Fjords Cruise & Historic Cities of Norway

London to Bergen

We depart from London on our scheduled flight to Norway. We fly out to Bergen, nestled strategically beneath seven hills, and surrounded by fjords. Our accommodation here is the Thon Hotel Rosenkratz, located near to the famous Bryggen waterfront.

Exploring Bergen

Today we enjoy a guided walking tour of Bergen. We visit the delightful Bryggen waterfront, the city's old Hanseatic trading wharf and a UNESCO World Heritage site. This historic quarter, with its charming timber houses, is the oldest part of Bergen - with some buildings dating back to the 15th century. Your afternoon is then free to continue exploring atmospheric Bergen at leisure. It is possible to see how the merchants' dwellings on Bryggen would have looked in the early 18th century at the Hanseatisk Museum, which includes rooms furnished in late Hansa style.

A journey on the Fløibanen Funicular to the top of Fløyen Mountain (320 metres above sea level) provides superb views over the city. Alternatively, you could visit one of the Norwegian city's many galleries and museums. Bergen's Art Gallery exhibits a vast collection of works by local and fellow Norwegian artists, including many of the works of Edvard Munch, known for the famous expressionist work 'The Scream'. Meanwhile, the city's Science Museum provides a fascinating insight into industry and research in the area.

Bergen to Flåm

Today we cross Norway's incredible fjordland region, travelling through some of the country's most breathtaking landscapes on some of the most scenic train journeys in Scandinavia. The Bergen Railway takes us 'across the roof of Norway' on Northern Europe's highest altitude line. We pass through Dale and Voss as we climb towards Myrdal.

From here we continue by train on board the fantastic Flåm Railway, a journey that takes us 12 miles from the isolated mountain station of Myrdal to the foot of the fjord, via a multitude of twists and turns. This incredibly scenic section of railway provides us with stunning mountain panoramas and passes spectacular cascading waterfalls. At the end of the journey we reach the Aurlandsfjord, a huge body of water where steep-sided cliffs rise majestically from the water's edge and climb dramatically to more than 3,000 feet above the shoreline.

Located at the head of the fjord, at its southernmost point, is the fjordside village of Flåm, which occupies one of the most picturesque settings in Europe, surrounded by bare-rock cliffs, verdant forests, lush green pastures and the serenely beautiful fjord. We stay for the next two nights in Flåm at the Fretheim Hotel.

Flåm and the Fjords Cruise

Today we board a boat on the Aurlandsfjord for a fabulous cruise. Aurlandsfjord is a 10.5 mile branch of the world's second longest fjord, the Sognefjord (126.8 miles). Together with Nærøyfjord, Aurlandsfjord is one of the most picturesque of its kind in the world. The mountains surrounding the fjords are more than 4,500 feet high in some places.

Our cruise on the fjords takes us north, pausing at Undredal, a small village and popular tourist destination along our route. The village is famous for having its human population greatly outweighed by that of its goats, at a scale of approximately 1 person to every 5 goats. For this interesting state of affairs, the village is well-known for its famous brown goat's cheese. We then leave the Aurlandsfjord, entering the Nærøyfjord. We navigate around the fjord to Gudvangen before returning to Flåm by coach for our scenic journey back to the hotel.

The rest of the day is free to enjoy Flåm, exploring the sights of the area at leisure. You may wish to visit the small railway museum, complete with its full miniature scale replica of the old lines that once cut through this rugged area.

Flåm to Oslo

We leave Flam and take our second journey on Flam railway changing in Myrdal. We continue east by rail, before descending 3,000 feet across 60 miles and travelling through the country's fertile pastures before eventually arriving into the nation's capital city. Arriving at Oslo station, we walk to our hotel for two nights, the Thon Hotel Opera, located across from the station, close to the Opera House, Oslofjord and Karl Johans Gate.

Oslo guided sightseeing and free time

We begin our stay in Oslo with a guided coach tour to introduce you to the main sights. The new state Opera House is situated close to our hotel and is an impressive, award-winning example of modern architecture. During our panoramic tour we will also see Norway's magnificent 19th century Royal Palace, and the 20th century Oslo City Hall, which is the home of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies. We will also introduce you to the museum quarter at Bygdøy and the Holmenkollen Ski jump, which rises to a height of 60 metres on the outskirts of the city. From the top you can enjoy terrific views across the city and the Oslofjord. Oslo also boasts a variety of attractive parks and we take a stroll through the Vigeland Sculpture Park, whose 80 fascinating acres were designed by Gustav Vigeland and features 212 life-sized human sculptures.

Your afternoon is spent at leisure in Norway's capital city. Oslo offers a good choice of museums including the Viking Ship and Maritime Museum, the Folk Museum and the Edvard Munch Museum, just to name a few. You could also visit Oslo's world famous Art Gallery and view Munch's most famous piece, the expressionist painting known as 'The Scream'. A walk up Karl Johans Gate will reveal the Royal Palace and a multitude of shops and restaurants. At Akershus Castle and Fortress you will find the location of King Christian IV's old defences. Otherwise, you could take a scenic cruise on Oslofjord.

Return to London

We transfer to Oslo Airport today by airport express train as we begin our journey home. We fly directly to London where our tour concludes.

Departure Times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.