Cities of Norway
Five cities, five entry points. Oslo runs on public transport and forest trails. Bergen runs on rain and fish markets. Trondheim runs on cathedrals and craft beer. Each opens a different door into Norway.
Choose your basecamp
Each city has its own rhythm, its own food, and its own version of Norway behind it. Pick the one that matches your trip.
Oslo
Capital city, fjord and forest
Oslo sits at the head of the Oslofjord with 1,700 km² of forest wrapping around it from the north. The T-bane reaches the ski jump at Holmenkollen in 20 minutes...
Bergen
Rain, Bryggen, and seven mountains
Bergen gets 260 days of rain per year. This is not a warning — it is the character of the city. The wooden Bryggen warehouses date to the Hanseatic period. Fløi...
Trondheim
Cathedral, cycling, and craft beer
Trondheim has 190,000 residents, Scandinavia’s only medieval coronation cathedral, and a food scene that rivals Oslo at half the price. Bakklandet runs along th...
Stavanger
Oil capital, street art, Preikestolen
Stavanger is the base for Preikestolen — the 604-meter cliff that drops straight into Lysefjord. The city runs on oil money and street art. Nuart Festival has t...
Kristiansund
Clipfish capital, Atlantic Road gateway
Kristiansund spreads across four islands connected by bridges and an undersea tunnel in Møre og Romsdal. The city has been the klippfisk capital of Norway since...
Tromsø
Arctic capital, Northern Lights basecamp
Tromsø sits at 69°N with 75,000 residents, a university, a brewery, and 69 days of polar night. The city is the main basecamp for Northern Lights trips, whale w...
Alta
Canyon, rock carvings, and Northern Lights
Alta sits at 70°N at the head of the Altafjord in Finnmark. The UNESCO-listed rock carvings at Hjæmmalu̇ft date to 7,000 years ago. The Northern Lights observat...
Bodø
Saltstraumen, sea eagles, gateway to Lofoten
Bodø is the departure point for the Lofoten ferry across the Vestfjord. Saltstraumen, 33 km southeast, is the world’s strongest tidal current at 400 million cub...
Hammerfest
One of the northernmost cities in the world
Hammerfest sits at 70°40’N on the coast of Finnmark. The Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society museum dates to 1963. The Meridian Column is a UNESCO World Herita...
Narvik
War history, Ofoten railway, and Arctic skiing
Narvik sits on the Ofotfjord in Nordland, connected to Sweden by the Ofoten Line railway built to transport iron ore. The WWII battles of Narvik in 1940 were am...
Senja
Norway in miniature, fewer crowds
Senja is Norway’s second-largest island: fjords, fishing villages, and mountain peaks without the Lofoten visitor pressure. The National Tourist Route along the...
Nordkapp
The northernmost point of mainland Europe
Nordkapp is the 307-meter cliff at 71°10’N marketed as the northernmost point of mainland Europe. Honningsvåg is the town at the base: 2,500 residents, a fishin...
Lyngen
Alpine fjord peaks and ski touring
The Lyngen Alps rise directly from the Lyngenfjord: glaciated peaks to 1,833 meters with their feet in the Arctic Ocean. The area is the premier ski touring des...
Plan your Norwegian city trip
Each city connects to a different Norway. Oslo reaches the forest. Bergen reaches the fjords. Stavanger reaches Preikestolen. Pick your basecamp and go.