Norway’s Winter Wonderland

Fishing is the lifeblood of Tromsø, a city sandwiched between fjords and mountains, characterized by the jumble of brightly painted houses along the waterfront and the concrete-and-glass Arctic Cathedral which is illuminated at night like a beacon (it’s not the only light show: the Aurora Borealis streaking across the sky is the big draw in winter).  

Staggering mountains meet fine-powdered sand beaches and clear, turquoise waters on Senja, Norway’s second biggest island. This is the place for hiking, fishing and cycling in summer, skiing, snowshoeing and archipelago boat trips in winter, when cormorants and sea eagles soar high in the sky and seals play in the shallows. 

A funicular at the top of Mount Fløyen reveals Norway’s second city in all its sinuous, misty-blue glory. Bergen is intimately tied to the water; a city draped around fjords, inlets and fountains, it was founded by seafaring Vikings and its picture-perfect harbor still heaves with the bounty of the North Sea, sliced and sold each morning at the city’s many fish markets. The majestic landscapes of the Western Fjords beckon, as does the lakeside retreat of Troldhaugen, where composer Edvard Grieg composed his masterpieces. 

With snow-dusted mountains and valleys that stretch out into the distance, fast-flowing rivers and pancake-flat lakes, adrenalin junkies make the pilgrimage to the Voss region for skydiving, whitewater rafting, mountain biking and cross-country skiing. All of which is a counterfoil to the town itself, where cozy restaurants serve up traditional Norwegian food and a restorative dose of hygge. 

Set at one end of UNESCO-listed Aurlandsfjord in the Flåmsdalen valley, this village is packed with adrenaline and adventure: there’s hiking, mountain biking, boat trips. Whiz over waterfalls on the longest zipline in the Nordics and head back into town for a different kind of high: a sugar rush from the bakery’s oven-fresh cinnamon-sweet kanelsnurrer. Make time to drink in the cloud-ringed peaks of some of Norway’s most spectacular scenery, too. 

Perhaps drawing inspiration from its apricot sunsets, or the painterly, island-strewn fjord on which it sits, the Norwegian capital has a creative bent, epitomized in the new National Museum, replete with art and design objects, while Munchmuseet stands as a temple to the prolific artist who gave the world The Scream. Art is not Oslo’s only specialty: Scandi-chic coffee shops and boutiques line the streets of Grünerløkka, while floating saunas bob among the fishing boats in the harbor.