North Cape - Hurtigruten - Lofoten

Flight from Zurich to Stockholm. Transfer to the city centre and free time for first discoveries. This is followed by a tour with a local guide. Embarkation on the Viking Line and a voyage right through the island world of the skerries (overnight on board).

Early morning arrival in Turku and onward journey by coach to the Finnish capital, Helsinki, where a local guide awaits you for a city sightseeing tour. The "Pearl of the Baltic" was founded in 1550 by the Swede Gustav Vasa and today has around 1 million inhabitants including its metropolitan area. The main sights include Senate Square, the cathedral, the university and the Government Palace. Also well known is Finlandia Hall by Alvar Aalto, built entirely of white marble and grey granite, where the famous security conference of 1975 was held. In the evening you reach your stop for the night, Jyväskylä. This city is the main town of the Central Finland region. Finland's most famous architect, Alvar Aalto, designed over 30 buildings in Jyväskylä alone.

Today the journey continues through the Finnish lake district with numerous forests and deep blue lakes. The scenery around Lake Pyhäjärvi is particularly lovely, and in Pihtipudas you stop at an old wooden church. The road now runs along the Gulf of Bothnia as far as Kemi, a large port city and well-known centre of the timber industry. You then follow the Kemijoki river to Rovaniemi, the main town of the Lapland region. The town was burned down in 1944. The architect Alvar Aalto designed today's town plan, which resembles the antler of a reindeer, something best appreciated from the air.

Rovaniemi is also known as the "Gateway to Lapland". Shortly after Rovaniemi you reach the Arctic Circle, which lies 3,330 km from the North Pole and 6,660 km from the equator. Passing Lake Vikajärvi, the route continues to Sodankylä, the coldest place in Finland, where the oldest wooden church in Lapland, dating from 1689, stands. The road now follows the west bank of the River Kitinen through almost uninhabited country to the Sompio nature reserve, then climbs through moorland and marshland to the watershed between the Baltic Sea and the Arctic Ocean.

On the way onward you cross the tree line and enter a tundra landscape where dwarf birches and stunted pines are the only trees. Near Karigasniemi you cross the River Inarioki to enter Norway. Lunch stop in Karasjok, the capital of the Norwegian Sami and a cultural hub in Finnmark. Between Honningsvåg and the North Cape lie 35 kilometres of Europe's only true Arctic landscape. The island may be bare and treeless, yet it radiates a rugged beauty, which on sunny days is enhanced by the clear air. After dinner you drive to the North Cape, where you can enjoy a magnificent view of the sea far below. And if the weather is kind, you will experience the magical Midnight Sun.

Through the North Cape Tunnel you return to Kåfjord. The greatest impression on visitors is made by the empty expanses: chains of mountains and fells stretch seemingly endlessly to the horizon, still and awe-inspiring. The coastline has a rugged beauty. Here and there the visitor's eye is caught by a patch of green or a pretty spot of land. Superlatives are never absent from any description of Finnmark, the northernmost and largest province of Norway. Finnmark has only 75,000 inhabitants across an area of 48,000 km² and lies on the same latitude as Alaska and Siberia. Today's stop, Tromsø, is the starting point for many expeditions. Tromsø covers large parts of Tromsøya and, with around 50,000 inhabitants, is the largest city in northern Norway. It is also known as the "Gateway to the Arctic", the "City of the Northern Sea" and the "Paris of the North".

Along the Balsfjord to Bjerkvik, then island-hopping to Vesterålen and the Lofoten. Discover the austere beauty of these islands, and be impressed by dramatic mountain ranges rising straight out of the sea and picturesque fishing villages. On the Lofoten, the original character of the landscape is still preserved. (Optional boat trip) The Hurtigruten cruise from Stokmarknes to Svolvær is an experience of a very special kind.

You leave Svolvær and drive through numerous fishing villages. At Hamnøy you reach the last of the countless bridges on the Lofoten. In Moskenes you take the morning ferry and enjoy a crossing of several hours to Bodø. From Bodø the coach follows the Skjerstad Fjord as far as Fauske. The quarries around Fauske produce the distinctive reddish marble known as Norwegian Rose. Rognan, situated at sea level, is surrounded by lush, abundant vegetation and flanked by impressive peaks. The Saltfjell road now climbs to 707 m above sea level to Stødi. Shortly afterwards you cross the Arctic Circle once again. The road now passes through the rather less dramatic landscape of Dunderlandsdalen, past the Storforshei iron mine, to Mo i Rana. Although the town may seem too modern and industrial to visitors, its steelworks provide employment for many Norwegians.

Between Mosjøen and Trofors, the broad but only 16 m high Laksfors Waterfall, which carries a particularly large volume of water in June due to snowmelt, plunges into the depths. You reach the border of the Nordland province and thus the end of the true North. The first larger town is Steinkjer, which was a trading centre for over 1,000 years and, like so many other towns in northern Norway, was destroyed during the Second World War. A thousand years ago Trondheim, then still called Nidaros, was the capital of Norway. Today Trondheim is a modern city with the charming character of bygone times.

The old town centre of Trondheim lies literally on an island between river and fjord. The only connection is a narrow spit of land to the west, the former Westfort. In the old harbour, the colourful timber warehouses recall the city's medieval architecture, although they actually date from the 19th century. Then you travel through the Dovrefjell mountains to Dombås. This place is a traffic hub and the starting point for many mountain hikes. The road follows the River Lågen for 140 km to Lillehammer. This small provincial town was at the centre of sporting events during the Winter Olympics in February 1994. Later you reach Oslo. Oslo lies on a fjord shaped like a swan's neck, surrounded by gentle hills. Like an amphitheatre, the city spreads across the slopes between the sea and the mountainous hinterland.

City sightseeing tour of the Norwegian capital. Midday transfer to the airport and return flight to Switzerland.

Would you like to extend your stay in Oslo by 1, 2 or 3 days, or perhaps travel to Stockholm earlier? Ask us, and we will be happy to reserve the suitable flights and hotels for you.