A woman in front of me at the National Museum lowered her phone and said, to nobody in particular, "It's smaller than I thought." Everyone says that. The Scream is 91 by 73 centimetres of oil, tempera and pastel on cardboard, and it still stops a room full of strangers.

The short answer: the famous 1893 painted Scream hangs permanently in the Munch room at the National Museum (Nasjonalmuseet). MUNCH, the museum in Bjørvika, owns several other versions (a painting, a drawing and a print) and shows one at a time, in rotation. The place that inspired it, Ekeberg hill, is ten to fifteen minutes away by tram.

Why are there several Screams?

Munch returned to his most famous image again and again: in paint, in pastel, in crayon and as a lithograph that could be printed and sold. The versions are all "real". They were made at different moments and for different reasons, and they are kept in two different museums.

1. The National Museum: the 1893 painting

This is the one you have seen on mugs. It hangs in a room devoted to Munch with 18 of his key works, including The Sick Child, Madonna and The Dance of Life.

Look closely at the top left corner. In pencil, almost invisible, someone wrote "Kan kun være malet af en gal Mand!", "could only have been painted by a madman". For decades people assumed a vandal did it. In 2021 the museum's researchers confirmed the handwriting is Munch's own.

  • Where: Brynjulf Bulls plass 3, by the harbour at Vestbanen
  • When: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00, Thursday until 20:00, closed Mondays
  • Tickets: about 180 NOK (2025 price), free under 18

{: .tip } Insider tip: the Munch room is the museum's bottleneck. Arrive at 10:00 and go there first, or come on a Thursday evening. Then walk back through Norway's other painters, Dahl, Gude, Krohg and Harriet Backer, to see what Munch was reacting against.

2. MUNCH: the rotating Screams

The MUNCH tower holds the largest collection of Munch's work in the world. Because light damages works on paper and cardboard, its Screams are shown one at a time and swapped at set intervals. If you have your heart set on the painted version, ask at the desk when it is next on show, or read our honest guide to whether MUNCH is worth it.

  • Where: Edvard Munchs plass 1, Bjørvika
  • When (2026): Sunday–Tuesday 10:00–18:00, Wednesday–Saturday 10:00–21:00, but check: the museum has warned it may cut hours this year
  • Tickets: 220 NOK adults, 100 NOK for 18–25, free under 18

3. Ekeberg: where it happened

Munch described walking along a road at sunset with two friends when the sky turned "blood red" and he felt "an infinite scream passing through nature". The road is Valhallveien, on Ekeberg hill, looking down over the city and the fjord.

Take tram 13 or 19 from the central station to Ekebergparken (about 10 to 15 minutes). The sculpture park has a frame marking a viewpoint, but the historic bend in the road is a short walk away, and signposting is poor: many visitors never find it. Go at sunset, when the sky does its best impression.

Until 2019 The Scream hung in the old National Gallery on Universitetsgata. The building reopens in autumn 2026 as a venue for art, music and food. It's a good stop on a Munch walk, even if the painting has moved on.

Harriet Backer, Blue Interior, 1883
Walk it with a guide · English or French

From fjord to Scream: the Scandinavian painters, in order

A century of Nordic painting in one morning: romantic fjords, realist interiors, the women painters, and The Scream at the end. 3 hours, max 8 guests, from NOK 1 790.

See the route

How to see them all in a day

  1. 10:00 National Museum: the 1893 painting and the Norwegian masters (1 to 1.5 hours).
  2. Walk 30 minutes along the harbour, past the Opera.
  3. Late morning MUNCH: the rotating Scream and the view from the top floor.
  4. Sunset tram to Ekeberg.

Quick answers

Which museum has the real Scream?

Both have real ones. The National Museum has the famous 1893 painting. MUNCH owns other versions, including a painting, a drawing and a print, and shows them one at a time.

Is the National Museum open on Mondays?

No. It is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00, and until 20:00 on Thursdays.

How much are the tickets?

About 180 NOK for the National Museum (2025 price) and 220 NOK for MUNCH. Both are free for under-18s. Check before you go: MUNCH has signalled price and hour changes in 2026.

Where exactly was The Scream painted?

The scene is on Ekeberg hill, on the bend of Valhallveien road, with the fjord and city below. Take tram 13 or 19 to Ekebergparken.

F

Your guide
I trained as an urban planner, and I guide every Maison Oslo walk myself. I show Oslo the way a planner reads a city: why the palace sits on that hill, how a motorway ended up under the fjord, how a villa town grew out of a fire. On the art walks we follow a century of Scandinavian painting in order, up to Munch. I guide at weekends and in the evenings, in small groups, so there is always time for your questions, in English or in French.