

We are open every day during summer!

Do you want to skip the line? We recommend all our visitors to get their tickets in advance.

Get tickets Plan your visit

5. relax among huge paintings

In the Monumental exhibition you can experience The Sun and Edvard Munch's largest paintings, which measure up to 50 square meters and are so large they had to be hoisted through a hole in the museum wall. In this specially built double-height gallery, you will also find a discovery table where you will be able to explore natural materials and discover more about the processes linked to Munch’s monumental paintings.

Four people stand with their backs to the camera, observing the painting Alma Mater by Edvard Munch. The artwork is 50 square metres in size. Photograph. — Photo: Helge Brekke, Munchmuseet

Made by MUNCH in collaboration with NRK

6. See Munch's own paintbrushes ... and Say hi to the little mouse at Ekely

Did you know that Munch bequeathed all his assets - including furniture, clothes and painting equipment - when the Municipality of Oslo inherited the collection? We have objects on display that’s never been exhibited before. You can also experience a model of Munch's home, Ekely, where he lived for the last 30 years of his life. Here you can touch, test and explore everything you see.

In this exhibition there also lives a little mouse with his very own life. As you follow the small paths in the exhibition, you’ll find mouse holes in furniture, boxes and stairs. Discover scenes with "Herr Storm" in the lead role.

Meet Herr Storm and his mouse familiy in the exhibition Edvard Munch Shadows, on floor 7.

7. Meet the mother

From the outdoor cafe terrace, you look straight at the nine-metre high bronze sculpture The Mother, created by the well-known British artist Tracey Emin. The sculpture depicts a large, kneeling figure carefully holding something we cannot see. It is located on Inger Munch's wharf, in the middle of a beautiful flower meadow from seeds collected in the inner Oslofjord. Around the flower meadow, there are great opportunities for both sunbathing and swimming, or just taking a stroll.

Tracey Emin talks about her inspiration behind the sculpture and how Edvard Munch has influenced her as an artist.

8. Take a walk by the fjord

MUNCH is located in Bjørvika, one of Europe's coolest neighbourhoods. With coffee shops, bars, restaurants, saunas and stores you can spend your whole day here. Maybe even go for a dip in the fjord?