Lofoten: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Lofoten is a chain of mountainous islands above the Arctic Circle, warmed by the Gulf Stream, whose life for a thousand years has turned on one fish: every winter the Arctic cod swim down from the Barents Sea to spawn here, and the fishermen follow. Svolvær is the main town. Ninety minutes on foot and by car.
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A short history of Lofoten
In the Viking Age a chieftain at Borg in Lofoten built a hall 83 metres long, the largest found from that period. The islands' wealth has always come from fish: every winter cod come here from the Barents Sea to spawn, and dried fish was already being shipped from here to Europe in the 12th century. Around 1120 King Øystein built huts for fishermen at Kabelvåg. On 4 March 1941 British commandos raided the islands, destroyed fish-oil factories and took hundreds of Norwegian volunteers back with them.
The ten best sights in Lofoten
1SvolværThe main town and harbour of the islands
2SvolværgeitaA rock pinnacle with two horns that climbers jump between
3Lofoten War MuseumThe commando raid of 1941 and the occupation
4Magic IceAn ice bar of sculptures in a fish warehouse
5Lofoten CathedralA wooden church for twelve hundred fishermen
6LofotmuseetThe site of the first town of the north
7Lofoten AquariumSeals, otters and the fish of the islands
8HenningsværA fishing village on islets, with a football pitch on the rock
9GimsøyA flat island of beaches and a white church
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10Lofotr Viking Museum
A rebuilt chieftain’s longhouse, eighty-three metres long
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Lofoten →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Lofoten:
Free walking tours in Lofoten
Svolvær and the cod
Lofoten is a chain of mountainous islands above the Arctic Circle, warmed by the Gulf Stream, whose life for a thousand years has turned on one fish: every winter the Arctic cod swim down from the Barents Sea to spawn here, and the fishermen follow. Svolvær is the main town. Ninety minutes on foot and by car.
- Svolvær · The harbour town of the islands. From January to April it fills with boats for the skrei, the spawning cod, and the drying racks around it are hung with thousands of split fish that dry in the cold wind until they are as hard as wood.
- Lofoten War Museum · In March 1941 British commandos and Norwegian soldiers raided Svolvær in Operation Claymore, blowing up the fish-oil factories that supplied glycerine to the German war effort and taking hundreds of Norwegians back to Britain to join the free forces. The museum keeps uniforms and objects of the occupation.
- Svolværgeita · A rock pinnacle above the town with two horns about a metre and a half apart, called the Goat. Climbers who reach the top traditionally jump from one horn to the other, over a drop of hundreds of metres; it was first climbed in 1910.
- Lofoten Cathedral · A wooden church of 1898 in Kabelvåg, far too large for the village, built to seat about twelve hundred people because in the fishing season the islands filled with thousands of fishermen from all over Norway.
- Lofotmuseet · On this bay stood Vågar, the first town in northern Norway, a trading place of the Middle Ages from which stockfish was shipped to Bergen. The museum is in the old fishing station, with the merchant’s house and the cabins of the fishermen.
- Henningsvær · A fishing village spread over a cluster of small rocky islets joined by bridges, and at its edge a football pitch laid on a flat rock in the sea, with mountains behind — one of the most photographed pitches in the world.
Vikings and Arctic beaches
In the middle of the chain the islands open into farmland where a Viking chieftain had his great hall, and the north coast has white beaches between peaks where people surf in the Arctic sea. A full day by car; the beaches are the best places for the northern lights in winter.
- Gimsøy · A flat island of marshes and beaches facing the open sea to the north, with a small white church. In summer the midnight sun circles over the sea here without setting.
- Lofotr Viking Museum · In 1981 a farmer’s plough turned up the remains of a Viking chieftain’s longhouse here, eighty-three metres long, the largest yet found. It has been rebuilt full-size with its feasting hall, and a Viking ship sails from the shore below.
- Unstad · A bay at the end of a narrow road where, in the 1960s, two local men began surfing with home-made boards, and it became one of the best-known cold-water surf spots in the world. Surfers ride here even in winter, in thick wetsuits under the northern lights.
- Uttakleiv · A white beach between two mountains, with round boulders at the water’s edge that pools reflect at low tide. On winter nights photographers come from all over the world for the auroras over the sea.
- Haukland · A beach of white sand and turquoise water that looks Caribbean in summer sunshine and is around twelve degrees. A path runs over the hill between it and Uttakleiv.
- Flakstad Church · A red wooden church of 1780 with an onion-shaped tower. The islands had no forests, and its timber is said to have been driftwood carried by the sea from Russia.
