Norway travel tips

Following are regularly updated travel tips for Norway.

The text below is from the comprehensive holiday travel tips to be found at
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October 18 2008 Norway travel tips

Worth visiting is the new national opera house and ballet which opened in 2008 at Bjoervika on the Oslo waterfront. The building, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars, will stage more than 300 concerts and performances each year. View over the surrounding island-strewn fjord from atop this white marble and granite building are stunning.

Oslo has more than 50 museums covering the maritime, art, culture, ski and even soccer history of Norway. Standouts include the Fram, Kontiki, Viking and Norwegian Maritime museums.

Bergen is the major city servicing travel to the western fjords and the train trip between Oslo and Bergen is breathtakingly beautiful. A highlight of the line is the Flam Railway, a 20 kilometre stretch from the mountain village of Myrdal down an incredibly steep gradient to the port town of Flam. The Flam railway curls through 20 hand-carved tunnels covering six kilometres, and about 600,000 passengers enjoy the one hour journey each year to witness magnificent scenery. The electric train stops for about five minutes so tourists can see the spectacular Kjosfossen waterfall at the entry to the Bakli tunnel.

The train travels through the Flam Valley and the superb Aurlandsfjord, a branch of the Sognefjord which is considered the world's longest and deepest fjord at 204 kilometres long and more than 1,300 metres deep.

Bergen was founded in 1070 by King Olav Kyrre. The city is surrounded by seven mountains and its history dates back to Viking times. The old residential areas of Bergen are dotted with restaurants and bars but prices are very high. One way to cut costs in this town is to buy a Bergen Card offering significant discounts on attractions and a free round trip on the Mt Floyen funicular railway - one of the various must-do features of the city for tourists.

Most of the cheap travel accommodation and discount hotels in Oslo are around the city centre and the main street of Karl Johans Gate. This central thoroughfare is lined with restaurants, cafes and shops, and provides a picturesque walk through gardens and parks with attractions such as the Stortinget (the Norwegian parliament), Oslo University, the National Theatre and the Royal Palace.

The 17th Century Oslo Domkirke near the central railway station is arguably the most beautiful cathedral in the city for tourists to explore. It's also well worth putting aside some travel time to look at the Munch Museum at Toyen Gata 53, which is home to more than 23,000 paintings, drawings and prints.

Norway has been ranked by the United Nations each year from 2001 to 2005 as having the highest standard of living in the world, based on factors such as wealth distribution, life expectancy, education and gender equality. Unemployment in Norway in 2005 was below 4% and among the world's lowest.

Take note that more than 2 metres of rain falls on the city of Bergen each year. There is so much rain the locals catch it, put it in cans and sell it to tourists.

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