17-night Norway Intensive Voyage

Wonderful Copenhagen is a city of bridge-spanned canals, copper-roofed buildings and manicured parks. This famous Baltic seaport is one of Europe’s loveliest capitals and the seat of the oldest monarchy in the world. Copenhagen is a focus for commerce, culture, industry and cosmopolitan atmosphere. The locale of Hans Christian Andersen’s enchanting tale of The Little Mermaid, Copenhagen is known as Denmark’s fairy-tale city. Its impressive theaters, museums and churches are of interest to many visitors; the best-loved attractions include the world-famous Tivoli Gardens, the Langelinie Harbor with its Little Mermaid statue and the busy shopping promenade known as Strøget.

At the tip of Jutland, where picturesque streets and luminous landscapes have inspired painters for centuries, see the works of Holger Drachman, and perhaps take up your own brush. Also in Skagen, Danish precision is manifest in the art of watchmaking. Get your Skagen timepiece here in the city of the same name.

Founded in the 8th century and one of Norway's oldest towns, Stavanger is situated along the Byfjord, an arm of the Stavangerfjord. A bishop ruled the city from the twelfth through seventeenth centuries. At the end of the eighteenth century, Stavanger had developed a successful merchant shipping fleet and during the next century developed herring fishing and canning industries. Appealing echoes of that proud heritage live on amid the evocative cobbled streets of Gamle (Old) Stavanger, whose whitewashed 18th century houses are probably northern Europe's best-preserved community of wooden houses. It has a well-preserved 12th century stone church.

At the head of three valleys amid the peaceful surroundings of the Inner Nordfjord, Olden is the key to a not-to-be-missed journey up to the frozen cascade of the million years old and ever-advancing Briksdal Glacier, best-known of the gigantic, Jostedal's many icy arms. An Iron Age burial mound was discovered in this region of Western Norway, but in more recent history, most of the town was settled in the seventeenth century. In Olden, an historic church was built in 1746 and survived the Second World War.

At the head of three valleys amid the peaceful surroundings of the Inner Nordfjord, Olden is the key to a not-to-be-missed journey up to the frozen cascade of the million years old and ever-advancing Briksdal Glacier, best-known of the gigantic, Jostedal's many icy arms. An Iron Age burial mound was discovered in this region of Western Norway, but in more recent history, most of the town was settled in the seventeenth century. In Olden, an historic church was built in 1746 and survived the Second World War.

The region is famous for its beautiful scenery with high mountains and blue fjords, of which the Geiranger fjord is one of the most attractive tourist places in Norway. The climate is less severe than might be expected from its geographical location, with mild winters and cool summers. Ålesund, with its unique architecture, is the center of business and industry in Møre and Romsdal. As the sea, the woods and the mountains are easy accessible, the possibilities for outdoor and sports activities are excellent, both in the summer and winter season.

Svolvaer is the main town of the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway. It is on the southern coast of Ostvagoya, the easternmost island of the group. The rugged and bleak countryside around Svolvaer has attracted both tourists and artists, and the town has become something of an artists' colony.

Enjoy the appealing frontier atmosphere at this ancient whaling capital and base for expeditions to the North Pole.

The world's northernmost village, Honningsvag, the gateway to the North Cape, is a completely modern fishing harbor set in a land of forests, fjord waters, and crashing waterfalls, everything bathed in summer by the eerie light of the midnight sun. Only the chapel withstood the German destruction of 1944. It's some 50 miles nearer to the North Pole than Hammerfest, on the Alta-Hammerfest bus route.

Honningsvag/North Cape, Norway Welcome to the top of the world! The village of Honningsvag is the northernmost community in Europe, set in a land of vast forests, dramatic fjords and crashing waterfalls, bathed in the eerie light of the Midnight Sun. Just up the coast is the North Cape, Europe's northernmost point, with breathtaking views towards the Barents Sea and the polar north.

The Rock carvings at Alta, dating from circa 4200 BC to 500 BC, are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. In additon, the Komsa culture was named after the Komsa mountain in Alta municipality, where the first archeological remains were discovered. In World War II, the German battleship Tirpitz used Altafjord as a harbor, and was damaged here by attacking allied warplanes. Altasaken in 1979 made headlines for weeks, as many people (especially environmentalists) demonstrated and used civil disobedience to prevent the building of a dam in order to produce hydropower. The dam was built, however, and the river still offers good salmon fishing.

The small town of Harstad, 75 miles northwest of Narvik, sits surrounded by craggy, snow-topped mountains on the island of Hinnøya. Harstad’s greatest attraction is the Trondenes Church which dates back to the 13th century. This structure was originally built as a fortress church; its design incorporates massive walls, some 7 1/2 feet thick. At the time, Trondenes was also Norway’s northernmost stone church and one of the most important in the country during Roman Catholic times. As early as the Viking Age the church was used as a local gathering place, including the meetings of the Ting (local parliament). Serving as the breadbasket for northern Norway, this region provides seasonal fruits and vegetables for nearby marketplaces. Harstad’s pretty setting with hilly streets, rainbow-colored wooden houses, terraces and views of the mountains is especially appreciated by the summer crowd which flocks here to enjoy the North Norwegian Arts Festival and International Deep-Sea Fishing Festival, usually held in June and July.

Bodo is the second largest city in Northern Norway. Its beautiful scenery and natural surroundings offer visitors excellent outdoor activities. Travellers can go hiking, and cycling though the idyllic countryside and watch sea eagles. Bodo also offers excellent fishing for those wishing to explore rivers or lakes populated with high quality trout and salmon.  In this varied coastal landscape visitors will find everything from sheer mountain faces and white, sandy beaches, to charming farming communities.

Norway's royal residence since 997 AD, when King Olaf I founded Trondheim, the city still boasts Stiftsgarden, the huge wooden palace. A century later, St. Olaf II began to perform miracles for the people, making Trondheim a major pilgrimage destination. Be sure to visit Nidaros Cathedral, where the Norwegian kings are still crowned, which is certainly one of Europe's premier Gothic-style churches.

The village of Eidfjord in Norway stands at the top of the fjord of the same name on sandy ground at the mouth of the Eio River. Behind the village are strange gravel and sand terraces, left some 9,000 years ago when the inland ice melted and flowed away. The charming church bears the inscription 'Ragna Asulfsdatter built this church - she died on Christmas Eve'. Folklore has it that the lady built the church in the 12th century as an atonement for killing her husband!

Wonderful Copenhagen is a city of bridge-spanned canals, copper-roofed buildings and manicured parks. This famous Baltic seaport is one of Europe’s loveliest capitals and the seat of the oldest monarchy in the world. Copenhagen is a focus for commerce, culture, industry and cosmopolitan atmosphere. The locale of Hans Christian Andersen’s enchanting tale of The Little Mermaid, Copenhagen is known as Denmark’s fairy-tale city. Its impressive theaters, museums and churches are of interest to many visitors; the best-loved attractions include the world-famous Tivoli Gardens, the Langelinie Harbor with its Little Mermaid statue and the busy shopping promenade known as Strøget.