The trains from Oslo S head out in every direction, and four towns make good days out: a museum village, a lake town, the oldest town in Norway and a river town with a spiral road tunnel. Train times are scheduled journey times in the Norwegian public transport data used by the Entur journey planner, for weekdays between November 2026 and February 2027. Car times are estimates from a routing engine on OpenStreetMap data and assume free-flowing roads. Engineering work sometimes replaces trains with buses, mainly at weekends, so check the day you plan to go.
Lillehammer
Photo: Barnabas Davoti / Pexels, Pexels License
1 h 56 min to 2 h 11 minfrom Oslo S to Lillehammer station, on the Vy and SJ Nord services
about 2 h 24 min
The town on Lake Mjøsa that hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics, and the home of Maihaugen, one of the largest open-air museums in northern Europe. Close to 200 old buildings stand there, including the Garmo stave church moved from the valley in the 1920s.
Tip: This is a long day, so catch a morning train and go straight to Maihaugen, whose farms and houses come from the valleys of Gudbrandsdalen. Leave the town centre and the Olympic sites for the late afternoon. See the museum's site for hours and prices, and look up the return train before you start on the buildings.
1 h 6 min to 1 h 12 minfrom Oslo S to Hamar station, on the Vy and SJ Nord trains
about 1 h 38 min
A town on the shore of Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake. It was a medieval bishop's seat, and the ruins of its cathedral still stand on the peninsula at Domkirkeodden.
Tip: Walk from the station to the water and out onto the peninsula with the cathedral ruins; the whole loop is a pleasant half-day. Look at the municipal site for what is open on the day.
1 h 5 min to 1 h 11 minfrom Oslo S to Tønsberg station, on the Vy regional trains
about 1 h 28 min
Generally regarded as the oldest town in Norway, with a history that goes back to the 9th century. Today it is a harbour town with a waterfront of cafés and restaurants and a good place to end a quiet day.
Tip: The station is five to ten minutes on foot from the main square, Torvet, and the harbour front with the restaurants lies just beyond it. Come on a dry day and walk along the quay before choosing a table. The visitor site lists events. Trains on this line are sometimes replaced by buses, which takes longer.
32 to 35 minfrom Oslo S to Drammen station, on the Vy regional trains
about 44 min
A river town with a long promenade along the Drammenselva, Bragernes Torg, the largest town square in Norway, and the Spiral, a road tunnel cut into the hillside as a corkscrew.
Tip: The tunnel is a toll road for cars, but you can follow a zigzag path up the hill with benches and viewpoints on foot. Combine it with a walk along the river and a coffee on Bragernes Torg. Details of events and tours at Visit Drammen. Drammen is the shortest trip here, so it works for a half-day.
