Cruise and Maritime Voyages

With more bicycles than permanent residents, the Dutch capital is both charming and quirky. Aesthetically little has changed in the centre since its 17th century Golden Age. Beautiful gabled houses and merchants’ mansions line serene, tree-lined canals, which are laid out in five concentric circles and crossed by numerous bridges. The Royal Palace, originally built as a Town Hall in the 17th century, stands on a large square in the centre of the city. Considered one of Europe’s major art capitals, Amsterdam is home to a number of superb galleries and museums including the famous Rijksmuseum, the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum.

The southernmost of the three short branches at the inner end of Nordfjord terminates in Olden. The charming village sits amongst tidy, well-kept farms on gently sloping, fertile hillsides, which then rise steeply into thickly wooded and rugged peaks. From the village the beautiful Oldendalen Valley runs between towering mountains to the edge of the mighty Jostedalsbreen Glacier. Briksdal Glacier is one of the more accessible arms of the Jostedalsbreen. The creeping pitted tentacle of ice features in optional excursions from Olden together with glorious waterfalls, glacier fed rivers and wonderful mountain lakes.

Geographically the town of Leknes sits in the middle of the Lofoten archipelago. It lies on the island of Vestvågøy, which is one of Lofoten’s seven principal islands. Although it is not perhaps the most attractive of towns, it is a gateway to some of Norway’s most awe-inspiring and breathtaking scenery. Optional excursions explore this land of jagged mountain peaks, sheltered bays and dramatic coastline dotted with picturesque fishing villages. The islands are home to a high density of birdlife and have a rich and fascinating Viking history.
 

Though Norwegian law states that a city in Norway must have 5,000 inhabitants, tiny Honningsvaag, a community of around 2,500, is one of the smallest cities in Norway having been granted this status in 1996. The ’city’ lies on the south-eastern side of a large island called Magerøya in the Barents Sea. It is the starting point of excursions to the dramatic North Cape where from a high plateau the monumental 307-metre high cliff plunges into the Atlantic. From here only endless ocean lies between the northernmost point of Europe and the North Pole.
 

Modern Narvik was the first industrial town in Northern Norway. It was given town status in 1902 when the Ofoten Railway was completed to haul iron ore from Kiruna in Sweden to the ice-free port of Narvik. Narvik became the focus of the world’s attention in 1940 and five years of German occupation are documented in the Nordland Red Cross War Memorial Museum. The cable car on Narvikfjellet Mountain opens up an incredible bird’s eye view of the town and dramatic landscape around Ofotfjorden. Outside the town in the Salagsdalen Valley is one of the world’s northernmost zoos.

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.