Norway Travel Guide

The Sognefjord is Norway's longest and deepest fjord, hailed as the king of fjords; Flåm sits at the end of one of its branches. The fjord reaches over 200 km inland, over 1,000 m deep, grand and vast. Its sides have mountains, villages, branches, varied scenery: grand cliffs and waterfalls, and pretty farmland and orchards. Along it are charming towns like Flåm and Gudvangen, and the World Heritage Nærøyfjord. Cruising here, you see Norway's majestic fjord nature, the core of a fjord trip, grand and unforgettable.

The Flåm Railway is hailed as one of the world's most beautiful railways and a masterpiece of Norwegian engineering. From the fjord-side village of Flåm it climbs to the mountain station of Myrdal at nearly 900 meters, about 20 km, through steep valleys with astonishing gradients. The scenery is spectacular: waterfalls, snow peaks, deep gorges, winding rivers and hillside farms, endlessly varied. The train stops by the famous pretty waterfall for photos. Riding this legendary train through Norway's majestic mountains and gorges is an awe-inspiring visual feast, the essence of a fjord trip, unforgettable.

The Vigeland Sculpture Park is the world's largest sculpture park by a single artist, created by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland over his lifetime. It has over two hundred bronze and granite sculptures on the theme of human life from birth to death, with sincere emotions, showing all human feelings. The iconic Monolith rises high, made of countless intertwined human figures, stunning. Free and open, it is both an art temple and a citizen's leisure place. Strolling and reflecting on life's meaning is a moving, deep Oslo experience.

The Munch Museum is a modern museum memorializing Norway's expressionist master Edvard Munch, by the Oslo waterfront, holding the many works Munch donated to the city. This tall modern building systematically shows Munch's paintings, drawings and prints across his life, most famous being the masterpiece The Scream, expressing modern anxiety and loneliness. With strong color and distorted lines, Munch deeply portrayed love, fear, illness and death, striking the heart. Approaching these emotionally charged works, you feel his extraordinary achievement and deep influence on modern art, thought-provoking.

The Geirangerfjord is one of Norway's most celebrated and breathtaking fjords, a listed World Heritage site hailed as the jewel of the fjords. Along this deep, winding fjord rise almost vertical, snow-capped mountain cliffs over 1,000 meters high, and several famous waterfalls plunge from the clifftops. The deep, emerald-green fjord mirrors the snow peaks and drifting clouds — a majestic, soul-stirring beauty. On the cliffs perch abandoned mountain farms carved out by brave farmers of old, telling of the struggle between man and nature. A cruise through the Geirangerfjord, gazing up close at the plunging falls and snowy cliffs, is the finest way to appreciate this world-class natural wonder; its stirring grandeur is unforgettable for a lifetime, a pinnacle fjord experience in Norway.

Opening in 2008 on the Bjorvika waterfront, the Oslo Opera House by Snohetta is Norway's most important landmark in over half a century. Like a glacier rising from the fjord, its sloped roof of white Italian marble and granite stretches to the water's edge, and visitors may walk freely up the slope to the summit for 360-degree views over the Oslofjord, the City Hall and the islands beyond. The main auditorium seats about 2,100 beneath an undulating oak ceiling beside the largest glass wall in Scandinavia. It is a national stage for opera and ballet — and a free public living room; mind the icy roof in winter.