Reine and the end of the road
At the western end the mountains rise straight from the sea, and the fishing villages of red and yellow cabins on stilts make the classic picture of Lofoten. The road ends at a village called Å, the last letter of the Norwegian alphabet. A full day; the climb over Reine is steep.
- Nusfjord · A small fishing village in a narrow cove, preserved almost unchanged since the nineteenth century, with its fish-oil factory, cod-liver boiling house, general store and rorbuer — the red cabins on stilts where visiting fishermen slept in the season.
- Hamnøy · A cluster of red fishermen’s cabins on a rock in the fjord, under a wall of granite peaks — the view from the bridge here is one of the most photographed in Norway, especially in winter snow.
- Sakrisøy · An islet of yellow cabins, with a fish shop selling fish cakes and smoked whale. In the season children of the villages cut out cod tongues from the fish heads to sell, earning good pocket money; fried, they are a local delicacy.
- Reine · The village of the postcard: red and white cabins on rocks in a fjord ringed by peaks. Ferries leave from here to the Reinefjord and to beaches reachable only by boat.
- Reinebringen · Nepali Sherpas built a staircase of nearly two thousand stone steps up the steep mountain above Reine, finished in 2019, replacing an eroded path. From the top the whole village, its fjords and the chain of islands spread below.
- Å · The village at the end of the road, named with the last letter of the Norwegian alphabet, is a museum of the old fishing life with a stockfish museum. Off the tip of the islands runs the Moskstraumen, one of the strongest tidal currents in the world, the maelstrom of Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne.
Getting to Lofoten and getting around
- Svolvær Airport · Small planes from Bodø; Evenes airport is about two and a half hours by road
- Leknes Airport · The airstrip in the middle of the islands
- Moskenes ferry · The car ferry to Bodø on the mainland, about three hours
Cheap eats in Lofoten
Lofoten eats cod in every form: fresh skrei in winter, fried cod tongues, mølje of cod with liver and roe, bacalao stew of salted cod with tomato and potato, and the stockfish that has been dried here for a thousand years. Fish cakes from the village fish shops are the cheap lunch; everything else costs Norwegian prices.
- Å · How stockfish is made
- Sakrisøy · Fish cakes from the fish shop
- Henningsvær · Cafés and fish on the harbour
- Svolvær · Bacalao stew in the harbour town
- Nusfjord · Dinner in the old fishing village
Museums in Lofoten
Lofoten’s museums tell of the Vikings, the medieval stockfish trade, the life of the fishermen, and the war.
- Lofotr Viking Museum · The chieftain’s longhouse
- Lofotmuseet · The old fishing station
- Lofoten War Museum · The raid of 1941
- Å · The fishing village museum
Nature and day trips near Lofoten
Lofoten is jagged granite peaks rising straight from the sea, white beaches and fjords, with the midnight sun from late May to mid-July and the northern lights from September to April.
- Reinebringen · The steps over Reine
- Uttakleiv · Northern lights on the beach
- Haukland · White sand and turquoise water
- Ramberg Beach · A long beach under the peaks
- Svolværgeita · A hike to see the Goat
Things to do in Lofoten with kids
With children: a Viking longhouse, an aquarium of seals and otters, an ice bar and beaches.
- Lofotr Viking Museum · Vikings, a ship and animals
- Lofoten Aquarium · Seals and otters
- Magic Ice · Ice sculptures
- Haukland · A sandy beach
Holy places in Lofoten
The churches of Lofoten are wooden, built for fishermen who came every winter from all over Norway.
- Lofoten Cathedral · The fishermen’s cathedral
- Flakstad Church · The onion-domed wooden church
- Gimsøy · The white church by the sea
Nightlife in Lofoten
Lofoten’s nights are not for bars but for the sky: the midnight sun in summer and the northern lights in winter, with a few pubs in Svolvær and Henningsvær.
- Uttakleiv · Auroras over the sea
- Svolvær · Harbour pubs and the ice bar
- Henningsvær · A bar in an old fish warehouse
Frequently asked questions about Lofoten
What is there to see in Lofoten?
The top sights in Lofoten are Svolvær, Svolværgeita and Lofoten War Museum. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Lofoten?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Lofoten without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Lofoten?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Lofoten, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Svolvær and the cod.
How do you get to Lofoten and get around?
The main ways are Svolvær Airport, Leknes Airport and Moskenes ferry. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Lofoten, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Lofoten that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Lofoten for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.