Vikingskiphuset, Oslo

If there is one thing you should not miss when visiting Oslo it is this museum. In it three thousand year-old Viking longships are on display. The austere, manly Gokstad ship, the more ornate Oseberg ship, more of a pleasure craft for cruising on the fjord and the Thune ship, which is in a worse state of repair than the others and which has not been restored to the same degree. The ships had been preserved in burial mounds until they were excavated early in the 20th century. The Vikings like ancients in many other parts of the world believed in arriving prepared in the after-life. The Viking longship was what made Vikings Vikings. These ships were the first and last ocean-going landing crafts. The ships are a must-see for anyone interested in Vikings. The museum itself is almost like a Protestant church the way it is formed with its austere white walls and vaulted ceilings. It is not a museum about Vikings in general � all that is on display is the three ships and the other artefacts found in the excavation � but is that not enough? The exhibition is in English as well as Norwegian.