Oslo–Bergen

The Bergen Line across Hardangervidda, with the Flåm Railway and Nærøyfjord along the way.

The facts

When it is busy

Busiest: July. Quietest: January. Guest arrivals per month as a share of the route's own busiest month. Figures from Statistics Norway, averaged over seven full years. They count people who stay overnight, so day trippers and cruise passengers are not included.

Stops along the way

• Oslo · 0 h
  Start in the capital — the Opera House, Akershus Fortress and Vigeland Park before the train heads west.
• Hønefoss · 1.5 h
  First stop on the Bergen Line — a waterfall in the middle of town and the gateway to Ringerike.
• Flå · 2.2 h
  The bear park and the start of Hallingdal — a quiet valley stop with forest and river.
• Nesbyen · 2.6 h
  Hallingdal Museum and Norway's heat record — 35.6 °C. A good base for day hikes into the valley sides.
• Gol · 2.9 h
  The junction where the road to Valdres leaves Hallingdal. Stave church replica and mountain biking.
• Ål · 3.2 h
  A traditional village of rosemaling and summer farms — the last stop before the high mountains.
• Geilo · 3.5 h
  A high-mountain destination between two national parks — short hikes straight from the station, skiing in winter.
• Hallingskarvet · 3.8 h
  A national park with a 35 km sheer rock wall. The Prestholt trail climbs right onto the plateau.
• Ustaoset · 3.7 h
  A quiet high-mountain stop by Lake Ustevatn, 990 m above sea level — cabins, open plateau and views of Hallingskarvet.
• Haugastøl · 3.9 h
  The starting point of Rallarvegen — the cycling road the navvies built alongside the Bergen Line.
• Hardangervidda · 4 h
  Europe's largest mountain plateau — wild reindeer, endless open country and marked trails between the cabins.
• Vøringsfossen · 5 h
  A 182-metre free fall into the Måbødalen gorge, with a footbridge crossing straight over the lip.
• Eidfjord · 5.3 h
  Where the Hardangerfjord ends and the plateau begins — a cruise port and the Hardangervidda Nature Centre.
• Finse · 4.3 h
  Norway's highest railway station at 1222 m. The Hardangerjøkulen glacier sits right behind it — no road reaches here.
• Hallingskeid · 4.6 h
  An unstaffed high-mountain halt in the middle of the wilderness — a trekking hut and snow sheds from the navvy era.
• Myrdal · 4.9 h
  The junction station at 866 m where the Flåm Railway branches off and plunges towards the fjord.
• Flåm · 5.9 h
  The Flåm Railway down to the Aurlandsfjord — 20 tunnels and a 5.5 % gradient over 20 km.
• Aurland · 6.1 h
  A fjord village with an old shoemaking tradition — a quieter base than Flåm, with the same view.
• Stegastein · 6.4 h
  A viewing platform 650 m directly above the Aurlandsfjord, jutting 30 metres out into thin air.
• Undredal · 6.2 h
  39 residents, 500 goats and Norway's smallest stave church still in use. The brown cheese is still made here.
• Nærøyfjorden · 7 h
  A UNESCO fjord, 250 metres across at its narrowest. Boat from Flåm to Gudvangen between vertical walls.
• Stalheim · 7.2 h
  Stalheimskleiva — 13 hairpin bends and an 18 % gradient climbing out of the Nærøydalen valley.
• Mjølfjell · 5.2 h
  A small halt in the Raundalen valley with a hostel and a river — the way into the mountains between Voss and Myrdal.
• Tvindefossen · 5.7 h
  A 152-metre waterfall just north of Voss, right by the road — five minutes from car park to the foot of the falls.
• Voss · 5.5 h
  Norway's extreme sports capital — rafting, paragliding and a cable car up Hangurstoppen from the centre.
• Ulvik · 6.2 h
  A fruit-growing village at the head of the Hardangerfjord — cider houses, apple blossom in May and still fjord water.
• Hardangerfjorden · 7.3 h
  Norway's second-longest fjord — fruit farms along the waterline and the Folgefonna glacier on the far side.
• Norheimsund · 7.6 h
  Steinsdalsfossen, a waterfall you can walk behind, and the Hardanger Maritime Centre building wooden boats.
• Dale · 6.1 h
  An industrial village in Vaksdal known for its knitwear mill — the last valley stop before Bergen.
• Arna · 6.6 h
  Bergen's eastern district and the far end of the Ulriken tunnel — the start of the climb to Ulriken at 643 m.
• Bryggen · 6.9 h
  Hanseatic timber houses on the UNESCO list — leaning galleries and the Hanseatic Museum in the heart of Bergen.
• Fløyen · 7 h
  The Fløibanen funicular lifts you 320 m in eight minutes — views over the whole city and trails leading inland.
• Bergen · 6.9 h
  Bryggen, the fish market and seven mountains — the natural end of the journey.