Norway — Geography — Learner Bros AB

Norway sits in the far north of Europe, stretching along the edge of Scandinavia where the land meets the cold waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is a country of jaw-dropping natural beauty, with towering mountains, deep blue fjords carved by ancient glaciers, and forests that seem to go on forever. In winter, lucky visitors can look up and see the northern lights dancing across the sky in ribbons of green and purple. Norway truly feels like a place where nature is in charge.

Norwegians have a deep love for the outdoors, and it shows in everything they do, from skiing in the snowy mountains to sailing along the dramatic coastline. Norway is also famous for its Vikings, the fierce seafarers who explored much of the world over a thousand years ago. Today it is a peaceful, prosperous country where people enjoy long summer days when the sun barely sets at all.

Landmarks

1

Alta Rock Carvings

The Alta Rock Carvings are an extraordinary collection of prehistoric petroglyphs carved into the rocks along the Altafjord in northern Norway, dating back between 2,000 and 7,000 years. There are over 6,000 individual carvings depicting reindeer, bears, boats, hunting scenes, and human figures, giving us a vivid window into the lives of ancient Arctic peoples. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has an award-winning museum built right beside it.
2

Bøyabreen Glacier

Bøyabreen is an arm of the massive Jostedalsbreen glacier, the largest glacier in continental Europe, located in western Norway. This particular glacier tongue flows dramatically down a steep mountain valley toward a vivid turquoise glacial lake at its foot. It is one of the most accessible and visually striking glaciers in Norway, making it a favourite for visitors to the Fjord Norway region.
3

Krossfjorden Glacier Svalbard

Krossfjorden is a dramatic fjord on the west coast of Svalbard in the high Arctic, renowned for its massive tidewater glaciers that calve directly into the icy sea. The fjord is a popular destination for Arctic expedition cruises because visitors can watch enormous chunks of blue-white ice break off the glacier face and crash into the dark water. The landscape is almost entirely untouched wilderness, home to polar bears, walruses, and seabirds.
4

Besseggen Ridge

Besseggen is one of Norway's most famous hiking ridges, running through the Jotunheimen National Park in central Norway. The narrow ridge separates two lakes of completely different colours — the deep blue Gjende and the green Bessvatnet — creating a breathtaking contrast that hikers see from the path. Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen was inspired by this landscape, and thousands of people walk the ridge every summer.
5

Stegastein Viewpoint

Stegastein is a dramatic viewing platform that juts out 30 metres from a clifftop high above the Aurlandsfjord in western Norway. It looks like a giant wooden and steel tongue sticking out into thin air, giving visitors the feeling of floating over the deep blue fjord far below. The platform sits 650 metres above sea level and offers one of the most spectacular viewpoints in all of Scandinavia.
6

Ålesund Art Nouveau City Centre

Ålesund is a coastal Norwegian city rebuilt almost entirely in the Art Nouveau style after a devastating fire in 1904, making its city centre one of the most concentrated collections of Art Nouveau architecture in Europe. The buildings feature elaborate facades with towers, turrets, curved lines, floral decorations, and large decorative windows in shades of cream, ochre, and pastel. The city sits on a cluster of islands and peninsulas, giving it a fairy-tale quality especially when viewed from the hilltop viewpoint of Mount Aksla.
7

Dovre National Park

Dovre National Park in central Norway is best known as one of the last places on Earth where wild musk oxen roam, descendants of animals brought from Greenland in the 1930s and 1940s. The park's dramatic landscape ranges from fertile valley floors to high Arctic-like mountain plateaus crossed by the historic Pilgrim's Route to Trondheim. Snøhetta, one of Norway's most famous peaks, rises within the adjoining Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park nearby.
8

Hardangerfjord

Hardangerfjord is Norway's second-longest fjord, stretching about 179 kilometers inland from the western coast, and is famous for the spectacular combination of deep blue water, steep mountainsides, and thousands of fruit trees that blossom in spring. The surrounding region is Norway's most important fruit-growing area, and in May the fjord shores burst into pink and white apple and cherry blossoms. Dramatic waterfalls like Vøringsfossen plunge from the high plateau above into the fjord valley below.
9

