4 Best Sights in Trondheim to the Lofoten Islands, Norway

This imposing granite mountain rising up from the Torget Island is pierced with an enormous hole dead center. A famous landmark in Norway, the mountain's soaring interior—which measures nearly 250 feet high, 525 feet long, and 90 feet across—is reached via a 20-minute walk on a well-marked path and can be easily explored on foot. Torget Island is about 9 miles from Brønnøysund center and is connected to the mainland via the Torghatten bridge. The mountain can also be seen from the southbound Hurtigruten coastal ferry.

Brønnøysund's oldest surviving landmark, the handsome neo-Gothic stone church at the center of town, was originally built around 1200. It's been rebuilt several times, most recently in 1870 after a devastating lightning strike and subsequent fire in 1866. Besides a section of the medieval choir and nave, the oldest relic in the church, a carved wooden crucifix, dates back to pre-Reformation times. A 10-year restoration project was finished in 2008, and the church looks almost new.

Learn all about fish farming, an important Norwegian industry, from all angles at one of the country's largest salmon farms. Control an underwater camera and feed the fish yourself (under the guidance of a professional). You can also catch and prepare your own salmon on the spot. There are several programs that can be tailored to your specific interests.

At 66' 33' N, a bleak stretch of treeless countryside marks the beginning of the Arctic Circle. Here you'll find Polarsirkelsenteret, right on the line at the Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park. Here you can build a small cairn as evidence you passed the circle. You can also get an Arctic Circle certificate to show the folks back home, and there's a post office selling postcards with a special Arctic Circle seal.