Every November, the stretch of Karl Johans gate between the Storting and the National Theatre changes character. Wooden huts appear under the bare trees, strings of lights go up, and a Ferris wheel rises above the rooftops.
This is Jul i Vinterland, the main Oslo Christmas market, set up in the park everyone in the city calls Spikersuppa. In 2026 it opened on Saturday 7 November and runs until Sunday 3 January 2027.
It is not the only place to feel Christmas coming in Oslo, though. A few weekends in December, the open-air folk museum on Bygdøy holds a very different kind of fair, with old farmhouses, folk dance and handmade gifts.
Here is what each market is like, when to go, and how to fit both into a winter visit.
Why the market sits in "nail soup"
The square's official name is Eidsvolls plass, after the town where Norway's constitution was signed in 1814. It lies just west of the Parliament building, between Karl Johans gate and Stortingsgata.
The nickname is younger. In 1956 a plan by the architect Arnstein Arneberg added a long decorative pool to the park. The work was funded by the nail maker Christiania Spigerverk, so people promptly dubbed the pool Spikersuppa, "nail soup".
The name stuck, and today it covers the whole strip of park. The pool was enlarged in 1976, and since 1994 it has been flooded and frozen each winter as a public skating rink.
That makes it a natural home for a Christmas market. You are standing on the city's ceremonial street, with the Royal Palace at one end and the Storting at the other. Our piece on how Karl Johans gate became Oslo's street of state tells that longer story.
Jul i Vinterland 2026: dates and opening hours
The Oslo Christmas market dates for this season run from 7 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. Normal opening hours are 12:00 to 20:00 Monday to Thursday, 12:00 to 21:00 on Fridays, 10:00 to 21:00 on Saturdays and 10:00 to 20:00 on Sundays.
Around the holidays the hours shift. On 21 and 22 December the market is open 11:00 to 21:00, and on 23 December, which Norwegians call "little Christmas Eve", it closes at 18:00.
It is closed on Christmas Eve itself, the day Norway celebrates most. From 25 to 30 December it opens 11:00 to 20:00, on New Year's Eve 11:00 to 18:00, and on 1 and 2 January 12:00 to 20:00. The final day, 3 January, ends at 18:00.
That long tail is useful. Many smaller seasonal markets in Norway close before Christmas, so if you arrive between Christmas and New Year, Spikersuppa is still lit up.
What you will find at Spikersuppa
Entry is free every day. You pay only for what you eat, buy or ride.
The huts line the paths through the park, selling knitwear, decorations, toys and gifts, alongside stalls with Norwegian Christmas food, sweets and street food. Contactless payment works at most of them.
The rides are what set this market apart from a quiet village fair. The Ferris wheel, called Reisen til Julestjernen ("the journey to the Christmas star"), gives a view straight down Karl Johans gate. There is also a pony ride, a small roller coaster and a balloon ride for younger children.
Ride tickets are sold online and at each attraction. When the season opened, single rides started at 49 kroner, a shared gondola on the Ferris wheel cost 98 kroner, and a combined ticket for one go on each of the four rides was 199 kroner. Prices can change, so check the market's own site before you go.
Skating on the ice rink
The skating rink is the part many Oslo families wait for. In 2026 it opens on Saturday 28 November at 17:00, three weeks after the stalls.
Skates can be rented from a booth behind the Ferris wheel. Skating under the lights, with the Parliament building on one side and the National Theatre on the other, is one of the classic Oslo winter evenings.
Ice depends on the weather, so a mild spell can close the rink for a day or two. If skating is the main reason for your visit, check for updates before heading out.
The Christmas fair at Norsk Folkemuseum
For a slower and more traditional day, take the short trip out to Bygdøy. Norsk Folkemuseum, the open-air museum of old buildings gathered from across Norway, holds its Christmas fair over two weekends.
In 2026 the dates are 5–6 and 12–13 December, from 10:00 to 16:00. Adults pay 200 kroner and children up to 17 go free.
More than 100 stalls sell handmade gifts, traditional crafts, Christmas food, jewellery, decorations and warm woollen clothes. The museum favours sellers who make their goods themselves, often in small batches.
The setting is the real draw. You can walk into decorated farmhouses and town homes to see how Christmas was kept in different periods, watch dancers in Setesdal bunad, and hear concerts and carol singing. There are short Advent gatherings inside Gol Stave Church, too.
Children get their own farmyard with mischievous nisser, games, a workshop for building hobby horses and bowls of Christmas porridge. Santa usually turns up in the afternoon, followed by a walk around the Christmas tree.
Getting to the folk museum fair
The museum is asking visitors to leave the car at home this year, as it is not offering parking of its own. The roads on Bygdøy are narrow, and fair weekends draw big crowds.
A free shuttle bus runs from Skøyen station throughout opening hours. Bus 30 runs from Jernbanetorget by Oslo Central Station, with extra departures on fair days, and the Bygdøy ferry crosses from the City Hall pier in about 15 minutes.
If you have time, pair the fair with the rest of the peninsula. Our guide to Bygdøy's museums and ferry crossings covers what else is nearby.
Getting to Spikersuppa and the Oslo Christmas market location
Jul i Vinterland is right in the city centre, so there is no reason to drive. Stortinget metro station opens almost onto the park, and Nationaltheatret station, served by both metro and train, is at its western end.
Trams 11, 12 and 13 stop close by, and Oslo Central Station is a walk of 10 to 15 minutes along Karl Johans gate. All of this is inside Ruter's zone 1, and tickets are easiest to buy in the Ruter app before you board.
Tips for a winter visit
Go on a weekday afternoon if you can. Friday evenings and weekends are the busiest times, especially once the rink opens.
Oslo gets dark early in December, with the sun setting around a quarter past three in the afternoon. That works in the market's favour: the lights in the trees and on the Ferris wheel look best after dark, so a late-afternoon visit gives you both.
Dress for standing still. Even a short walk between stalls feels colder than you expect, and a hat, gloves and warm boots make a bigger difference than an extra layer on top.
Leave room for food. A Christmas market evening is a good moment to try a few seasonal treats, and if you want more of the baking traditions, see our guide to Norwegian pastries to try in Oslo.
One city, two kinds of Christmas
The two markets complement each other well. Spikersuppa is the city in festive mode: busy, bright and open for almost two months. The folk museum fair is a weekend-only glimpse of older traditions, set among buildings that have seen centuries of winters.
If your trip falls in early or mid December, you can do both in one visit. Spend a Saturday at the museum, then come back to town at dusk for a turn on the ice and a last look at Karl Johans gate under the lights.
About Sofia Berg
Sofia Berg is a lifelong Oslo resident and travel writer with a passion for uncovering the city's hidden gems. She has been exploring and writing about Oslo for over ten years.