Free holiday programmes in Oslo

Hele Oslo

The City of Oslo's free summer school for all pupils in grades 1-10 living in Oslo, with around 15,000 places across nearly 80 different courses - from science and coding to outdoor life, sports and creative subjects. Courses run for a full week and fill the days with learning and experiences alongside peers from across the city. Registration opens in March and places go fast, so set up your wish list early.

Vulkan 5, 0178 Oslo

Geitmyra food culture centre for children runs a free cooking school for teenagers aged 14 to 19 in the school holidays, at their kitchen in Mathallen at Vulkan. Participants learn knife skills, kitchen hygiene and cooking methods from frying to fermenting, make sustainable food and end each day with a shared meal. At the farm itself in Sagene they also offer a free after-school programme for ages 10 to 13 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Furuset aktivitetspark, Furuset

Furuset sports club and Alnaskolen have run free summer camps for children and youth at Furuset since 2009, with activities at Sletta between Furuset school and Furuset Forum through large parts of the summer holidays, typically in the afternoon. The programme offers football, basketball, dance, parkour, frisbee and much more, all free, and equipment can be borrowed through BUA Furuset. There is also a dedicated adapted camp for children with disabilities.

Gamle Oslo (og Husbergøya i Oslofjorden)

FRIGO, the outdoor activity centre in Gamle Oslo, is the district's own free holiday programme for children and youth: a summer club with day trips, swimming, canoeing and football in several summer weeks, stays with overnighting at FRIGO's own colony site on the island of Husbergøya in the Oslofjord, and activities in both the autumn and winter breaks. Everything is free, and the centre also lends out skis, skates, bikes and canoes all year round. The programme is primarily for children living in Gamle Oslo.

Bydel Grorud

Bydel Grorud's own holiday club for children and young people from year 5 to age 18, with trips to water parks, an amusement park, a climbing park and paintball, plus a music workshop and overnight stays at the district's own holiday house Kinsbakken near Stavern. Everything is free, and if you can't afford the transit ticket to get there, the district says to get in touch and they will sort it out. The programme is reserved for children who live or go to school in the district, and the registration deadline falls long before the holiday: mid-May for summer, mid-September for the autumn break.

Hovseterveien 74

Bydel Vestre Aker's youth house stays open through the school holidays for everyone from year 4 to the final year of upper secondary, and the outings are as free as the house itself: an amusement park, a trampoline park and a climbing park with nothing to pay along the way. Open house needs no registration, while the trips fill up and have their own deadlines. Sign-up goes through Spond or email, and the house is a few minutes from Hovseter metro station.

Midtoddveien 12

The culture house at Kjelsås stays open for much of the summer for young people from year 8, with outings and activities in the building, all free and with no registration. Younger children get their own weeks of theatre courses, gaming and music production with ordinary sign-up, and the house also runs a winter camp in February and opens over Easter. This is one of the few places in the city where the holiday programme doesn't stop when summer does.

Rudolf Nilsens plass

Sportsklubben Sterling fills Rudolf Nilsens plass with football, badminton, floorball, basketball, volleyball and relay races five afternoons a week for much of the summer. It costs nothing, requires no prior experience and no registration: you sign up on the spot on the day you turn up, and can just as easily come back the next day. Open to everyone, whatever their age or level.

Bydel Stovner

Stovner Sportsklubb runs free activity weeks through almost the entire summer holiday, spread across Vestli sports hall, Rommensletta and Stovnerhallen, with a new sport each week: dance, football, volleyball, badminton and basketball. There is no registration and no membership requirement, just turn up. The club also runs a free open hall on Fridays during the school year, though it closes for summer and restarts in September.

Ellingsrud, Bydel Alna

Six consecutive weeks of multi-sport, football school, martial arts, floorball, handball and open hall, entirely free and open to everyone from age 6, not only the club's own members. A simple lunch is included every single day, worth noting for families facing a long holiday. Registration goes through Spond, and the programme covers most of the common summer holiday.

