Norway spent 28 years off the World Cup stage, and then Erling Haaland showed up and made sure nobody would forget it was back. A stunning upset over Brazil, a run to the quarterfinals, a stadium full of fans doing the now-famous Viking Row, Norway’s summer 2026 was a reminder that this small Scandinavian country produces outsized moments. It turns out that’s true whether you’re watching it happen on a pitch or experiencing it firsthand, from a fjord.

We recently mapped out an 11-day route for a family of four that hit Paris and then went deep into Norway visiting Oslo, the fjord country around Ålesund, and Bergen. It’s honestly one of the best arguments we’ve seen for why this country deserves a spot on your list even when there isn’t a World Cup run to get you there. Here’s how the Norway leg played out.

Beautiful cityscape of Oslo on a summer day, Norway

Settling In Like a Local in Oslo

First stop after landing at Oslo Lufthavn: a boutique stay at Revier Hotel that felt more like borrowing a very well-designed apartment than checking into a hotel. Fully digital check-in meant no front-desk line, just a walk straight up to a suite five minutes from the Stortinget metro.

Oslo rewards a slower pace. We split time between harbor-side dinners at Aker Brygge and a proper Norwegian farm-to-table lunch at a converted 1600s farmhouse just outside downtown, Nedre Foss Gård. For an afternoon that manages to be both educational and genuinely gripping for kids, the Fram Museum on the Bygdøy peninsula is unmatched — it’s built entirely around the actual polar exploration ship Fram, and you walk the decks of a vessel that sailed farther north and farther south than any wooden ship in history. Bygdøy is worth a full day on its own; it’s a short ferry or bike ride from the city center and shares real estate with Norway’s outdoor Folk Museum. Dinner was well spent at a local’s recommendation, Jimmy’s, where the playlist was unmatched just like the dinner & drinks. With sunshine almost all day (and night long) waking up and going for a run isn’t a grind on vacation- a run downtown to the Opera house’s iconic outdoor staircase and view the financial district’s architecture before the rest of the city gets going was also a standout moment. An early run also allows for more epic waffles and cinnamon buns.

Famous Trollstigen serpentine mountain road with clear sky, Andalsnes, Norway

The Drive West: Trollveggen, Fjords, and an EV Road Trip Done Right

This is where the trip stopped feeling like a city break and started feeling like an adventure. We picked up an electric SUV in Oslo and pointed it toward Ålesund, breaking up the roughly six-hour drive with stops that turned the transit day into half the trip’s highlight reel.

Lillehammer, about two hours out of Oslo, is an easy coffee-and-leg-stretch stop with a walkable wooden town centre, an Olympic museum and the old Olympic ski jump towers still standing over the hills. Dombås, where the route shifts from the E6 onto the E136, is the natural lunch stop, bakeries, fuel, and a couple of solid local spots for a hot meal before the scenery gets serious.

And then it does get serious. The road runs straight through the Romsdalen Valley, past Trollveggen: the Troll Wall, Europe’s tallest vertical rock face, with a visitor centre right at its base, so you get the full scale of it without adding a detour. From there it’s on to Åndalsnes, the self-declared mountaineering capital of Norway, where the harbor delivers the kind of mountains-meet-fjord view that makes you understand why Norwegians are so unbothered about long drives.

The reward at the end: a timber lodge with a turf roof outside Ålesund, the kind of property that makes “getting there” feel like the whole point. Storfjord is a knockout, 4 lodges with only 30 rooms for guests where everyone feels at home.

Ålesund: Speedboats, Seals, and a Jersey Worth Bringing Home

Ålesund itself earns a full day. The Art Nouveau harbor town is worth wandering on its own, but the real highlight was getting out onto the water on a high-speed RIB boat tour through the islands just off the coast, weaving between skerries to reach seal colonies and the kind of coastal wildlife you don’t get from land. It’s fast, it’s a little bracing, and it’s the best way to actually see the archipelago instead of just admiring it from the shore.

Back in town, budget time for two very different kinds of shopping: a proper Norwegian soccer store, worth a stop for a Haaland jersey or Norway kit while the team’s World Cup run is still fresh, and the bakeries, which are not to be rushed. Between the harbor cafés and the local konditori, this is a town that takes its cinnamon buns seriously,  plan for at least one extra stop you didn’t schedule.

Bergen, by Way of the Fjords

The final push to Bergen is a proper Norwegian road-trip education in electric vehicle logistics, and it’s worth knowing before you go. EVs get a 50% discount on Norway’s ferry crossings, but it only kicks in automatically if your rental is linked to the right toll and ferry-pay system, so it’s worth confirming with your rental company before you set off. Charging stops in towns like Sandane and Skei double as lunch and coffee breaks, timed around the mountain climbs and the ferry crossing over the Sognefjord,  plan the charge, don’t plan around it, and the drive runs itself. A Must-stop is Loen, to take the Loen Skylift over the turquoise waters and tall mountains. Atop the mountains are many trails to explore for all levels of hikers. Treat yourself to another coffee and cinnamon bun while you’re there!

Bergen on arrival is a different register entirely: a compact, colourful harbor city that feels built for wandering on foot. We stayed at a home-style hotel in the old Havnekontoret building. We strolled through the stunning neighbourhood of Nordness home of the beautiful street, Strangehagen along with the adorable Lovetann Cafe . In the city centre,  a must stop is Trekroneren for hot dogs and sausages, Located at Kong Oscars Gate 1, just one block up from the famous Fish Market another stop, if only to walk through!

Why Now

Norway isn’t a new discovery, but Haaland and this summer’s World Cup run gave it a moment, and moments like this tend to come with better flight availability and more attention on a country that’s long rewarded the travelers who bother to go. Fjord-side lodges, an EV road trip through some of Europe’s most dramatic scenery, and a capital city that runs on quiet good design, that’s Norway on a normal year. This summer, it just happens to come with a reason to talk about it.

If a Norway trip like this one is on your radar, MRG Travel builds itineraries exactly like this one — routed, booked, and backed by an agent who’s actually driven the road. Reach out to start planning.

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