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Experience

Lakes in Norway

Norway's lakes hold records quietly: Mjøsa, the country's largest, spreads below Hamar; Hornindalsvatnet, Europe's deepest, lies by Nordfjordeid. Both sit beside small towns. Rjukan threads its valley floor between the lakes Møsvatn and Tinnsjå, Ørje keeps the canal museum of the Haldenvassdraget, and Voss gathers around Vossevangen between lake and fell.

Ranked by global recognition — how widely each place is read about across Wikipedia's language editions. Never paid placement, prices, or reviews.

What should a lake base offer?

Direct shore access, swimmable water, and something to do on it — rowing, paddling, or a passenger boat. Lakes reward slow trips, so the base town matters more than the sights list: groceries, an evening walk, and the water at the end of it.

  1. Kirkenes

    Finnmark · Norway

    Kirkenes is a border port in Sør-Varanger, near the Russian frontier in northern Norway.

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  2. Rjukan

    Telemark · Norway

    Rjukan is a hydropower town deep in the Vestfjorddalen valley of Telemark, built from scratch in 1908 by Sam Eyde.

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  3. Hamar

    Innlandet · Norway

    Hamar is a town on Mjøsa in the southern part of Innlandet, south-eastern Norway (Østlandet), the old seat of the Hedmarken district.

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  4. Nordfjordeid

    Vestland · Norway

    Nordfjordeid is the administrative centre of Stad Municipality in western Norway, set at the head of Eidsfjorden in the Nordfjord region.

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  5. Beitostølen

    Innlandet · Norway

    Beitostølen is a high mountain village in Øystre Slidre, on the southern edge of the Valdresflye plateau in Innlandet.

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  6. Voss

    Vestland · Norway

    Voss is an inland town around the centre of Vossevangen, in the southern part of Vestland.

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  7. Ørje

    Østfold · Norway

    Ørje is a canal village and seat of Marker in Østfold, in south-eastern Norway (Østlandet).

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  8. Gjøvik

    Innlandet · Norway

    Gjøvik sits on the western shore of Mjøsa in Innlandet, a lakeside town in south-eastern Norway.

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  9. Ålgård

    Rogaland · Norway

    Ålgård is the centre of Gjesdal in Rogaland, in the southern part of the county, in western Norway.

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  10. Moi

    Rogaland · Norway

    Moi is the centre of Lund municipality in the south-eastern part of Rogaland, western Norway (Vestlandet).

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  11. Bjørkelangen

    Akershus · Norway

    Bjørkelangen is the administrative seat of Aurskog-Høland in the south-eastern part of Akershus, a lake-edge village in south-eastern Norway.

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  12. Gaupne

    Vestland · Norway

    Gaupne is the centre of Luster Municipality in western Norway, set on the Gaupnefjorden where it branches off the Lustrafjorden.

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29 more Lakes destinations