During peak summer, Flåm is overrun by colossal 5,000-passenger cruise liners that dwarf the tiny shoreline village. But in winter, the mega-ships vanish. What remains is a quiet fishing hamlet nestled at the tip of the Aurlandsfjord, framed by 4,000-foot snow-sheathed cliffs and crystalline turquoise waters so still they look like blue obsidian.
1. Riding the Flåm Railway in Winter (Flåmsbana)
Regularly voted one of the world’s most spectacular train journeys, the Flåmsbana ascends 2,838 feet from fjord level to the high-mountain plateau of Myrdal over just 12 miles. In winter, the steep ravine becomes a gallery of towering frozen waterfalls, mountain hamlets buried in snowdrifts, and frost-glazed pine ravines.
2. Electric Silent Fjord Cruise on the Nærøyfjord
Board the futuristic all-electric catamaran ‘Future of The Fjords’ for a zero-emission cruise through the narrow UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord. Because the ship glides completely silently, the only sound you hear is the gentle splash of water against the hull and ice chunks crackling in the calm winter sea.
3. Stegastein Viewpoint
Take a scenic shuttle up the mountain ridge to Stegastein, an architectural marvel of wood and glass jutting 30 meters out over the fjord at an elevation of 2,130 feet. Looking straight down through the glass end-panel to the icy fjord waters below is an exhilarating bucket-list thrill.
4. Ægir Brewery & Viking Fireside Dining
Warm your chilled hands around the 9-meter-tall open hearth inside the Ægir Bryggeri, a magnificent modern stave-church-style craft brewpub in Flåm. Feast on Viking beer-braised pork shanks and craft imperial stouts while seated on reindeer-skin-draped benches.