Atlantic Ocean Road

The Atlantic Ocean Road is an 8.3-kilometer stretch of highway that weaves across a series of islands and skerries in western Norway, connected by eight bridges over the open sea. It is consistently ranked one of the most scenic and thrilling roads in the world, with waves sometimes crashing directly onto the roadway during storms. The most iconic bridge, Storseisundet Bridge, curves dramatically upward so that drivers cannot see where it ends.
10

Longyearbyen Svalbard

Longyearbyen is the world's northernmost permanent settlement, located on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. It was founded as a coal-mining town in the early 1900s and today serves as a hub for Arctic research and adventure tourism. Polar bears outnumber people here, and residents must carry a firearm when traveling outside town.
11

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a massive underground storage facility built into a frozen mountainside in the Arctic, designed to protect seeds from nearly every food crop on Earth. It acts as a backup for the world's plant diversity in case of disasters, climate change, or wars. The vault currently holds over 1.3 million seed samples from more than 100 countries.
12

Røros Mining Town

Røros is a remarkably well-preserved historic mining town in central Norway that was founded in 1644 after copper ore was discovered nearby. Its long main street is lined with distinctive wooden houses painted in dark earthy tones of black, brown, red, and ochre, many dating back hundreds of years. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its old smelting works, the Smelthytta, still dominates the skyline with its brick chimney.
13

Nidaros Cathedral Trondheim

Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world and Norway's most important religious building. Built over the burial site of Viking king Saint Olav, it has been a major pilgrimage destination for nearly a thousand years. Its towering Gothic west facade is covered in intricate stone carvings of saints and biblical figures, making it one of Scandinavia's most ornate landmarks.
14

North Cape (Nordkapp)

North Cape is a dramatic cliff on the island of Magerøya in northern Norway, often called the northernmost point of Europe accessible by road. It sits 307 meters above the Arctic Ocean and is famous for the midnight sun, where the sun stays visible all night from mid-May to late July. A steel globe sculpture on the plateau has become the iconic symbol of this remote, end-of-the-world destination.
15

Lofoten Islands

The Lofoten Islands are an archipelago in northern Norway, well above the Arctic Circle, known for their dramatic scenery of jagged mountain peaks rising sharply from the sea. The islands are famous for their picturesque fishing villages called 'rorbuer,' where clusters of traditional red wooden cabins on stilts sit directly over the water. In winter, the islands are one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights dancing above the mountains.
16

Geirangerfjord

Geirangerfjord is one of Norway's most famous fjords, stretching about 15 kilometers through dramatic mountain scenery. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for its stunning natural beauty and towering cliffs. The fjord is famous for its spectacular waterfalls, including the Seven Sisters, which cascade down sheer rock faces directly into the deep blue water.
17

Nærøyfjord

Nærøyfjord is one of the narrowest fjords in the world, with some sections only 250 meters wide, making the towering walls feel incredibly close. Like Geirangerfjord, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered one of the most scenic fjords in Norway. Small red and yellow farmhouses dot the steep slopes, adding splashes of color against the grey rock and green forest.
18

Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen)

Pulpit Rock, or Preikestolen in Norwegian, is a massive flat-topped cliff rising about 604 meters above Lysefjord. Its remarkably square, table-like shape makes it look almost man-made, but it was formed entirely by natural freeze-thaw processes thousands of years ago. It is one of Norway's most visited natural attractions, with hikers often sitting with their legs dangling over the sheer edge.
19

Trolltunga

Trolltunga, meaning 'Troll's Tongue' in Norwegian, is a dramatic horizontal slab of rock that juts out roughly 700 meters above Lake Ringedalsvatnet. It was formed during the last Ice Age when freezing water cracked the rock away from the mountainside. The iconic image of a person standing on the tip of this tongue-shaped ledge, seemingly floating in mid-air, is one of Norway's most recognized photos.
20

