The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Northern sights: welcome to Scandi nirvana
From edgy art spaces to Viking-style cuisine and kayaking near porpoises, our experts give some fresh takes on the region
OSLO’S MODERN ART SCENE
The Norwegian capital is carving out a growing reputation as a head-turning, Scandi-fresh art and architectural destination.
WHY IT’S SPECIAL
Here’s a city with some thumpingly good art galleries and major works, whose harbourside is being transformed by a new wave of architectural landmarks. It’s delightfully easy to navigate by foot or bike, and never gets overloaded by visitors, meaning you will sometimes have a gallery all to yourself.
Tjuvholmen island, criss-crossed with bridges over its canals, has become a contemporary art hub, with independent galleries such as Peder Lund holding kooky shows. The scene-stealer is the Astrup Fearnley, designed by Renzo Piano, which hosts regular exhibitions and has a private collection of work by artists including Olafur Eliasson, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Richard Prince.
There are many smaller galleries dotted around town, including 1857, Standard, VI, VII and edgy artist-run spaces such as NoPlace. Up above the city, with views of the islands, is the Ekeberg Sculpture Park, where sculptures surrounded by woodland paths include works by Louise Bourgeois, the Chapman Brothers and James Turrell. It’s mirrored by an older sculpture park on the other side of the city, devoted to the fleshy statues of Gustav Vigeland.
Oslo is also home to the coolest architects of the moment: Snohetta, whose glacier-like opera house is set on the harbour near the new National Museum and the Munch Museum. With your senses sharpened by art, it’s time for a sauna: there are floating options on the harbour, and sauna huts at the Salt cultural project, from which you can emerge and jump straight into the sea. Bracing.
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET
Stumbling across Louise Bourgeois’s metal forms dangling from the trees, twisting in the wind; and seeing not one Munch Scream but two without having to queue.
INSIDER TIPS
Go for Oslo Art Week on Sept 10-13 (osloartweekend.no); or for an art walk around the city’s public works at any time of the year, download the map at Koro – Public Art Norway.
HOW TO DO IT
Fly to Oslo and take the train to the city. Stay at the new Amerikalinjen hotel (it has a jazz club in the basement). The Oslo Pass will get you into all the main museums.
For more dream trips, see telegraph.co.uk/ 1000dreamtrips
SWEDEN’S BEAUTIFUL SOUTH
With white-sand beaches, rugged peninsulas and remote farmland, Skane is a back-to-nature destination with a creative capital.
WHY IT’S SPECIAL
Skane has it all: wild sandy beaches, pretty harbour towns, untouched countryside and a serious food scene with artisan producers and innovative chefs. Start in Malmo, the province’s capital, where the Old Town’s design district is great for homeware shops and galleries, Malmo Saluhall food hall (malmosaluhall.se/en) buzzes with locals, and the St Knut neighbourhood is full of coffee shops; Linda Dahl, co-founder of Matkaravan food tours (matkaravan.se/information-inenglish), can show you the best.
Head north for hiking in Kullaberg Nature Reserve (kullabergsnatur.se/en) and kayaking around the peninsula, where you might spot seals and porpoises. The Sofiero Palace (sofiero. se/en), famous for its dahlias and rhododendrons, is a must for garden fans. In summer, stop in the nearby town of Molle for lunch at
Brandstation, a former fire station on the harbour, or Molle Krukmakeri, a pottery studio, pizzeria and garden café (mollekrukmakeri.se). And don’t miss the island of Ven, a 30-minute ferry ride from Landskrona, where you can hire a bicycle and explore lanes lined with sunflowers and quaint cottages.
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET
Walking on the white sand that wraps around the peninsula, from Skanor, with its bright beach huts, to Falsterbro, where a boardwalk leads through the dunes to the shore.
INSIDER TIP
In Lund, enjoy a tour of the cathedral to hear stories about the 15th-century astronomical clock and the crypt.
HOW TO DO IT
Fly to Copenhagen, then take the 40-minute train across the Oresund Bridge to Malmo. Top stays: Hotel Duxiana in the Old Town (malmo. hotelduxiana.com); The Lodge (thelodge.se/en), a rural spa hotel near Lund; Hotell Gasslingen, near the beach in Skanor (hotellgasslingen.com/en).
Buzzing Aalborg leads the way for North Jutland’s contemporary cultural scene, where the wide-open coastal landscapes are a breath of fresh, salty air.
WHY IT’S SPECIAL
Hip, post-industrial Aalborg, fizzing with nightlife, great food and street art, is Denmark’s coolest city. It’s a terrific starting point for a tour of North Jutland’s salt-tanged open spaces and Viking heritage.
Make the most of its Limfjord waterfront, offering striking buildings, including Nordkraft, a power station turned arts, leisure and culture hub (nordkraft.dk). Pop into exhibitions at the Utzon Center (utzoncenter.dk). Make time for the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art. Hungry? Choose between the Mortens Kro (mortenskro.com), the Nordic Restaurant Tabu or The Lighthouse for street food pop-ups.
Heading north, drop in on Lindholm Hoje Museum (nordmus.dk/en), a Viking burial site. Continue to Skagen, the “Land of Light”, which drew 19th-century landscape painters and explore the Rabjerg Mile, the vast migrating sand dune where the Kattegat and Skagerrak seas collide.
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET
Touring the coastal landscapes of Thy National Park (eng.nationalparkthy.dk) on a Harley Davidson (bookabiker.dk), from the rugged Stenbjerg, where fishing boats dot the beaches, to the remote Hanstholm lighthouse.
INSIDER TIP
In the Lindholm Hoje Museum café, Jesper Lynge prepares Viking dishes and hosts historic cooking courses.
HOW TO DO IT
Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies to Copenhagen from Stansted. In Skagen, Ruth’s Hotel (ruths-hotel.dk) offers a beach vibe and two great restaurants.