Things to do in Lofoten
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Norwegian Telecommunications Museum
Alongside the E10 in Sørvågen and south of Moskenes, the Norwegian Telecommunications Museum presents itself as a study in ‘cod and communications’. Granted, it’s not an immediately winning combination but in fact this small museum commemorates a huge advance in fishing techniques. In 1906, what was Norway’s second wireless telephone station was established in this tiny hamlet. From that day on, weather warnings could be speedily passed on and fishing vessels could communicate with each other, pass on news about where the shoals were moving and call up the bait boats.
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Norwegian Fishing Village Museum
Fourteen of Å’s 19th-century boathouses, storehouses, fishing cottages, farmhouses and commercial buildings constitute the Norwegian Fishing Village Museum. Highlights (pick up a pamphlet in English at reception) are Europe’s oldest cod-liver oil factory, where you’ll be treated to a taste of the wares and can pick up a bottle (Nkr40) to stave off those winter sniffles; the smithy, who still makes cod-liver oil lamps; the still-functioning bakery, established in 1844; the old rorbuer with period furnishings; and a couple of traditional Lofoten fishing boats.
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Fishery Museum
This fishery museum lies 3km south of the bridge linking Flakstadøy and Moskenesøy. In one dim shack, there’s an astounding clutter of boats, ropes and floats while within another is an unlabelled yet fascinating jumble of pots, pans, skis, old valve radios and the like. All this to the throb and fumes curling from the collection of permanently beached ships’ diesel engines. Tor-Vegard Mørkved, the young resident blacksmith, bashes out cormorants in iron (the cheapest, around Nkr300 but Nkr1700 for something you’d be proud to have on your mantelpiece).
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Lofoten Stockfish Museum
At the Lofoten Stockfish Museum, in a former fish warehouse, you’ll be bowled over by Steinar Larsen, its enthusiastic, polyglot owner, who meets and greets every visitor. This personal collection, a passionate hobby of his, illustrates well Lofoten’s traditional mainstay: the catching and drying of cod for export, particularly to Italy. Displays, artefacts and a DVD programme take you through the process, from hauling the fish out of the sea through drying, grading and sorting to despatch.
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Hamnøy Mat Og Vinbu
Hamnøy Mat og Vinbu is a welcoming restaurant run by three generations of the same family (the teenage boys are coopted for washing-up duties). It’s well regarded for local specialities, including whale, bacalao and cod tongues. Grandmother takes care of the traditional dishes – just try her fish cakes – while her son is the main chef. Its fish is of the freshest catch, bought daily from the harbour barely 100m away.
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Maren Anna
Maren Anna is at once a pub, restaurant and café. Serving its mainstay of fish, portions are generous and hyperfresh (our coley had been hauled out of the sea by the chef herself barely two hours earlier). For a table with views over the fishing boats below and what’s claimed, tongue in cheek, to be Norway’s smallest beach, reserve ahead. The menu’s only in Norwegian but the staff readily translate.
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Magic Ice
Housed, appropriately, in what was once a fish-freezing plant, Magic Ice is the ultimate place to chill out, perhaps with something to warm the spirit from the 7.5m-long bar. The 500-sq-metre space is filled with huge ice sculptures, illustrating Lofoten life. If you can’t come back to northern Norway in winter, here’s a great, if brief, approximation.
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Børsen
This Arctic Menu restaurant brims with character. A former fish house, it was called the ‘stock exchange’ after the harbour-front bench outside, where the older men of the town would ruminate endlessly over the state of the world. In its dining room, with its cracked and bowed flooring, you’ll still catch the scent of tar and cod-liver oil.
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Lofoten Nature
Lofoten Nature displays, on two floors above the tourist office, the striking images of Lofoten wildlife photographer John Stenersen. The thoughtful, accessible text with its powerful ecological message is a stimulating condensed introduction to the ecosystems of the islands and their land-based and offshore wildlife. Warmly recommended.
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Bacalao
With its upbeat interior, Bacalao offers leafy, innovative salads (Nkr110 to Nkr130), sandwiches and some equally creative pasta dishes; the hot rekepasta (hot shrimp pasta; Nkr150) will set your taste buds tingling. It also expresses what must be about the best coffee anywhere in Norway, a country that so often settles for watery black brews.
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Kjøkkenet
Kjøkennet, originally a shack for salting fish and nowadays furnished like an old-time kitchen, is a wonderfully cosy place to dine. The cuisine is just as traditional and the recommended menu choice is of course fish – try the kitchen’s signature dish, boknafisk (Nkr270), cured cod with salted fat and vegetables.
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Flakstad Kirke
Set back from Flakstad beach and bypassed these days by the E10, the red onion-domed Flakstad Kirke was built in 1780 but has been extensively restored over the years. Most of the original wood was ripped out of the ground by the Arctic-bound rivers of Siberia and washed up here as driftwood.
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Lofoten Theme Gallery
The Lofoten Theme Gallery is very much the creation of one man, Geir Nøtnes, a keen photographer from a long fishing background. One room is devoted to cod fishing, another to whaling and there’s a 20-minute DVD about Lofoten through the seasons.
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Brygga Restaurant
- Å, Norway
- Restaurants › Other
Hovering above the water, this is Å’s one decent dining choice. The menu, as is right and proper in a village with such a strong fishing tradition, is mainly of things with fins. It’s also a great little spot simply for a drink as the water sloshes below your feet.
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North Norwegian Art Centre
The North Norwegian Art Centre hosts changing exhibitions of paintings, sculpture, ceramics and more by artists from northern Norway. There’s also a permanent exhibition of the works of the 19th-century Lofoten painter Gunnar Berg.
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Museum of Dolls & Toys
In Sakrisøy, Dagmar Gylseth has collected more than 2500 dolls, antique teddy bears and historic toys over 20 years for her Museum of Dolls & Toys. There’s also an affiliated antique shop upstairs.
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Lofoten War Memorial Museum
Lofoten War Memorial Museum, privately and passionately run, is a fascinating place. Models in original military uniforms gaze down and there are plenty of artefacts and evocative, largely unpublished WWII-era photos.
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Du Verden
This smaller, hip restaurant with its clean, open lines and contemporary artwork around the walls is a very congenial place for a relaxed dinner. The lunchtime dishes (Nkr45 to Nkr150) offer an excellent price-to-quality ratio.
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Gallery
You can make a 4km side trip to Vikten to visit the gallery of glassblower Åsvar Tangrand, designer of the Lofoten Rune, the region’s seven-pronged logo, which evokes a longboat.
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Kornelius Kro
The island’s only nightlife option (there’s live music most Saturdays) has a pub, restaurant (mains Nkr75 to Nkr170) and five cabins at the rear.
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XXLofoten
XXLofoten rents out sea kayaks (single up to three/eight hours Nkr400/500, double Nkr500/700) from late June and throughout July.
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Querini Pub Og Restaurant
Named after a shipwrecked merchant from Venice, this is a reliable choice among Røst’s few eating options.
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Styrhuset
Svolvær’s oldest pub is all dark crannies that speak of sailors long gone.
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