Explore Scandinavia!

Eco-friendly travel is becoming a popular choice, and there is no better place to experience its delights than in clean, green Scandinavia, with its long summer nights, healthy outdoor lifestyle and adventure-packed winter months.

Whether it’s a summer holiday, a winter ski trip or a business visit, the region has a huge amount to offer. Travellers looking for more than sun and sand are drawn to the remote far north of Norway in search of the Northern Lights, or cultural short breaks in fashionable Stockholm.

Norway’s entire west coast, indented with magnificent fjords and craggy mountains and scattered with sleepy offshore islands, is a popular destination for exploring the small, wooden towns and quaint villages that are typical of this region. Almost every town is a working fishing port and in summer, when the sun barely sets, street life lasts late into the night.

Norway’s infrastructure is very efficient, and visitors can minimise their carbon footprint by travelling on the trains or the “Hurtigruten” (quick route) ferries which chug up and down the entire length of the coast, year round, calling at all the small fishing villages and towns. There are numerous ways to enjoy the scenery, including hiking, kayaking, fishing, rafting, horse riding or riding on the various scenic trains and cable cars. Try the 20km long Flåm railway (Flåmsbana), which loops its way from Myrdal on the Oslo-Bergen railway to Flåm 865 meters below, nestled in the innermost corner of the Aurlandfjord, or the narrow gauge Krøder Railway from Vikersund to Krødern. Transport like this is the ideal way to admire cascading waterfalls and deep ravines. There are day cruises through breathtaking fjords like Geiranger, so spectacular that it is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

One of the highlights this year is the city of Stavanger’s status as European Capital of Culture, with a year-long programme of events planned, from theatre to literary readings, architecture exhibitions and international art exhibitions.

Situated at the head of a stunning, wooded fjord, Oslo is easy to explore on foot and is an eclectic mix of neoclassical buildings, wooden houses and impressive structures like the Royal Palace. The best shops are on the pedestrianised Karl Johansgate and Bogstadveien, where you will find interior design stores, furniture, both high-end and high-street fashion, knitwear, art and handicrafts.

Another event to look forward to in spring will be the official opening of Olso’s new opera in April, as good a reason as any to visit this beautiful capital. The new building, on the Oslofjord, will be the home of opera, ballet and concerts, with this year’s progamme including Orpheus, Porgy and Bess, Don Carlos and festivals of jazz and chamber music.

A new member of Special Hotels of the World, The Clarion Royal Christiania in Oslo is ideally positioned for both the leisure and business guest, just 100m from Karl Johansgate, the epicentre of shopping, dining and entertainment and many of the city’s main attractions. The hotel presents a shining example of uncluttered, chic Scandinavian style, with feng shui principles used in the design of its 503 rooms.

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