Look it's a charming town but truthfully there's not a whole lot to see or do if you are a day tripper. It happens to be a very hilly town with a decent port that must be cheap enough for NCL to tie-up in before entering the Norwegian fjords.
Everything about this place (and most of the bits of Norway we experienced) is out of proportion to the money demanded. It's literally all cost with no real benefit.
So instead of going up a very steep hill for a view, to risk going to a hill top cafe that may or may not be open, with a code on the door to use a toilet only provided you've given trade to the cafe, we decided on balance to walk around for a few hours and grab a coffee.
I mean they are called public conveniences for a reason with convenience taken to mean no inconvenience. I had pictured a closed cafe ergo no access to a locked toilet and thought nope not my idea of a day out. We got up a few hills and got a darn good view without parting with £44 for the pleasure.
I'm sure there's public transportation to go here if you've the inclination and time. Or you can walk up 418 steps to get there and the same back down. We saw many walking it.
The dock side selling highlight for this red bus service tour (and the separate local road train tour competitor business) is to go up this very steep hill to the cliff top observation lounge to look back over the expanse of town/seascape/mountains and all for a mere £22 a head with the competition also offering a similar trek at this price. The observation place has no separate fee.
The art nouveau town centre rebuilt after a 1904 fire is beautifully manicured and we visited twice about 6 days apart and it appears we were lucky to visit on two dry days as it apparently rains very often here. read more
