Norway, summer 2014. Young man bicycles Rallarvegen, that runs between Haugastøl and Flåm. Hardangervidda National Park. Beautiful scenery with small lakes and high mountains.

©Runar Vestli/Getty Images

Southern Norway

Come summer, the southern coastline draws Norwegian holidaymakers in droves. With a string of pristine coastal villages of whitewashed timber beside complex networks of bays and skerries (rocky islets) and a shimmering sea, it's not difficult to see why. For travellers, the 'Norwegian Riviera' offers a chance to experience a totally different destination from that of the fjords and high plateaus of the tourist brochures, one that is at once cosmopolitan and essentially Norwegian.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Henrik Ibsen museum in Grimstad.

    Ibsenhuset Museum

    The Coast

    Norway's favourite playwright, Henrik Ibsen, washed up in Grimstad in January 1844. The house where he worked as a pharmacist's apprentice, and where he…

  • Egersund Fayancemuseum

    Egersund Fayancemuseum

    The Coast

    A walkable 1.5km northeast of Egersund centre, this well-designed museum (squirrelled away in an unprepossessing shopping centre), houses the wares of…

  • Gaustabanen Cable Railway

    Gaustabanen Cable Railway

    Southern Norway

    Gaustabanen runs 860m deep into the core of Gausta before a different train climbs an incredible 1040m, alongside 3500 steps at a 40-degree angle, to…

  • Heddal Stave Church

    Heddal Stave Church

    Southern Norway

    This fairy-tale church is the largest and one of the most beautiful of Norway's 28 remaining stave churches. As always, it's constructed around Norwegian…

  • Old fortress town in Fredrikstad

    Gamlebyen

    Southern Norway

    The timbered houses, moats, gates and drawbridge of the Fredrikstad Gamlebyen are simply enchanting. The perimeter walls, once defended by 200 cannons,…

  • Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum

    Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum

    Southern Norway

    This museum, 7km west of Rjukan, is in the Vemork power station, which was the world's largest when completed in 1911. These days it honours the Socialist…

  • Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall

    Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall

    The Coast

    This highly regarded contemporary art gallery is a 15-minute walk from the town centre on the northern reaches of Arendal. One of the largest contemporary…

  • Fredriksten fortress overlooking Norwegian city Halden; Shutterstock ID 1467502673; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Fredriksten Fortress & Museums

    Southern Norway

    Crowning the hilltop behind Halden is the 1661 Fredriksten Fortress, which has resisted six Swedish sieges and never been captured. The fortress covers a…

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Articles

Latest stories from Southern Norway

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A rendering of a hotel built into a Norwegian cliff

Hotels

Would you stay at this daring hotel suspended over a Norwegian cliff?

Jul 31, 2019 • 1 min read

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Go Beyond

Southern Norway and beyond

Beyond Southern Norway
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