These are the best places to travel this summer

Southern Norway

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Norway, summer 2014. Young man bicycles Rallarvegen, that runs between Haugastøl and Flåm. Hardangervidda National Park. Beautiful scenery with small lakes and high mountains.

©Runar Vestli/Getty Images

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Overview

Come summer, the southern coastline draws Norwegian holidaymakers in droves. With a string of pristine coastal villages of whitewashed timber beside complex networks of bays and skerries (rocky islets) and a shimmering sea, it's not difficult to see why. For travellers, the 'Norwegian Riviera' offers a chance to experience a totally different destination from that of the fjords and high plateaus of the tourist brochures, one that is at once cosmopolitan and essentially Norwegian.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Heddal Stave Church

    Heddal Stave Church

    Southern Norway

    This fairy-tale church is the largest and one of the most beautiful of Norway's 28 remaining stave churches. As always, it's constructed around Norwegian…

  • Old fortress town in Fredrikstad

    Gamlebyen

    Southern Norway

    The timbered houses, moats, gates and drawbridge of the Fredrikstad Gamlebyen are simply enchanting. The perimeter walls, once defended by 200 cannons,…

  • Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum

    Southern Norway

    This museum, 7km west of Rjukan, is in the Vemork power station, which was the world's largest when completed in 1911. These days it honours the Socialist…

  • Gaustabanen Cable Railway

    Southern Norway

    Gaustabanen runs 860m deep into the core of Gausta before a different train climbs an incredible 1040m, alongside 3500 steps at a 40-degree angle, to…

  • Fredriksten fortress overlooking Norwegian city Halden; Shutterstock ID 1467502673; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Fredriksten Fortress & Museums

    Southern Norway

    Crowning the hilltop behind Halden is the 1661 Fredriksten Fortress, which has resisted six Swedish sieges and never been captured. The fortress covers a…

  • Royal Silver Mines

    Southern Norway

    The profusion of silver mines in Kongsberg's hinterland is known collectively as Sølvgruvene. The easiest way to visit is with the tours that leave from…

  • Storedal Cultural Centre

    Southern Norway

    This cultural centre is 11km northeast of Fredrikstad. The most intriguing feature is the Ode til Lyset (Ode to the Light), a 'sound sculpture' by Arnold…

  • Oscarsborg Fortress

    Southern Norway

    Don't miss the imposing Oscarsborg Fortress, which lies on an offshore island and dates back to the 1600s. It was the Oscarsborg batteries that sank the…

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