Vacation rentals in Norway

Norway is a land of fjords, mountains, lakes and rivers contrasting with the bustling and attractive capital city of Oslo. Typical rentals in Norway are traditional Norwegian wooden houses, with views over soaring snow-capped mountains blanketed with trees, rushing rivers and peaceful lakes. Oslo offers modern and stylish rentals living with stunning views of this attractive and cosmopolitan city.

Norway’s peaceful countryside is home to spacious and welcoming vacation rentals, all built to keep the interior cozy and warm in the cooler winter weather, and which offer panoramic floor to ceiling windows for you to revel in the unparalleled Norwegian vistas. Many vacation rentals are on the edge of a lake or beach, spacious and suitable for large groups. City rentals are finished to a high standard and are snug and warm.

Oslo is the main city through which visitors enter the country, but there are other smaller regional airports further north such as Bergen and Trondheim. Norway is a long, thin country with the tip reaching into an arctic paradise, and the thriving capital city of Oslo in the south. Slashed with staggeringly beautiful fjords, the majority of Norway is undisturbed wilderness and a haven for hikers and those who love the wild outdoors.

Norway isn’t just about the views, its major cities are a must-see destination in themselves. Unheralded Oslo is in fact an architectural marvel, with notable not-to-be-missed visitor attractions including the unusual Mortensrud Church and the strikingly modern Norwegian Opera and Ballet. Bergen, Norway’s second city, is the gateway to the fjords and home to Norway’s quintessential multi-coloured wooden houses.

Norway’s towering mountains and lush forests starkly, yet perfectly, contrast with the jaw-dropping sights of the fjords and rivers which cut through them. Animal lovers flock to Svalbard, home to the world’s most northern town, Longyearbyen, to see arctic animals such as polar bears, arctic foxes, walruses and whales. Or visit the Jotunheimen National Park, which boasts an incredible 60 glaciers, northern Europe’s highest peak, and hiking routes which lead you past cavernous ravines, mirror-calm lakes and plunging crystal-clear waterfalls. Perhaps you’d prefer the peace of the forest? Around 37% of Norway is forest or woodlands, but go with a tour guide as it’s easy to get lost!

Norway boasts a surprising array of delicious cuisine. As you’d expect from a country so defined by its coastline, its fresh fish and seafood is second to none. Perhaps you’d prefer to enjoy some famous local forest game? Then make sure to try out moose or reindeer. Norway is known for the creative and unusual ways it preserves food – why not try smoked sheep’s head, gamalost cheese – an aged and pungent offering – or lutefisk, a jelly-like preserve of cod, which, despite its odd texture, has a pleasant, mild taste.

A winter-time trip to Norway is incomplete without watching the iconic Northern Lights dance across the sky. The best time to view is between November and March between 8am and 2pm, and the best place to catch them is the city of Tromso in the far north of Norway.

With many of the powerful Vikings having set off from Norway on their journeys to new lands, it’s only natural that Oslo would host one of the most important Viking museums in the world. Featuring three original Viking ships from the years 800 and 900, and myriad artefacts that the Vikings carried with them on their long, hard journeys, this is a fascinating insight into one of Europe’s most successful civilisations.

Norway permits people to roam freely over uncultivated parts of the country, and you’ll find and abundance of berries and mushrooms in the beautiful forests. And there is a 24/7 free English speaking hotline if you want to check you’ve not picked anything poisonous!

At one of Norway’s most highly-visited tourist attractions, sculptor Gustav Vigeland not only filled the Vigeland Sculpture park in Oslo with over 200 of his original works, but was also the architect of the park itself. If Vigeland’s work grabs your imagination, follow up with a trip to the museum of his early works, and preparatory pieces for the sculpture park.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Geirangerfjord region is considered to be one of the most magnificent fjord regions on Earth. The panoramic views and outrageous scenery will make your journey through the fjords of Geirangerfjord one that you will forever hold dear.