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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Norway

120 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Norway

Updated April 18, 2025

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Top Cities
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  1. Aurland
  2. Bergen
  3. Bodo
  4. Flåm
  5. Gildeskål
  6. Haugesund
  7. Kristiansand
  8. Larvik
  9. Longyearbyen
  10. Luster
  11. Oslo
  12. Stavanger
  13. Svalbard
  14. Tønsberg
  15. Tromsø
  16. Trondheim

Unusual Attractions in Norway

See All 120 Things To Do in Norway

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Norway

See all 5 Places to Eat in Norway
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Explore Norway

Architecture 17
Architectural Oddities 14
Museums 13
Arctic Circle 11
Animals 9
Nature 9
World War Ii 8
Geology 7

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Stories About Norway

“There may be a collective sense of a dark loneliness,” Dahl says, referring to Norway’s natural landscape.

In Norway, Easter Means Tucking Into Crime Stories

For a century, Norwegians have practiced the dark and cozy phenomenon of Påskekrim.
by Jessica Furseth
The Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, photographed at dusk.

Svalbard's Global Seed Vault Banks Biodiversity and Sprouts Controversy

The Arctic facility is the world's largest safeguard for seeds—and fertile ground for critics and conspiracy theories.
by Adriana Craciun
This 1882 engraving of Ragnarok, the Viking doomsday, shows Odin mounted on a horse and fighting the wolf Fenrir.

7 Stories That Show Just How Metal the Nordics Are

From Viking werewolves to snacking on pickled ram's testicles, Europe's northernmost countries are badass.
by Roxanne Hoorn
Arctic reindeer deal with weeks of total darkness in the winter and full sun in the summer by overriding their circadian rhythm.

Reindeer Can Sleep and Chew (Their Cud) at the Same Time

To make it through the long, cold Arctic winters, reindeer can get their beauty sleep while they stock up on calories.
by Roxanne Hoorn
It may look like a typical grocery store, but this shop in an old farmhouse in rural Norway has been the scene of unexplained activity, from power failures to flying potatoes, for years.

At a Haunted Grocery Store, Trying to Explain the Unexplained Has Consequences

In rural Norway, flying potatoes and other strange events troubled staff and customers for years. What happened when people shared their stories?
by Kate Golembiewski
Here, brunost shavings garnish a cup of ice cream.

How South Korea Fell in Love With Norway's Unique Cheese

Brunost is kind of a big deal.
by Jessica Furseth

Podcast: Demon Wall

The devil's in the details of this disturbing Norwegian church mural.
by The Podcast Team
All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

Puzzle Monday: The Mystery of the Missing Runes

by Alex Bellos

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