Svolvær

The port town of Svolvær is as busy as it gets in Lofoten. The town once sprawled across a series of skerries, but the in-between spaces are being filled in to create a reclaimed peninsula. Although the setting is beautiful with a backdrop of high mountains, the hotchpotch of modern buildings, many of them industrial, clutters things somewhat. If you don't have your own car, it's a good base from which to explore the more magical parts of Lofoten; if you do, it's a great place to eat and refuel.