Villa Norangdal

Top choice in The Northern Fjords


This enchanting 'mountainpolitan style' hotel began welcoming guests in 1885. The current owner, a descendant of the hotel's founder, began restoration in 2007, after it lay abandoned for decades. Six rooms are each an homage to a different 20th-century decade, utilising iconic Scandinavian design pieces, including Norwegian gems by Nora Gulbrandsen and Grete Prytz Kittelsen.

Downstairs the traditionally decorated, wonderfully atmospheric lounge has a log fire and there's a spectacular dining room and an outdoor Jacuzzi. The freeride skiing from outside the door is excellent and in summer kayaking and climbing opportunities are close at hand. It's a magical place, in a fairy-tale location.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Northern Fjords attractions

1. Peer Gynt Galleriet

4.68 MILES

An only-in-the-fjords extravaganza, bas-relief wood carvings fashioned by local carpenter Oddvin Parr illustrate the Peer Gynt legend, along with a 35…

2. Trollstigen

14.32 MILES

This twisting, sky-topping corkscrew of a road is the most famous stretch of tarmac in Norway. Completed in 1936 after eight years of labour, the Troll's…

3. Norsk Fjordsenter

15.35 MILES

The Norwegian Fjord Centre puts the Geiranger area into context, with exhibitions covering avalanches, floods, the building of early roads and the rise of…

4. Flydalsjuvet

15.81 MILES

You'll have seen that classic photo somewhere, beloved of brochures, of the overhanging rock Flydalsjuvet, usually with a figure gazing down at a cruise…

5. Trollveggen

16 MILES

From Dombås, the E136 and rail line drop in parallel northwest down to Romsdalen (you might have a sense of déjà vu if you’ve seen Harry Potter and the…

6. Dalsnibba

17.82 MILES

For the highest and perhaps most stunning of the many stunning views of the Geiranger valley and fjord, take the 5km toll road (130kr per car) that climbs…

7. Stordal Old Church

20.91 MILES

Twenty-five kilometres northwest of Valldal on the Rv650 towards Ålesund, this stave church was built in 1789 on the site of an earlier chapel, elements…

8. Gudbrandsjuvet

22.57 MILES

Fifteen kilometres up the valley from Valldal, this popular viewpoint overlooks a maelstrom of foaming, crashing water, where the river sluices and…