Sogndal
Municipality · Vestland
About Sogndal
The Norwegian Glacier Museum and book town of Fjærland, Kaupanger stave church and the grand wooden Kviknes Hotel in Balestrand.
What to do and where to stay in Sogndal
Places to stay are run locally, with no hotel or campsite chain behind them.
1Norsk Bremuseum (Norwegian Glacier Museum)Sight
Sverre Fehn's 1991 museum in Fjærland, where you can handle 1,000-year-old ice from Supphellebreen and watch a panorama film about Jostedalsbreen.
Fjærland, 6848 Fjærland · 1–2 h · all year (winter Jan–Mar: Tue and Thu 10–15)
2Den norske bokbyen (Fjærland Book Town)Local oddity
Since 1996 about ten second-hand bookshops have filled an old ferry waiting room, bank, barn, post office and freezer plant on the Mundal shore; open May–September.
Mundal, Fjærland centre · 1–2 h · May–September, daily (closed 17 May)
3SupphellebreenNature
Arm of Jostedalsbreen about 10 km north of Fjærland that reaches down to about 60 m, the lowest glacier front in southern Norway; a road gets you within about 500 m.
Supphelledalen, north of Fjærland · 30–60 min · May–October (snow-free road)
4Kaupanger stavkyrkjeHistory & culture
Stave church built from timber felled in 1137/38, with 22 staves around the nave, among the most of any stave church, and a pulpit and altarpiece from the 1620s–30s.
Kyrkjegota, Kaupanger · 30–45 min · summer (check: closed in 2024 for works)
5De Heibergske Samlingar – Sogn FolkemuseumHistory & culture
Open-air museum at Kaupanger with over 30 old buildings from the Middle Ages to the 1900s, plus indoor exhibitions on farming, crafts, food and holidays.
Mannhellervegen 643, Kaupanger · 1–2 h · all year except January, Christmas and Easter
6St. Olaf's Church (Den engelske kyrkja)History & culture
Church of England church in stave-church style, finished in 1897 in memory of English climber Margaret Green Kvikne, who married Knut Kvikne in 1890.
Balestrand centre · 15–30 min · summer (interior); exterior all year
7Balestrand heritage trailHistory & culture
Two-kilometre walk past dragon-style villas built by artists who settled here in the 1890s–1900s, with dragon heads drawn from the sagas.
Balestrand centre, from the quay · 45–60 min (2 km) · all year
8Ciderhuset (Balholm)Food & drink
Cider restaurant in an organic orchard of over 100 fruit varieties, serving lunch with its own cider and juice and running tastings in summer.
Sjøtunsvegen 32, Balestrand · 1–2 h · summer (tastings Mon–Sat); other times on request
9MælenHike
Red-graded 5.3 km hike from Engjasete above Grinde to a 976 m cairn looking straight across the fjord to Vangsnes, Vik, Feios and Balestrand.
Grinde, about 6 km west of Hermansverk (Leikanger) · 2–3 h (5.3 km) · May–September
10Nuken from ÅsenHike
Gentle path from the Åsen summer farm in Sogndalsdalen to a summit looking over Lustrafjorden, Hafslo and on to the Hurrungane peaks.
Årvollsåsen, Sogndalsdalen · 2–3 h · June–October