12 reasons to visit Bodø: Norway's hidden gem in the Arctic Circle

Visitors to the town of just 50,000 hardy locals can expect a dynamic trawl of cultural and dining delights within a screensaver backdrop of dramatic coastal scenes and ethereal mountainscapes. 

It’s a lot more accessible and affordable than you may think, too. New flight connections to Norway along with great value design hotels in the city means Bodø is the boreal break you’ve long been dreaming of…

For the culture

Bodø is about to go centre stage. On a floating stage, to be exact. 

For its tenure as European Capital of Culture 2024, over 1,000 events are planned for the town, all starting with its launch festival on February 3 to take place on a spectacular purpose-built buoyant stage. 

With its programme inspired by nature, each season will feature a landmark event, from a concert billed as the world’s most sustainable in spring, a Midsummer Mischief celebration for the summer solstice and a Nordland by Light festival come winter. 

Sami culture features strongly on the schedule too, with a Sami Theatre Trilogy performance next month focuses on the impacts of climate change.

• bodo2024.no

For the Northern Lights

Bodø has high odds to witness the Aurora Borealis with October until March the main season to catch the wonder. 

Note that you don’t always need to pay top Krone for a guided excursion to experience them either; with some strong solar activity, you can even spot the Northern Lights wandering downtown in Bodø or from panoramic scenic rooftop bars like the Radisson’s Top13. 

Come springtime, the city defrosts and transforms into a hub for outdoor tourism as the long summer days hail hike and camp adventures beneath the midnight sun.

For the Keiservarden hike

Bodø natives are outdoorsy folk and they don’t need much of an excuse to grab their hiking poles, particularly when it means a scoot up the city’s signature hill, Keiservarden. 

The 2.5-hour round trip makes a perfect bite-size adventure. Its 350m summit may seem modest, but from the peak, you can enjoy sweeping views of the city below as well 360-degree panoramas from the Lofoten Islands to the mountains folding towards Sweden to the east. 

Tip: Bring a Kvikk Lunsj (a Norwegian KitKat) to really look like a local.

For its maelstrom magic

The term maelstrom is said to have originated from the Norwegian coast so it’s only fitting that the region lays claim to being home to the largest of them all. 

The world’s strongest whirlpool occurs at Saltsraumen strait when the tides of two colliding fjords churn 400m cubic metres of water through the passage four times daily. 

To experience the wonder, adventure specialists Stella Polaris offer tours from Bodø’s Hurtigruten Quay. 

When not getting sucked in by the spectacular views, keep an eye out for soaring white-tailed eagles along the way.

• €80; stella-polaris.no

For an Arctic sauna

It wouldn’t be a Nordic trip without a bracing Arctic plunge! 

Pust is a network of stylish public saunas peppered around the Nordland coast and fortunately for visitors to Bodø, there’s one located slap bang on the town’s postcard port. 

Simply book your drop-in session online from 6am to 11pm after which you’ll be given a code to enter the sauna. 

Whether you choose a dawn session or the twinkly polar night, you can enjoy your sweat framed with heavenly harbour views before plunging (or dipping your toes) off the jetty outside. Gush!

• €20; pust.io

For a seafood feast

Norway may be famed for its seafood cuisine, but Bodø’s new Fiskebørsen (fish market) concept restaurant takes it to the next level. 

Promoting the sustainable utilisation of the Arctic waters, this premium dining experience begins in a purpose-built filleting room where guests observe a fresh catch (their eventual supper) being prepared before them. 

Afterwards in the open kitchen, you can watch, or indeed assist, the cheffing team rustle up a dream seafood supper which is all served before you on a sublime long table setting.

• saltstraumenhotel.no

For the maritime heritage

Appearing on the coastline like a cover scene from Architectural Digest, the beautifully designed Jekt Trade museum charts the curiously fascinating tale of Norway’s stockfish trade, which has been the lifeblood of the coastal communities here for centuries.

