Ultimate Norway: The 25 Things You Have to Do Before You Die

Since 2008, after 6 million people followed Joanna Lumley’s televised coverage of the northern lights for the BBC, tourism in northern Norway has been at an all-time high, especially in the city of Tromsø, where visitation has doubled. Today, this hub for aurora borealis excursions throughout the north has direct and charter flights from London, Zurich, and Frankfurt.

Two things to keep in mind when planning a visit. First, the lights are only visible from September through March, when the nights aren’t illuminated by the midnight sun. Second, it’s best to get out into the hinterlands (the island of Kvaløya is a great spot, for instance), far from urban light pollution. You can rent a car to explore on your own or join a guided safari that safely takes you to wherever the northern lights are at their best.

Between November and January, herring schools migrate to the fjords of Troms County. And where there’s herring there are whales: you can readily spot orcas and humpbacks in the area during these months. Many whale-watching safaris operate out of Tromsø, and half-day boat trips from here also give you the chance to see snowy fjords up close. Come sooner rather than later, though: the migrations are a recent phenomenon, and scientists have no idea if or how long they will last.

The counterpoint to a summer of never-ending days is a winter of unending nights. Over a period of four weeks to 4 1/2 months, depending on the specific northerly location, the sun doesn’t rise at all. Although the polar night darkness isn’t total (unless you head to Svalbard), the few hours of twilight cover cities like Tromsø in a blue light that is truly something else.

In the land of fjords and mountains, you’re sure to stumble upon a cable car or two—but, in terms of views, few can compete with those from the Fjellheisen in Tromsø. The four-minute trip up Mt. Storsteinen is nothing short of spectacular, and, at the top you can either hike farther up to Mt. Fløya or take a seat in the Fjellstua café to savor coffee, traditional Norwegian waffles, and the Tromsø vistas. The cable car runs year-round, but the best times to ride are in summer, when the midnight sun lights up the sky, and winter, when the northern lights do so.

The 11 hairpin turns of western Norway’s Trollstigen make a lasting impression—especially if you suffer from motion sickness. The “troll’s footpath,” as the road is called in Norwegian, is part of County Road 63 (also known as the Golden Route) between Åndalsnes and Geiranger. For scenic mountain views and a truly Norwegian road-trip experience, Trollstigen is a must.

This Arctic archipelago, midway between the North Pole and mainland Norway, is truly something else! Want to visit a ghost town? Go dog sledding? Hike a glacier? Spot a polar bear? Experience extreme midnight sun in summer or polar night in winter? All such adventures and more are possible here. And you don’t have to rough it: Svalbard’s main settlement, Longyearbyen, might only have 2,000 inhabitants, but it offers a good selection of hotels, restaurants, cafes, and bars.

Although a visit to this unique, beautifully scenic region comes with a relatively steep price tag, at least it doesn’t require a visa. You might, however, need a Schengen visa to get here as there are no international flights to Longyearbyen—only domestic ones from Norway.

If you’ve ever found yourself wishing that the days of summer would never end, visit northern Norway between April and August. Thanks to the phenomenon of the midnight sun, all areas above the Arctic Circle experience several weeks of unending daylight.

In Longyearbyen on Svalbard, the sun doesn’t set for four months (late April to late August). During this time, you can observe the sun going around the horizon without ever dipping below. Take advantage of the light with midnight mountain hikes, perhaps like one to Tromsø’s Mt. Fløya, which offers stunning city views.

The former post and freight boats of the Hurtigruten line have been transformed into modern cruise vessels that take you on “the world’s most beautiful sea voyage” as Hurtigruten claims. Starting in Bergen in western Norway, the Hurtigruten cruise takes you all the way north to Kirkenes at the Norwegian– Russian border, and back to Bergen, on its 12-day voyage.

