Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NORWAY IN A NUTSHELL
Although most visitors do the classic Norway in a Nutshell tour from either Oslo or Ber-
gen, you also can do a mini version (adult/child Nkr775/400). This circular route from
Flåm - boat to Gudvangen, bus to Voss, train to Myrdal, then train again down the spec-
tacular Flåmsbana railway to Flåm - is truly the kernel within the nutshell and takes in all
the most dramatic elements. The Gudvangen boat leaves Flåm at 9am and the Flåms-
bana train brings you home at 4.55pm.
Lærdalsøyri (Lærdal)
Pop 2200
The village of Lærdalsøyri, usually called Lærdal, is where the lovely green dale of the
same name - whose fertile lower reaches produce the juiciest of cherries - meets the fjord.
A quiet place nowadays, it was once a busy port, where produce from the surrounding area
was loaded on Bergen-bound boats. A fire swept through streets in the town's southwest in
early 2014, and while devastating for those who lost homes and were injured, has not af-
fected the town's charm for visitors.
Sights & Activities
The historic centre (Gamle Lærdalsøyri) makes for pleasant strolling through its well pre-
served 18th- and 19th-century heart. There are well over a hundred lovingly maintained
homes, warehouses and fisherfolk's shacks to explore here . The tourist office has a free
town map that describes the best of them and sets out a walking route.
There's free
fishing
in the fjord, and the upper reaches of the Lærdal river are good for
trout (day permits are available from the tourist office or nearest campsite).
For
hiking
, pick up the tourist office's free leaflet of walks in the area. It also sells a
much more detailed local map (Nkr139) at a scale of 1:50,000.
Norsk Villaks Senter
WILDLIFE RESERVE
(
www.norsk-villakssenter.no
; adult/child Nkr90/60;
10am-6pm end-Jun-mid-Sep)
