Norwegian Fjords

The south of England boasts a dramatic coastline that encloses some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain. The landscape of hills and heaths, downs and forests, valleys and dales, is without rival. Southampton serves as your gateway to the countryside – and to a wide variety of historic sites, national landmarks and charming. And of course, London is a two-hour drive by modern highway.

The United Kingdom’s premier passenger ship port, Southampton was home for many years to the great transatlantic liners of yesteryear.

This quaint town perched on the North Sea boasts dual personalities. While renowned as the site where Viking king Harald Hårfagre united Norway as a kingdom in the 9th century, it’s also one of the country’s most popular destinations for the annual Sildajazz Festival and Norwegian Film Festival. Add in a thriving town center with hundreds of shops and cultural diversions to jaw-dropping scenery and thrilling excursions, your stay in Haugesund promises to be an enthralling experience you won’t soon forget.

Situated in the heart of the Norwegian fjords, the port of Skjolden-Sognefjord is your gateway to a world of wonder: this land abounds with national treasures, thundering waterfalls, two UNESCO sites, ice-blue fjords hemmed in by sky-reaching mountains and scenery so unbelievably spectacular you just may lose your breath. From the ruggedly handsome mountains in Jotunheimen National Park to the humble stave churches that dot the landscape, this captivating area is yours to discover.

By the mid-19th century, European travelers were cruising the waters of the Nordfjord and visiting the village of Olden. The Romantic Movement inspired this new taste for dramatic landscape – and Norway had plenty of dramatic landscape. Then as now, travelers were impressed, moved, and not frequently overwhelmed by the stark contrast between peaceful rural farmsteads and a towering wilderness of mountain peaks and glaciers.

For many years Olden was home to American landscape artist William H. Singer (1868-1943). Scion of a Pittsburgh steel family, Singer provided Olden with a road and a regional hospital.

Bergen has played a crucial role in Norwegian history and culture since Olav the Good founded the city in 1070. Perched between the sea and seven hills, Bergen has witnessed Vikings setting sail on voyages of exploration, trade and war. In the Middle Ages, its old port was a major trading hub for the Hanseatic League, the band of Germanic merchants whose trading empire encircled the Baltic and North Seas. In the 19th century, Bergen was home to such cultural luminaries as the virtuoso violinist Ole Bull and the composer Edvard Grieg.

The city retains much of its 18th- and 19th-century charm. Visitors to Bergen will encounter a city that offers a heady blend of natural beauty, history and culture.

The south of England boasts a dramatic coastline that encloses some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain. The landscape of hills and heaths, downs and forests, valleys and dales, is without rival. Southampton serves as your gateway to the countryside – and to a wide variety of historic sites, national landmarks and charming. And of course, London is a two-hour drive by modern highway.

The United Kingdom’s premier passenger ship port, Southampton was home for many years to the great transatlantic liners of yesteryear.