As part of the cruise, you’ll experience some of Norway’s most interesting cities (namely Bergen, Trondheim, Ålesund, and Tromsø), as well as some of the country’s most spectacular scenery (the Lofoten Islands and Trollfjord in the north, or Geiranger in the west, for example). Although the summer months provide plenty of daylight to take it all in, the cruises also tend to be at their most crowded then, so try to travel in the shoulder season.

Situated near Ålesund, Geiranger is Norway’s most famous fjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that attracts close to a million visitors each year—a striking number given that the nearest village has just 200 inhabitants. After it came to light that Disney’s producers used Geiranger as the inspiration for the fictional Arendelle in the movie Frozen, the fjord’s popularity has soared.

Many think that Ålesund is Norway’s most beautiful city, and, upon strolling past its Art Nouveau buildings, it’s easy to see why. After a 1904 fire destroyed most of the city center, residents decided to design the new buildings according to the style of the day, rather than in more traditional Norwegian styles. Ålesund’s abundance of Art Nouveau buildings continues to charm Norwegian locals and visitors alike.

Staying in a vacation cabin is as authentic a Norwegian experience as you’re likely to have. Most Norwegians have a cabin (generally in the mountains) that’s shared by all members of the extended family and passed on from generation to generation. Standards range from small mansions to structures rustic enough to still have an outhouse—with those rented to visitors generally falling somewhere in between. Arguably the most scenic locations for such stays are the Lofoten Islands, with its rorbuer (former fishermen’s cabins), and along the Golden Route, between Geiranger and Ålesund.

The colorful wooden buildings of the old Hanseatic wharf in Bergen are a UNESCO Heritage Site, with a history that makes them much more than popular postcard motifs. The place where stockfish was stored and Hanseatic merchants haggled in the late Middle Ages has been reconstructed several times owing to fire damage, but the oldest structures here still date from the 12th century. Today, most of the buildings house shops or hotels, but, if you’re keen to learn more about Bergen’s medieval (and beyond) history, the Bryggens Museum and the Hanseatic Museum are both in the area.

Norwegians are said to be born on cross-country (Nordic) skis. Indeed, they’re taught the sport at an early age, and many love to spend their winter weekends gliding through the woods. One of the best places to learn cross-country skiing is Lillehammer—a 2.5-hour drive from Oslo. This resort town, famous as the site of the 1994 Winter Olympics, is also where the renowned Birkebeiner cross-country ski race finishes every third Saturday in March.

With mountains, fjords, rugged coastlines, sandy beaches, and lots of farmland, the landscapes of this Arctic archipelago seem the embodiment of Norway. Still, each of the five main islands—Austvågøy, Vestvågøy, Gimsøy, Flakstadøy, and Moskenesøy—is different in its own way, and, as the distances and travel times here are relatively short, you can easily explore them on a weeklong road trip. Highlights include the pretty fishing villages of Henningsvær, Reine, and Nusfjord; Unstad Beach, an unexpected surfing location; and the Lofotr Viking Museum in Bøstad.

Although mainland Europe’s northernmost point is Cape Nordkinn, close to the village of Mehamn, the continent’s true northernmost point (by almost 4 miles) is North Cape, on the island of Magerøya, about 43 miles to the west. Despite its offshore location, North Cape is more accessible by car, making it popular with both road trippers and cruise-ship visitors.

There’s something eerily magnificent about standing on the cape’s 984-foot-high mountain plateau, looking out on the Barents Sea knowing that there’s nothing but ocean from here to the North Pole. The feeling and the photo ops are particularly striking in the evening light of summer’s midnight sun.

As weird as it might sound, brown cheese is a Norwegian culinary specialty that every visitor should sample at least once. It’s made from whey, cream, and both cow and goat milk, and it has the color and flavor of caramel (with a sugar and fat content to match). The cheese is named for the little valley of Gudbrandsdal, which is where it originated in the 19th century.