Dr. Dedichens vei 23

Haugerud IF has activities almost every single day of the summer holidays, from badminton and basketball running throughout, to cricket, chess, judo, tennis, dance and football school, plus a camp with a night in a hammock in Haugerudparken. It is free and in principle open to everyone, not only members. The club also runs a BUA equipment library in Haugerudhallen where gear is lent out free all summer.

Linderud, Bydel Bjerke

Linderud IL's free holiday programme runs for four weeks in the middle of the common summer holiday, on weekdays from morning to afternoon, with lunch served every day. The days follow roughly the same rhythm as a school day, with drop-off in the morning and pick-up in the afternoon, which makes the week workable for parents who are at work. Registration is done online in advance.

Bøler flerbrukshall

A free open hall for teenagers, and what makes it unusual is that it doesn't only run in summer: the hall is open during the day in the school holidays, including the winter and autumn breaks, when almost everything else free is closed. No registration, no membership, no cost, just turn up. For families looking for something to fill an autumn break week, this is one of the few confirmed options.

Lofsrudveien 6

A free activity week in Klemetsrud sports hall through the whole Easter holiday, with lunch served every day. Easter is the holiday with by far the least free provision in Oslo, so this is one of very few confirmed options that week. Registration is done online in advance, and the club also runs a free open hall for girls and women every Saturday through the year.

Oberst Rodes vei 79

A free day programme for two weeks in the middle of the common summer holiday, with football, handball, table tennis, dodgeball and games from morning to afternoon. Note that the club also runs paid football and handball camps in the surrounding weeks at ordinary camp prices; it is the two weeks supported by Oslo Idrettskrets that are free. Places are limited and registration opens in spring.

Tjernveien 12

Two consecutive weeks of free basketball in Apalløkka sports hall, from late morning to afternoon every weekday, supported by Oslo Idrettskrets. The hall is a few minutes' walk from Ammerud metro station, so children can get there on their own. The club has also run a free open hall over Easter, though that programme is only announced shortly in advance.

Økern, Nordtvet, Holmlia, Bøler og Lambertseter bad

A five-day swimming course paid for by the City of Oslo, spread across five pools around the city and split into groups for ages 6 to 9, 10 to 13 and 14 to 19. The swimming clubs provide the instruction, and there is one course per child so the places stretch further. Registration opens in late May at tryggivann.no and fills quickly, so this is one of those deadlines worth having in the calendar in advance.

Veitvetveien 8

A circus camp at Kulturhuset Veitvet with aerial acrobatics, juggling, dance and music production, running both as a shorter mini-camp and a full week in summer, with its own programme in the autumn break. It is free but reserved for children in Bydel Bjerke, and registration goes through a form or the district's own app. This is something other than the usual ball sports, and suits children who would rather climb a rope than kick a ball.

Tokeruddalen 105

A city-wide music house with free holiday programmes in the winter break, Easter and summer, and worth noting that it is open to the whole city, not only the district. All activities are free and require no prior experience; the summer opening is pure drop-in, while some courses have their own registration. Studio time is booked by text message or email.

Langbølgen 2A

Bydel Nordstrand's youth clubs run free trips through the summer, meeting at Lambertseter youth club and taking a bus onward to a summer park, mini golf, a climbing park, paintball or an amusement park. The district covers both the entry ticket and the travel; children bring a packed lunch or pocket money. The programme is for children who live or go to school in the district, places are few, and registration is binding with deadlines in June and July.

Hele Oslo

The Red Cross holiday programme for the whole family, with accommodation, food and activities covered, run in several of the school holidays. This is not something you sign up for yourself: the family must be referred by NAV, the school health service or child welfare services, and the scheme is intended for families who have had a weak financial situation over time. If that is your situation, it is worth asking the school nurse or class teacher about a referral well before the holiday.