Fodor's Expert Review Ole Bull Museum

From 1873 onward, Lysøen ("Island of Light") was the home of the Norwegian violin virtuoso Ole Bull (1810–80). His over-the-top mansion has an onion dome, gingerbread gables, curved staircases, and cutwork trim, and it's surrounded by 13 km (8 miles) of pathways created by Bull; it's great for picnics, rowing, and swimming in secluded spots. During Bull's long career, he performed frequently throughout Europe and the United States, and even started a short-lived utopian colony—Oleana—in Pennsylvania. After founding the first national theater in Norway, he chose the young playwright Henrik Ibsen to write full-time for the theater, and later encouraged and promoted another neophyte—Edvard Grieg, then 15 years old. If you drive or take a bus here, the last part of the journey is on a ferry from Buena quay at Lysekloster. In the summer there are guided tours sponsored by the KODE museum in Bergen.