Sightseeing in Møre and Romsdal

Trollstigen

Of all the scenic roads in Norway, the Golden Route, which you find between Åndalsnes and the Geirangerfjord, is one of the best. One section of this route is Trollstigen, near the town of Åndalsnes, about a one-hour drive from Molde. This is one of the most thrilling drives anywhere in Norway.

If you are the driver in the car, keep your eyes on the road through all 11 turns of Trollstigen, which winds its way up the mountain Stigrøra, and wait to enjoy the view until you get to the viewpoint at the top (unless you are coming in from the opposite direction, in which case you start at the top). In addition to the view, there’s a restaurant and a museum where you can see photos and tools used for constructing Trollstigen, which was inaugurated in 1933 by King Haakon VII. Keep in mind before coming here that Trollstigen is, for safety reasons, closed during the winter and usually opens sometime in mid- or late May, depending on the weather.

Trollveggen

Trollveggen (The Troll Wall), just outside of Åndalsnes, is the highest vertical mountain wall in Europe at 1,000 m (3,000 feet) and the total length from the valley to the top is nearly twice that distance. “The wall” is one of the biggest attractions in the area; most people come for the views, but there are others with more adventurous agendas in mind.

Climbing is understandably a popular activity here but also demanding, even if you are not climbing the vertical section. Trollryggen is the longest climbing route in Europe (4,000 m/12,000 feet) and it was climbed for the first time in 1958. The vertical wall, Trollveggen, was not conquered by climbers until seven years later when two teams, one Norwegian and one English, spent two weeks in their quest for the top. There are some easier routes available in the area as well; a visit to the Åndalsnes Tourist Office is highly recommended as a start.

Raumabanen

Raumabanen is a stretch of railway 114 km (68 miles) long from Dombås in the neighboring county of Oppland to Åndalsnes in Romsdal. It is one of the most scenic train rides in Norway and takes you through the famous attractions in the area such as Trollveggen in Romsdal. The journey runs year-round and takes about an hour and 20 minutes. The best place to start is in Dombås then heading west to Åndalsnes. The first stretch is just a warm-up but once you get past Bjørli, at about the halfway point, the ride takes you into a new dimension with some really spectacular scenery. The area around Verma is the real highlight of the trip with tunnels, bridges, waterfalls and incredible views of snow-covered mountains even in the summertime. In one of the tunnels, the train makes a U-turn and exits just below where it entered the mountain. This kind of engineering was necessary when designing the tracks in this hilly terrain and gives passengers a feeling of riding a rollercoaster more than a regular train ride. Vermafossen Waterfall, with an 850-m (2,550-foot) drop, and the Kylling Bridge are two of the sights to look forward to on this trip. The Kylling Bridge is a beautiful stone bridge, one of the best-looking railway bridges you will find, especially at night when it’s lit up. The best view of it is not from the train, however, but from the road outside the town of Verma.