Cruise and Maritime Voyages

Stavanger is today the ‘Oil Capital of Norway’. It is a vibrant, modern city with Gamle Stavanger at its core. The picturesque old part of Stavanger has gently sloping cobbled streets lined with small, white wooden houses built at the end of the18th and early 19th centuries. The city’s Anglo-Norman style cathedral was built in 1125, the same year Stavanger was officially founded. One of the most popular excursions from Norway’s fourth largest city is a visit to the Iron Age Farm at Ullanhaug giving a fascinating insight into life in the area some 1,500 years ago.

The largest town in Finnmark, Alta stretches along the inner part of the Altafjord and on the banks of one of Norway’s best rivers for salmon fishing, the Alta River. Today’s town has three centres. Bossekop with its old trading and market traditions, Elvebakken to the east with the town’s airport and harbour, and the new town with its shops. Large areas of woodlands and parts of the high plateau of Finnmarksvidda surround Alta, which in summer enjoys the white nights of the midnight sun and of a winter night often has the northern lights dancing across its skies.

Not surprisingly for a city that lies almost 220 miles north of the Arctic Circle many of Tromsø’s landmarks lay claim to the world’s ‘northernmost’ titles. The ‘Capital of the Arctic’ is home to the world’s northernmost university, cathedral, botanic garden and brewery. A cable car runs to the summit of Mount Storsteinen from where there are wonderful views of the lively and beautiful city built on two islands and the mainland, which are linked by both tunnels and bridges. The Polar Museum is just one of Tromsø’s fine museums and the striking Arctic Cathedral is undoubtedly a highlight.
 

Åndalsnes lies at the end of the 88-kilometre long Romsdalfjord at the mouth of the River Rauma. The river, which flows through the Romsdal Valley, was one of the first rivers in Norway to attract British aristocrats and other fly fishing foreigners at the end of the 19th century. The small town is today the administrative centre of Rauma in Norway’s Møre and Romsdal district. Optional excursions feature the beautiful Romsdal Alps with the famous Troll Wall and spectacular winding Troll Path Road. Åndalsnes is also the start of the incredible Rauma Line, a vintage steam train journey through enthralling mountain scenery.