Must-see attractions in Southern Norway

  • Henrik Ibsen museum in Grimstad.

    Ibsenhuset Museum

    The Coast

    Norway's favourite playwright, Henrik Ibsen, washed up in Grimstad in January 1844. The house where he worked as a pharmacist's apprentice, and where he…

  • Egersund Fayancemuseum

    The Coast

    A walkable 1.5km northeast of Egersund centre, this well-designed museum (squirrelled away in an unprepossessing shopping centre), houses the wares of…

  • Gaustabanen Cable Railway

    Southern Norway

    Gaustabanen runs 860m deep into the core of Gausta before a different train climbs an incredible 1040m, alongside 3500 steps at a 40-degree angle, to…

  • Heddal Stave Church

    Heddal Stave Church

    Southern Norway

    This fairy-tale church is the largest and one of the most beautiful of Norway's 28 remaining stave churches. As always, it's constructed around Norwegian…

  • Old fortress town in Fredrikstad

    Gamlebyen

    Southern Norway

    The timbered houses, moats, gates and drawbridge of the Fredrikstad Gamlebyen are simply enchanting. The perimeter walls, once defended by 200 cannons,…

  • Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum

    Southern Norway

    This museum, 7km west of Rjukan, is in the Vemork power station, which was the world's largest when completed in 1911. These days it honours the Socialist…

  • Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall

    The Coast

    This highly regarded contemporary art gallery is a 15-minute walk from the town centre on the northern reaches of Arendal. One of the largest contemporary…

  • Fredriksten fortress overlooking Norwegian city Halden; Shutterstock ID 1467502673; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Fredriksten Fortress & Museums

    Southern Norway

    Crowning the hilltop behind Halden is the 1661 Fredriksten Fortress, which has resisted six Swedish sieges and never been captured. The fortress covers a…

  • Kaupanger stave church (Kaupanger stavkyrkje) is the largest stave church in the Sogn og Fjordane, and is situated in the town of Kaupanger, Norway. The nave is supported by 22 staves, 8 on each of the longer sides and 3 on each of the shorter. The elevated chancel is carried by 4 free standing staves. The church has the largest number of staves to be found in any one stave church. It is still in use as a parish church, having been in use continuously since its erection.

    Kaupang

    The Coast

    Kaupang, 5km east of Larvik, was a former Viking town built around AD 800 and occupied until 960. It is believed that up to 1000 people once lived here…

  • Royal Silver Mines

    Southern Norway

    The profusion of silver mines in Kongsberg's hinterland is known collectively as Sølvgruvene. The easiest way to visit is with the tours that leave from…

  • Storedal Cultural Centre

    Southern Norway

    This cultural centre is 11km northeast of Fredrikstad. The most intriguing feature is the Ode til Lyset (Ode to the Light), a 'sound sculpture' by Arnold…

  • Oscarsborg Fortress

    Southern Norway

    Don't miss the imposing Oscarsborg Fortress, which lies on an offshore island and dates back to the 1600s. It was the Oscarsborg batteries that sank the…

  • Mølen

    The Coast

    The Mølen promontory, around 20 minutes' drive west of Stavern, is Norway's largest beach of rolling stones, and an austere and rather impressive sight…

  • Henrik Ibsenmuseet

    Southern Norway

    Author, playwright and so-called 'Father of Modern Drama' Henrik Ibsen was born in Skien on 20 March 1828. In 1835 the family fell on hard times and moved…

  • Norwegian Mining Museum

    Southern Norway

    Set in a smelter dating from 1844 (the old furnaces survive in the basement), this museum tells Kongsberg's story with relics, models and mineral displays…

  • Isegran

    Southern Norway

    Norse sagas mention the 13th-century fortress of Isegran, an islet in the Glomma that became a further line of defence against Sweden in the mid-17th…

  • Lindesnes Fyr

    The Coast

    Rising above the cape is the evocative Lindesnes Fyr, a classic lighthouse. In two of the buildings you'll pass as you climb to the cape, there are…