The museum centres around an original 19th-century jekt vessel (the museum was built around it, in fact) which transports your imagination straight to the high seas. Pay a visit to the gorgeous cafe while you’re here too.

• €13; jektefart.no

For the craft brews

Ice cold! That’s how they like their beer at Bådin, a craft brewery formed by an eclectic group of beer-loving friends including an engineer, a doctor, a librarian, a designer, and an economist.

Their friendly warehouse-style brewery set along Bodø’s windswept docklands makes for a kicked-back visit and their beer varieties from their Marshmallow Wave imperial pastry stout to their Kjerringøy gluten-free pale ale are delicious.

Keep an eye out for its 2024 Beerfest from May 31 to June 1. Skål!

• baadin.com

For the Stone Age culture

For a real step back in time (how about 10,000 years?) pay a visit to Bodø’s unique attraction of Tuvsjyen. Run by cultural entrepreneur Elisabeth Lund, whose family have lived on these shores for centuries, this waterside Stone Age heritage centre has a replica turf hut as its showcase.

Inside, around the fire pit, you can learn about the region’s rich Stone Age heritage while indulging in delicious takes on paleo fare, like fragrant berry tea and slow-roasted reindeer.

• tuvsjyen.com

For the FK Bodø fixtures

You may not think of the Norwegian Arctic as a setting to catch a pulsating football fixture, but local heroes FK Bodø have other ideas. 

After kicking around in low-league obscurity for half a century, this minnow team (aka Glimt) was promoted to Norway’s top-tier Eliteserien in 2018 and has taken home the silverware almost every year since. 

Home matches at Aspmyra Stadion are a lively-affair where fans wielding giant yellow toothbrushes are the norm.

FK Bodø is currently still in the Europa Conference play-offs for 23/24 so don’t be surprised if you encounter some Galatasaray or Ajax players at your breakfast buffet while in town.

• Glimt.no

For some Arctic snorkelling

You don’t always need the tropics for world-class snorkelling — sometimes some crystal clear Arctic waters and a darn good thermal bodysuit will do the trick.

The shores surrounding Saltstraumen offer some of the best snorkelling (and diving!) in Europe all thanks to the powerful maelstrom which whips up the nutrient rich waters that create a habitat teeming with sea life.

As a result, you can expect to discover rich kelp forests, bejewelled by anemones, and home to everything from halibut to wolffish. Fredric Ihrsen and Borghild Viem, longtime advocates for the conservation of Norway’s waters, run the local dive school here.

• Snorkelling €80 (including gear); nordogne.no

For the Norwegian sweaters

Norwegians have made their national woollen sweaters very much part of their sartorial DNA, so come winter you’re never quite fully dressed here without one. 

To pick up the perfect genser, you’ll find a number of great stores in downtown Bodø along from Frittigbuttiken on Storgata Street to the city’s Koch Shopping Mall where a number of outdoorsy outfitters offer bargain options. 

For a more contemporary look, check out the designs of Fogg, an ethical apparel brand founded by two local sisters.

• fogg.no

Escape Notes

How to get there

Bodø may not be as distant as you may think. The direct service from Dublin to Bergen aboard Wideroe airlines offers an excellent new access point to Norway while connecting flights northbound to Bodø are convenient and transfer-friendly. 

• Fares from €340 return. wideroe.no

Stay there

"Norway" and "bargain" may seem like an oxymoron but hotel rates are surprisingly affordable in Bodø. 

A hot hotel tip is the Scandic Bodø, a slickly designed waterfront haven with ambient rooms and soothing common lounges, which offers phenomenal value from €87 per night. 

Rates even include a seriously excellent breakfast buffet which keeps the hotel’s clientele of outdoors enthusiasts and corporate suits well fuelled. 

scandichotels.com

For more, see:

• visitbodo.com
• nordnorge.com
• Thom was a guest of Visit Bodø.