Destination: Norway

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Itinerary: Norway`s Secret South

A week is the shortest possible time needed to accomplish this 650km journey. The route along the coast promises countless tempting detours which could prolong the time necessary, while for the routes up through the interior of southern Norway, more infrequent public transport is another possible factor if you’re not driving.



Such is the Norwegian love of exploring their own country, that getting off the beaten track can be difficult. Being among the few foreign visitors is, however, relatively easy in Norway’s south while everybody else rushes to the well-worn routes along the western coast.

Tønsberg is Norway’s oldest town, making it worth a quick look en route along the coast to the wonderful white-timbered towns of Kragerø, Risør, Grimstad and Lillesand, any one of which could absorb long lazy days by the beach or fill an afternoon of meandering through narrow lanes crawling up from the harbours. Arendal doesn’t get many foreign visitors but is a lovely seaside town with a delightful old quarter, while Sandefjord just has one stand-out attraction – the Norwegian Whaling Museum – where you’ll learn things you probably never knew about whaling from the Norwegian perspective and still leave unconvinced.

Kristiansand shouldn’t detain you long, but it is the place to seek transport up into the forested hills of Setesdalen, where you’ll find Evje, a centre for geological curiosities and, further north, some excellent roadside folk museums. The folk tales of Seljord, home of Selma the Serpent and a community of decidedly cranky trolls are for those who long for a land where fairytales which you thought existed only in the imagination could just come true. One of Norway’s most stirring wartime legends finds a dramatic setting in Rjukan, a gateway to appealing hiking and cycling expeditions.

Travelling to Norway?
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