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Norway is a ruggedly beautiful country of mountains, fjords and glaciers. It offers incredible wilderness hiking, year-round skiing, and some of the world's most scenic ferry, bus and train rides. The 'Land of the Midnight Sun' has delightfully long summer days, pleasantly low-key cities, unspoiled fishing villages and rich historic sites that include Viking ships and medieval stave churches.

Norway's varied geography surprises many visitors who imagine the country as a frozen monolith. On the contrary, the temperate south includes rolling farmlands, enchanted forests and sunny beaches as well as the dramatic Western Fjords. North of the Arctic Circle, the population thins, the horizons grow wider and the temperature dips. Here the terrain ranges from soaring coastal peaks to vast boreal forests and barren treeless peninsulas. Adventurous travellers can journey even further north to the Svalbard archipelago, where seals, walruses and polar bears sun themselves on ice floes. It's no wonder that Norway prizes its stunning natural wonders and retains a robust frontier character unusual in Europe.

Norway is at its best and brightest from May to September. Late spring is a particularly pleasant time - fruit trees are in bloom, daylight hours are long, the weather is mild and most hostels and sights are open but uncrowded. Summers are marked by the phenomena of the midnight sun, especially north of the Arctic Circle. At Nordkapp, in the far north, the sun stays out from 13 May to 29 July, but nowhere in the country - even the far south, experiences true darkness between late May and late July.

Excellent skiing, ice driving, snow mobiles, sledding and the Aurora Borealis of the polar nights are good reasons not to neglect Norway in the winter.

Waiting staff are often paid derisory wages on the assumption that tips will boost their salaries, so think twice about leaving a bare table at meal's end. Taxi drivers also expect a small tip. Bargaining for services or goods is not a usual practice.

Oslo

Oslo sits at the head of the Oslofjord, an inlet of the Skagerrak. It is the oldest of the Scandinavian capitals, having been founded by Harald Hardrada in 1048. After being levelled by fire in 1624, the city was rebuilt in brick and stone by King Christian IV, who renamed it Christiania - a name that stuck until 1925 when it reverted back to Oslo.

Despite being Norway's largest city, Oslo is remarkably low-key. The city centre is a pleasant jumble of old and new architecture with an abundance of museums, parks and monuments. It's also a remarkably easy city to get around, with most sights within walking distance of the centre or effortlessly reached by public transport.

A must see in Oslo is the Akershus Fortress, a medieval fortress and castle built around 1300. The Akershus Castle is especially memorable and contains dungeons possessing dark little cubby-holes where the prisoners were kept under lock and key. There are plush upper floors with banquet halls and staterooms and the chapel is still used for royal events. The Chapel also holds the crypts of King Håkon VII and Olav V.

During WW II the Nazis used Akershus as a prison and place of execution, and today it's the site of Norway's Resistance Museum, which gives a vivid account of German occupation and the Norwegian struggle against it. Park-like grounds, offering excellent views of the city and harbour surround the site. There are concerts, dances and theatrical productions held here during summer.

Vigeland Park is a wonderful expanse of greenery, duck ponds and rows of shady trees - the ideal place for leisurely strolls and picnics on the lawn. Gustav Vigeland, a prolific artist who presented the human form in a range of emotions and poses, flanks its central walkway with life-size statues. Probably the most impressive piece is a monolith of writhing bodies, believed to be the world's largest granite sculpture.

Other artistic shrines include the National Theatre, with its lavish rococo hall, which was built a century ago to stage Ibsen's plays; and the Munch Museum, which contains more than 5000 drawings and paintings bequeathed to the city by Norway's most famous artist. Munch's most famous painting, The Scream, resides in the National Gallery, though it went for a short, unexpected holiday in 1994.

A 10-minute ferry ride across the harbour takes you to Bygdøy. This peninsula has some of Oslo's most outstanding attractions including Norway's largest open-air folk museum; maritime museums housing excavated Viking ships and Thor Heyerdahl's balsa raft Kon-Tiki.

The majority of Oslo's budget accommodation and eateries can be found in or close to the city centre. Karl Johans Gate, the main street, is lined with shops, and is a popular haunt for buskers. Oslo's nightlife includes the usual mix of theatres, live music, discos, clubs, and pubs, gay bars and drag shows.

Norway has thousands of kilometres of maintained cross-country ski trails and scores of resorts with downhill ski runs, including the Holmenkollen area on the outskirts of Oslo, Geilo, Lillehammer and the surrounding Gudbrandsdalen region. If you're a summer skier, head for the glaciers near Finse, Stryn or the Jotunheimen Mountains.

Norway's vast wilderness areas mean you can go mountain climbing in Åndalsnes, birdwatching in the Lofoten islands of Røst and Værøy, and glacier hiking in Nigardsbreen near Sogndal. Other good hiking spots are the Jotunheimen and Rondane Mountains and the Hardanger plateau. A fjord cruise is a must, especially along the breathtaking Sognefjord. Norway also has good saltwater and freshwater fishing.

Norwegian dishes include laks (grilled or smoked salmon), reker (boiled shrimp) and torsk (cod). Popular at Christmas time is lutefisk (dried cod made near gelatinous by soaking in lye), which is definitely an acquired taste. A common sight on most breakfast tables is sweet brown goat cheese called geitost and pickled herring. Alcohol may be hard to find in some rural communities where virtual prohibition is the norm.

Norway's coastal areas have a surprisingly temperate climate thanks to the Gulf Stream, especially in the summer months. The mountainous inland regions experience more extreme ranges of temperatures, and the northern highlands suffer Arctic conditions.

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