  • Rygnestadtunet

    Southern Norway

    Around 9km northwest of Valle, this farm has a unique three-storey storehouse dating to 1590, and an extraordinary collection of 15th-century painted…

  • Borgarsyssel Museum

    Southern Norway

    This excellent Østfold county museum lies in the town of Sarpsborg (14km northeast of Fredrikstad). The open-air display contains 30 period buildings from…

  • Whaling Museum

    The Coast

    You might not agree with the continuation of the practice this museum explores, but there's no denying that Sandefjord's Whaling Museum is a well…

  • Egersund Kirke

    The Coast

    There has been a church in Egersund since at least 1292. The cute, current manifestation dates back to the 1620s. The carved altarpiece, a depiction of…

  • Lågdal Folk Museum

    Southern Norway

    This folk museum, a 10-minute walk southeast of the train station, houses a collection of 32 period farmhouses around which sheep, goats and pigs frolic…

  • Kongsten Festning

    Southern Norway

    On what was once called 'Gallows Hill' stands the flower-festooned Kongsten Festning. Dating from 1685, it once served as a lookout and warning post for…

  • Tyholmen

    The Coast

    Rising up behind the Gjestehavn (Guest Harbour) is the old harbourside Tyholmen district, home to beautiful 17th- to 19th-century timber buildings…

  • Krossobanen

    Southern Norway

    The Krossobanen cable car was constructed in 1928 by Norsk Hydro to provide its employees with access to the sun. It now whisks tourists up to Gvepseborg …

  • Damvann

    The Coast

    Some 20km north of Larvik is the beautiful, haunting lake of Damvann, surrounded by forests. Popular legend claims it to be the home of a witch called…

  • Herregården Manor House

    The Coast

    The classic baroque timber Herregården manor house was constructed in 1677 as the home of the Norwegian Governor General, Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, the…

  • Mandal Museum

    The Coast

    Displays of historical maritime and fishing artefacts and works by local artists are pleasant enough, but this museum is elevated above the mundane by…

  • Bølgen

    The Coast

    The town's impressive wave-shaped cultural centre houses a gallery that has an interesting curatorial calendar of contemporary Norwegian artists, concert…

  • Eidsborg Stave Church

    Southern Norway

    High above town on the Rv45 to Høydalsmo, the quaint, 13th-century Eidsborg Stave Church, dedicated to St Nicolas, has but a single nave and is in…

  • Bøkeskogen

    The Coast

    This sublime patch of green overlooking Larvik is Norway’s largest and the world’s most northerly beech tree forest. It is criss-crossed with walking…

  • Cathedral

    Southern Norway

    Fredrikstad's 1880 cathedral reflects the town's 19th-century importance with its stained-glass work by Emanuel Vigeland. Norwegian practicality combines…

  • Grimstad Maritime Museum

    The Coast

    This spectacularly sited, but rarely open, museum in the office of the 1842 Hasseldalen shipyard provides a glimpse into Grimstad's history during 'the…

  • Southern Actor

    The Coast

    The 1950s whaleboat Southern Actor is moored at the harbour; entry is by your Whaling Museum ticket; while you're there, also look out for the striking…

  • Hollenderbyen

    The Coast

    The old 'Dutch Town' district, with its narrow streets and old timber buildings, makes for a richly atmospheric walk.

  • Larvik Museum

    The Coast

    This multi-part museum is spread across the town and is under the auspices of the broader Vestfold Museene.

  • Tønsberg Castle

    The Coast

    Tønsberg Castle, spread across the hill behind the town, was the largest fortress in Norway in the 13th century. In 1503 the Swedes destroyed what they…

  • Tuddal

    Southern Norway

    Lying beside a deep blue lake surrounded by snow- and forest-dappled peaks, the handful of colourful wooden houses that make up the tiny mountain village…

  • Vestfold County Museum

    The Coast

    At the foot of Slottsfjellet (Castle Rock) at the northern end of town, a five-minute walk northwest of the train station, this museum's highlights…

  • Seljord Church

    Southern Norway

    This charming Romanesque church was built in the 12th century in honour of St Olav; it looks as if someone built a stave church and then changed their…