Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I could receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Under the late evening summer sunshine, Flåm was gorgeous — and empty. In a 20-minute stroll, my mom and I took in the stunning mountain range behind the Freitheim Hotel, the ferry waiting to take us on a fjord tour in the morning, and the wooden building that held the tourist office, a few restaurants and an about-to-close gift shop called Mall of Norway.
Yes!
We were 5 hours by train west of Oslo, 2.5 hours east of Bergen — basically in Norway‘s western fjordish boonies. Our footsteps echoed on the empty walkways. Who were all these businesses for?
In the morning, we would see. Would we ever! At 7 a.m., I stepped out onto the balcony of our $400 room at the Freitheim hotel to find a floating skyscraper blocking our view of the fjord and dwarfing the ferry we’d be taking on our fjord cruise. This massive cruise ship had arrived overnight, and with it, the hundreds (thousands?) of tourists to buy troll dolls at the Mall of Norway.
What it’s like to visit Flåm
Most people pass through Flåm while following the Norway in a Nutshell itinerary — a trip that shows you the full gamut of spectacular fjords, mountains and waterfalls that Norway has to offer. If you’re planning a Norway in a Nutshell trip, you might wonder how long to stop in Flåm. You could schedule a lunch break here between riding the Flåmsbana railway and cruising the Nærøyfjord, part of Norway’s UNESCO World Heritage western fjords. Or, you could stay overnight and enjoy the gorgeous Freitheim Hotel like we did.
Is it worth it to spend more than one night in Flåm? Read on!
Flåm lunch break
Most people probably do Norway in a Nutshell as a day trip. Unless you eat on the train or ferry (both the Vy train and the Nærøyfjord ferry typically sell food), you need to schedule a lunch or dinner break at some point. I recommend you take that meal break in Flåm.
That’s because Flåm is centrally located on the tour, and probably has the most options. Myrdal’s only restaurant is the cafe at its lonely train station — although my parents said the sandwich they bought there was tasty. Gudvangen would also work for a lunch stop, but it looks to have fewer options than Flåm.
If you break for lunch in Flåm — or even just for refreshments — check out the Ægir Brewery. Staff at the hotel recommended it as simply “the Viking pub.” My parents and I shared a beer flight here, and really enjoyed both the beer and the decor. Cheesy? Sure! But we were tourists, here to catch some Viking vibes.
We didn’t eat at Ægir, since we were still digesting the delicious included breakfast from the Freitheim Hotel, but people say the food is good.
Flåm also has a whole food truck court, near the Mall of Norway and the tourist office. This could provide a lot of variety for families where not everyone wants to eat the same thing.
The Freitheim Hotel also has a couple restaurants. On the night we arrived, we had some good burgers at Restaurant Utsen, upstairs.
You could also pick up provisions in Flåm to enjoy while journeying on. I bought a loaf of bread and some pastries from Flåm Bakery, and it was all really good. I had planned to also stop at the little Coop Market grocery store to restock my cooler bag with some lunch meat at cheese, but we ran out of time.
If lunching in Flåm, especially in high season, just keep in mind that between a cruise ship full of people, trains coming in and other folks arriving by ferry (and I suppose car), this tiny outpost tends to get jam packed with people. Look into reservations and/or plan for waiting time to be seated and served.
Flåm overnight
If you’re like us and didn’t want to rush through Norway in a Nutshell in one day, Flåm is definitely a pleasant place to spend the night.
Your main choices within walking distance of the train station and ferry dock are the Freitheim Hotel and the Flåmsbrygga Hotel (which is part of the wooden building that also holds the Ægir Brewery). We stayed at the Freitheim. Though expensive, this hotel is a destination in itself. Most of the building is historic, constructed of white-painted wood. But there’s a center section with a soaring glass atrium. Both our rooms had a balcony or patio. You can admire the mountains and fjord from many spots in the hotel. In the evening, I enjoyed some time in the lobby/bar, craning my neck up to look at the mountains while sipping a Glenmorangie whiskey and working on my itinerary for the next day. The included breakfast was to-die-for, with breads from the Flåm Bakery and meat and produce from neighboring farms.
Like nearly everywhere in Norway, from big cities to rural hikes, we had great cell phone service via Airalo in Flåm,
Staying longer than one night in Flåm
Flåm is most famous for how you arrive and leave there — the train and the ferry. Then again, the Freitheim Hotel was so pleasant that I would have loved to sleep in their comfortable beds for more than one night. But what would you do in this small tourist outpost if you didn’t leave the next morning on the Flåmsbana train or the fjord ferry?
- Fjordsauna. I enjoyed a sauna boat (twice!) in Oslo, but it would be even nicer to jump out of a sauna into the spectacular Aurlandsfjord with its mountain views. You could also just jump into the fjord for a swim without the sauna, but … brrr. I’ll take the sauna experience. The fjordsauna is a short walk from everything else in Flåm.
- FjordSafari. While we were on the sedate scenic ferry, we noticed some boats roaring along, kicking up white foam. These smaller, unsheltered boats look like fun, and the sign-up page promises wildlife sightings.
- Flåm zipline. This looks really fun, soaring over the river valley and the Flåmsbana at over 60 miles an hour. But it’s not actually in Flåm. It’s at a stop along the Flåmsbana between Flåm and Myrdal. You can’t drive there — but if you bike there, you can bring your bike on a separate zipline harness and continue your ride at the bottom.
- Stegastein Viewing Platform. Several times a day, a bus takes tourists from Flåm to this scenic viewpoint over the fjord. It also has a visitor center.
- Cycle Rallarvegen. When I told some Norwegian relatives about our train trip to Flåm via Myrdal, they told me they had ridden their bikes there with their kids. I was surprised, as the mountainous terrain seems so challenging! But apparently this road is the most popular biking route in Norway. The stretch from Finse to Flåm is known as an easy part, since you roll downhill the whole way. You can rent a bike in Flåm, take it on the train to your desired start, then roll back down to Flåm.
- Hike or bike around Flåm. With scenery like this, you know the hiking will be great! You can join a group tour, like this 3-hour waterfall hike, or plan your own jaunt into the Norwegian countryside.
- Visit nearby villages. If the name Undredal sounds familiar, maybe it’s becauese this picturesque Norwegian village inspired Frozen’s Arendelle. Undredal is one of the potential stops on the ferry from Flåm to Gudvangen — or you can take a guided bus tour from Flam.
We made Flåm a less-than-24-hour pitstop in our Norway in a Nutshell trip. But I would totally enjoy spending at least two nights here! I would check out the countryside around this tiny tourist town. And I would not have minded eating a second Freitheim Hotel breakfast at all.