Galdhøpiggen Summit

Galdhøpiggen is the highest mountain in Norway and in all of Scandinavia, reaching 2,469 meters above sea level. It sits within Jotunheimen National Park and attracts thousands of hikers and climbers each year who want to stand on the roof of Northern Europe. The summit is often covered in snow and ice year-round, and climbers must cross a glacier to reach the top.
21

Urnes Stave Church

Urnes Stave Church in western Norway is the oldest surviving stave church in the world, dating back to around 1130 AD. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrated for its extraordinary carved wooden doorway that blends Viking animal art with early Christian motifs. The small, dark wooden church perches dramatically above the Lustrafjord, surrounded by ancient Norwegian landscape.
22

Briksdal Glacier

Briksdal Glacier is one of the most accessible and spectacular arms of the Jostedal Glacier, the largest glacier in continental Europe. It tumbles dramatically down a steep mountain valley, its ice a deep, luminous blue-green color, ending near a milky turquoise glacial lake. Visitors can hike or ride in small electric carts called 'trollcars' along a scenic valley path to get close to the ice.
23

Bryggen Wharf Bergen

Bryggen is a row of historic wooden wharf buildings lining the harbor in Bergen, Norway, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These colorful, narrow buildings date back to the Hanseatic League era, a powerful medieval trading network, and served as commercial warehouses and offices. The buildings lean slightly and are packed tightly together, painted in shades of red, orange, yellow, and ochre.
24

Akershus Fortress Oslo

Akershus Fortress is a medieval castle built around 1300 that sits on a rocky peninsula overlooking the Oslo Fjord in Norway's capital city. It was originally built to defend Oslo from attack and has served as a royal residence, a prison, and today a museum and ceremonial military site. Its solid stone towers and thick walls rising directly above the harbor make it one of Oslo's most striking historical landmarks.

More interesting landmarks

25

Sognefjord

Sognefjord is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway — and the second longest in the world — stretching 204 kilometers inland and plunging to depths of over 1,300 meters. Its steep walls rise dramatically from the mirror-like water to snow-capped peaks, creating scenery that has drawn visitors since the 19th century. The fjord's branches include the UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord, one of the narrowest and most spectacular fjords on Earth.
26

Vigeland Sculpture Park Oslo

Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo is the world's largest sculpture park made by a single artist, featuring over 200 bronze, granite, and cast-iron sculptures by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland. The park explores the journey of human life, from birth to death, through figures of people of all ages interacting in expressive ways. Its most famous piece is the 'Monolith,' a towering 14-meter column carved from a single block of granite, covered in 121 intertwined human figures.
27

Kjeragbolten

Kjeragbolten is a large boulder wedged into a mountain crevice on the edge of Kjerag mountain, suspended about 1,000 meters above Lysefjord. Hikers who make the challenging trek can stand on the boulder for a photo, appearing to balance above a terrifying drop with only sky and fjord below. The boulder is thought to have been left in its precarious position by a glacier thousands of years ago.
28

Jotunheimen National Park

Jotunheimen, meaning 'Home of the Giants' in Norse, is Norway's most famous national park and contains the country's two highest mountains as well as around 60 glaciers. The park's dramatic landscape of sharp peaks, glacial valleys, and crystal-clear lakes inspired the name from Norse mythology, where giants were said to dwell among such wild and massive terrain. It is a paradise for hikers, climbers, and anyone who loves wild, untouched mountain scenery.
29

Flåm Railway (Flåmsbana)

The Flåm Railway is one of the steepest standard-gauge railway lines in the world, climbing 863 meters through the mountains of western Norway in just 20 kilometers. The train winds through narrow gorges, past thundering waterfalls, and across dizzying bridges, connecting the village of Flåm to the mountain station of Myrdal. It is considered one of the most scenic train journeys on Earth and attracts visitors from around the world.
30

Norwegian Museum of Cultural History Oslo

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, known as Norsk Folkemuseum, is one of the largest open-air museums in the world, located on the Bygdøy peninsula in Oslo. It preserves over 160 historic buildings from across Norway, including farmhouses, a town quarter, and a remarkable medieval stave church, all relocated to one site. Visitors can walk between centuries-old structures and see how Norwegians lived from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century.
31

