Norway’s Fjords and Most Beautiful Places

Norway is a land of water and rock: about a thousand fjords cut deep into its coast, mountains rise straight from the sea, and in the far north the sun never sets in summer and the northern lights glow in winter. Here are Norway’s most beautiful fjords and places, region by region, with puzzles from every one of them.

The best places to visit in Norway are the fjords of the west coast, above all the Geirangerfjord, the Nærøyfjord and Aurlandsfjord around Flåm, and the Lysefjord with Preikestolen; Bergen and Ålesund; the Lofoten Islands; and Tromsø for the northern lights. June to August is best for fjords and hiking, and September to March for the northern lights.

The fjords of western Norway

The Geirangerfjord is the most famous fjord in Norway, a narrow, winding arm of the sea walled by cliffs over a thousand metres high, with old farms on its ledges and the Seven Sisters waterfall pouring down its side. Together with the Nærøyfjord it has been a World Heritage Site since 2005.

Ferries sail from Geiranger along the Sunnylvsfjord to the village of Hellesylt, where a waterfall rushes under a bridge in the middle of the village. Scenes of the series Vikings were filmed there, while the show’s village of Kattegat was built far away, on the shore of Lough Tay in Ireland.

The Aurlandsfjord, Flåm and the Sognefjord

The Sognefjord, Norway’s longest and deepest fjord, runs about two hundred kilometres inland. One of its arms, the Aurlandsfjord, is best seen from the Stegastein viewpoint, six hundred and fifty metres above the water. At its end lies Flåm, where the steep Flåm Railway comes down from the mountains and boats leave for the narrow Nærøyfjord.

The Lysefjord: Preikestolen and Kjeragbolten

Near Stavanger, the Lysefjord is lined with pale granite cliffs. The hike to Preikestolen, the Pulpit Rock, takes about two hours each way and ends on a flat platform six hundred metres above the water. Further along the fjord, a longer and harder trail leads to Kjeragbolten, a boulder wedged between two cliffs.

Trolltunga

In the Hardanger region, the rock ledge of Trolltunga sticks straight out over Lake Ringedalsvatnet. It is one of the most famous hikes in Norway, but also one of the longest: about twenty-seven kilometres there and back.

Loen and the Nordfjord

At the end of the Nordfjord, the village of Loen lies between glaciers and blue lakes. A cable car, the Loen Skylift, climbs from the fjord to a viewpoint a thousand metres above it.

Famous roads: Trollstigen and the Atlantic Ocean Road

Norway’s mountain roads are sights in themselves. Trollstigen, the Trolls’ Ladder, climbs a sheer mountainside in eleven hairpin bends beside a waterfall, and the Atlantic Ocean Road hops from island to island along the open sea on eight bridges, including the curved Storseisundet bridge.

Bergen, Ålesund, Oslo and Trondheim

Bergen, the gateway to the fjords, is known for the colourful wooden wharf of Bryggen and the funicular up Mount Fløyen. Ålesund was rebuilt in Art Nouveau style after a fire in 1904 and has one of the finest views in Norway from Mount Aksla.

Oslo, the capital, sits at the head of its own fjord, with the brick City Hall, the Royal Palace, Akershus Fortress and the sculptures of Vigeland Park. In Trondheim, the old wooden warehouses line the river Nidelva.

Stave churches

Norway’s stave churches are wooden churches from the Middle Ages, built on frames of tall posts and roofed with layers of shingles and carved dragon heads. Only twenty-eight survive. Borgund is the best preserved, and Heddal in Telemark is the largest.

The Lofoten Islands

The Lofoten Islands, far north of the Arctic Circle, are a chain of sharp mountains rising from the sea, with fishing villages of red cabins on stilts along their shores. Reine is the most photographed of them, best seen from the stone steps of Reinebringen.

Nusfjord, Henningsvær and Svolvær

Nusfjord is one of the best preserved fishing villages in Norway, Henningsvær spreads over small islands with its famous football pitch on the outermost rock, and Svolvær is the main town of the islands, where racks of drying cod line the shore in spring. At Borg, the Lofotr Viking Museum stands beside the site of the largest Viking longhouse ever found.

Senja and Tromsø

The island of Senja, north of Lofoten, has some of the wildest coastal mountains in Norway, including the sharp peak of Segla. Tromsø, the largest city of the north, is the gateway to the Arctic and one of the best places in the world to see the northern lights.

The northern lights

From September to March, on clear dark nights, the aurora can appear anywhere in northern Norway. Read more in our guide on where and when to see the northern lights.

Best time to visit Norway and tips

• June, July and August are best for the fjords, hiking and mountain roads, many of which, like Trollstigen, are open only from late spring to autumn.
• The midnight sun shines in the far north, in Lofoten and Tromsø, from late May to mid-July.
• For the northern lights, go to Tromsø, Senja or Lofoten between September and March.
• Hikes to Trolltunga and Kjeragbolten are only for fit walkers in summer; start early and check the weather.
• Norway is expensive, but the right to roam lets everyone walk and camp freely in the countryside, as long as they respect nature.

Questions people often ask

What are the best fjords in Norway?

The most famous are the Geirangerfjord and the Nærøyfjord, both World Heritage Sites, the Aurlandsfjord near Flåm, the Lysefjord with Preikestolen and Kjeragbolten, the Sognefjord, Norway’s longest, and the Hardangerfjord, known for its fruit orchards in blossom in May.

What is Norway in a Nutshell?

It is a popular round trip between Oslo or Bergen that combines the Bergen Railway, the Flåm Railway, a fjord cruise on the Aurlandsfjord and the Nærøyfjord, and a bus between Gudvangen and Voss. You can do it in a day, but many people stop overnight in Flåm.

What are the best places to visit in Norway in summer?

In summer go to the fjords of the west coast, Preikestolen, Trolltunga, Trollstigen and the Atlantic Ocean Road, Bergen and Ålesund, and the Lofoten Islands under the midnight sun. Days are long, the mountain roads are open and the waterfalls are full of meltwater.

What are the best places to visit in Norway in winter?

Winter is the season of the northern lights in Tromsø, Senja and Lofoten, of dog sledding and snow, and of quiet snowy fjord villages like Flåm. The Flåm Railway runs all year, and Lofoten’s villages are busy with the cod fishery from January to April.

Where was Vikings filmed in Norway?

Most of the series Vikings was filmed in Ireland, and its village of Kattegat stood on the shore of Lough Tay in the Wicklow Mountains. In Norway, scenes were shot at the waterfall of Hellesylt, near the Geirangerfjord. To see real Viking history, visit the Lofotr Viking Museum at Borg in Lofoten.

When is the best time to visit Norway?

June to August is the best time for the fjords, hiking and long days; May and September are quieter, with fewer visitors. From late September to March is the time for the northern lights, and from December to April for snow and skiing.

See Norway in puzzles

From the cliffs of the Lysefjord to the red cabins of Lofoten, every place in this guide can be put together piece by piece. You will find all of them on our Norway puzzles page.