Sea inlets a thousand metres deep, carved by Ice-Age glaciers and reached from one colourful Hanseatic city. Bergen is the classic launch point for Norway's fjords — here's how to see the best of them.
Bergen — the gateway city
Norway's second city is the natural springboard for the fjords. Bergen is known as the 'city of seven mountains' and, less flatteringly, as one of the rainiest places in Europe — bring a good jacket. Its postcard is Bryggen, the row of leaning, brightly painted wooden warehouses from its days as a Hanseatic trading hub, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ride the Fløibanen funicular up Mount Fløyen for the view over the harbour, browse the open-air fish market, and then point yourself east — the water does the rest.
What a fjord actually is
A fjord is a long, narrow arm of the sea that floods a valley gouged out by a glacier. Norway has more than a thousand of them; the cliffs can rise a sheer thousand metres straight from water deep enough to float a cruise ship. The scale simply doesn't photograph — you have to be on the water, looking up.
Sognefjord & Nærøyfjord — the King of the Fjords
Sognefjord is the giant: at around 205 km long and 1,300 m deep it is Norway's longest and deepest, and the second-longest fjord on Earth. Branching off it is the Nærøyfjord, a UNESCO-listed arm so narrow — barely 250 m wide in places — that the mountains seem to close overhead. It's routinely called the most beautiful fjord in the world.
Geirangerfjord and the classic route
Further north, the UNESCO Geirangerfjord is framed by plunging waterfalls like the Seven Sisters. The easiest way to string the highlights together from Bergen or Oslo is the famous 'Norway in a Nutshell' combination — mainline train, the Flåm Railway, a fjord cruise and a bus, all in a day.
The Flåm Railway itself is a bucket-list ride: one of the steepest standard-gauge lines in the world, spiralling down past waterfalls to the fjord's edge.
Cliffs to climb
If you'd rather look down than up, two hikes are legendary: Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), a flat 604 m cliff jutting over the Lysefjord, and Trolltunga — the 'troll's tongue' — a thin ledge of rock hanging over a glacial lake. Both are long day hikes, best from June to September.
When to go
May to September brings green cliffs, running waterfalls and long, long days — and, in the far north, the midnight sun. Norway is expensive, so plan your budget and book fjord cruises and the Flåm Railway ahead in high summer.