Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Vestvågøy
POP 10,700
Sights & Activities
Lofotr Viking Museum
OPEN-AIR FOLK MUSEUM
( 76 08 49 00;
www.lofotr.no
; adult/child incl guided tour Nkr120/60; 10am-4pm
or 7pm May-mid-Sep)
In 1981 at Borg, near the centre of Vestvågøy, a farmer's plough
hit the ruins of the 83m-long dwelling of a powerful Viking chieftain, the largest building
of its era ever discovered in Scandinavia.
The Lofotr Viking Museum, 14km north of Leknes, offers a glimpse of life in Viking
times. You can walk 1.5km of trails over open hilltops from the replica of the chieftain's
longhouse (the main building, shaped like an upside-down boat) to the Viking-ship replica
on the water. Costumed guides conduct multilingual tours and, inside the chieftain's hall,
artisans explain their trades.
The Svolvær-Leknes bus passes the museum's entrance.
Galleri 2
CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY
(
www.galleri2.no
;
admission Nkr20; 11am-8pm Jun-Aug)
The gallery of Lofoten
painter and long-term resident Scott Thoe is barely 175m from the Hurtigruten quay in
Stamsund, a short detour from the Rv185. It displays the works of a number of contempor-
ary Norwegian artists, including scale models of his own grand open-air projects.
Unstad to Eggum Hike
HIKE
A popular hike connects these two tiny villages on the island's west coast. A 9km coastal
track winds past several headlands, a solitary lighthouse, superb seascapes and the ruins of
a fortress by the ocean.
Take care after rain as the trail, particularly around Unstad, can be slick with mud. Eg-
gum and Unstad are both about 9km from the main road and are served infrequently by
buses.