Viking Ship Museum Oslo

The Viking Ship Museum in Oslo houses three remarkably well-preserved Viking longships that were buried as royal graves over 1,100 years ago and excavated from Norwegian soil. The most famous, the Oseberg ship, is over 21 meters long and decorated with intricate wood carvings of intertwining animals and patterns. These ships are among the best-preserved examples of Viking craftsmanship in the world.
32

Vøringsfossen Waterfall

Vøringsfossen is one of Norway's most famous waterfalls, plunging nearly 183 meters into a dramatic gorge in the Måbødalen valley of western Norway. It is one of the most visited natural attractions in Norway, reached by viewing platforms that look directly out over the sheer cliff edge into the mist below. The waterfall is fed by snowmelt and is most powerful and spectacular in late spring and early summer.
33

Trollstigen Mountain Road

Trollstigen, meaning Troll's Path, is a spectacular mountain road in western Norway that zigzags up an almost vertical valley wall through eleven dramatic hairpin bends. The road climbs 850 meters and passes directly alongside the powerful Stigfossen waterfall, which sprays mist across the road as cars pass. It is one of the most thrilling and photographed mountain roads in Europe.
34

Stavanger Old Town (Gamle Stavanger)

Gamle Stavanger, or Old Stavanger, is one of the best-preserved collections of wooden houses in Northern Europe, with over 170 whitewashed timber buildings dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The neighborhood sits on a hillside overlooking the harbor and is a charming contrast to the modern oil-industry city that surrounds it. Cobblestone alleyways, window boxes full of flowers, and gas-style lampposts give it a fairy-tale atmosphere.
35

Rondane National Park

Rondane National Park, established in 1962 as Norway's first national park, is a high mountain landscape in central Norway dominated by ten peaks over 2,000 meters, including Rondeslottet, meaning 'the Rondane Castle.' The park is a stronghold for wild reindeer and is beloved for its open, rounded mountain plateaus that look almost lunar in their vastness. It inspired the works of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg and playwright Henrik Ibsen.
36

Bergen Fish Market

The Bergen Fish Market is one of Norway's most famous outdoor markets, located right on the Vågen harbour in the heart of Bergen. It has been a trading hub for fish, shellfish, and local produce for hundreds of years. Vendors in bright stalls sell everything from fresh salmon to whale meat, making it a colourful and lively introduction to Norwegian food culture.
37

Fløibanen Funicular Bergen

The Fløibanen is a funicular railway that climbs steeply from the centre of Bergen up to the top of Mount Fløyen, 320 metres above sea level. It has been carrying passengers since 1918 and offers breathtaking views over Bergen's rooftops, the surrounding fjords, and the seven mountains. At the top, visitors can hike forest trails or simply enjoy one of the best panoramas in all of Norway.
38

Munch Museum Oslo

The Munch Museum in Oslo is dedicated to the life and work of Edvard Munch, Norway's most famous painter and the creator of 'The Scream.' It holds the world's largest collection of Munch's art, with thousands of paintings, drawings, and prints. The museum moved into a striking new building in 2021, making it one of the most talked-about new cultural spaces in Europe.
39

National Gallery Oslo

The National Gallery in Oslo was Norway's most important art museum, housing the country's largest public collection of paintings, sculptures, and drawings up until its closure ahead of the new National Museum opening. It is best known for displaying Edvard Munch's iconic painting 'The Scream.' The grand 19th-century building itself is a landmark of classical architecture in the Norwegian capital.
40

Fantoft Stave Church Bergen

Fantoft Stave Church is a reconstructed medieval wooden church located in the hills just outside Bergen. Originally built around 1150 in Fortun, it was moved to Bergen in 1883 to preserve it, but was destroyed by arson in 1992 and carefully rebuilt as an exact replica. The church is a stunning example of Viking-age wooden architecture, with its tall tiered rooflines, carved dragon heads, and dark tarred timber.