Norvège : activités et visites

Oslo, the capital, sits at the head of its own fjord, with the sloping marble roof of the Opera House, the Vigeland sculpture park and the Akershus fortress. Bergen, on the west coast, has the colourful wooden warehouses of Bryggen, a funicular and a fish market. Stavanger has an old town of white wooden houses and is the starting point for hikes to the Preikestolen cliff above Lysefjord.

Further along the western coast, Ålesund, rebuilt in Art Nouveau style after a fire in 1904, and Åndalsnes, below the Trollstigen road, lead to steep fjord scenery. Skjolden and Aurlandsvangen sit at the heads of Sognefjord's arms, Ulvik among Hardangerfjord orchards, and Ørsta under the jagged Sunnmøre Alps. In the north, Trondheim, in the middle of the country, has Nidaros Cathedral. Bodø, north of the Arctic Circle, sends ferries to the Lofoten islands, where Svolvær lies, while Tromsø, Alta and Longyearbyen, on Svalbard, lie farther into the Arctic.

Salmon, cod, fish soup, brown cheese and waffles are everyday food, and fårikål, a stew of lamb and cabbage, is the national dish. In the far north the sun does not set in midsummer, while in winter the northern lights can be seen from September to March.