To experience views that stretch for days as well as miles, book a trip on the rail line that connects Oslo in the East with Bergen in the West. The separate, 20-km branch known as the Flåm Railway is particularly scenic, connecting the village of Flåm with the even smaller hamlet of Myrdal in the Aurland Mountains of Sogn og Fjordane County. This journey combined with a fjord cruise in the nearby Aurlandsfjord and Nærøyfjord, is promoted as the “Norway in a Nutshell” route.

Hiking the so-called Troll’s Tongue is not for the faint-hearted. But those who can handle heights and have the skills necessary for the challenging 13.5-mile (round-trip) trek will be rewarded with one of Norway’s most impressive mountain views from 3,600 feet (with a drop of 2,300 feet) above sea level. Despite the difficulty of the trek, this mountain plateau attracts approximately 90,000 visitors from all over the world each summer, which, for safety reasons, is the only time this hike should be made.

These impressive, early medieval churches demonstrate the fantastic wood-carving skills handed down from the Vikings. Although once common throughout northern Europe, they’re now few and far between—only 28 stave churches still exist in Norway, most of them in the country’s western and eastern reaches. The most accessible are Fantoft Stave Church, just outside of Bergen, and Gol Stave Church at the Norwegian Folk Museum in Oslo.

To see the country’s largest such structure, take a road trip to Telemark County, where Heddal Stave Church has an impressive height of 85 feet. Urnes Stave Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sogn og Fjordane County, is Norway’s oldest, dating from 1130. Nearby Borgund Stave Church is one of the best-preserved in the nation.

By far the most popular hike in Norway is the one to Pulpit Rock, which attracts about 300,000 people each summer. The narrow, 60×60-foot plateau set at almost 1,970 feet above Lysefjord affords stunning views—if you dare to look down, that is. The trail is only about 2.5 miles each way, but it’s rocky, steep, and slippery when wet, and each year sees people in need of rescue by helicopter. Booking a guided hike is the safest, most sensible choice, especially outside of summer.

A stroll through Old Stavanger, made up of 173 wooden buildings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, is a half an hour well spent. Originally the homes of local merchants, sailors, and craftsmen, the white wooden buildings that line the narrow alleyways on the hill above the harbor let you travel back in time—and possibly dream of buying property to live here yourself. Stop by the Canning Museum for more insight into the history of Stavanger and a taste of Norwegian sardines straight from the smoker.

Seasoned hikers who really want to get their heart rates up should consider tackling the extremely challenging, 12.5-mile (round-trip) trek to the boulder at Kjerag, where there’s nothing to prevent you from falling, so watch out! The boulder is wedged between two mountain sides almost 3,300 feet above Lysefjord, and the trail has several steep segments that require climbing skills. If reading this makes you even slightly nervous, don’t go. Those with the fitness level and experience required to make the journey, however, will be rewarded with surreal fjord views—not to mention fantastic photo ops and some serious bragging rights!

Oslo has plenty of popular hangouts, but few have the fantastic views afforded by the rooftop of the Opera House. Although it’s open year-round, the best time to visit is summer, when the sun barely drops below the horizon, making this aerie perfect for a late evening picnic. What’s more, walking up to the top of the Opera House is not only allowed but also encouraged!

Constitution Day is Norway’s biggest cultural event of the year, and visitors are more than welcome to join the celebrations on May 17. People dress in bunad (traditional folk costumes)—of which there are as many versions as there are regions in the country—and then line the streets of villages, towns, and cities to watch parades featuring schoolchildren and members of local clubs and organizations. Before and/or after these festivities, friends and families gather for a Champagne breakfast or a nice dinner.

Norway is a constitutional monarchy whose current royals are merely national figureheads. Nonetheless, they make official public appearances at many events and celebrations throughout Norway each year. They’re also known to be quite down-to-earth, with Queen Sonja often spotted walking in the (public) garden of the Royal Palace, and King Harald V, an avid sailor, often seen aboard his boat in the Oslofjord.