The gateway to the wonderful Lofoten archipelago is the town of Bodø, the end of the train line north.
It’s usually cheaper and easier to fly as the train is a 17 hour overnight journey from Oslo. The town is so compact that you can easily walk from the airport to the train station.
On my two trips to the awesome Lofoten hikes, I’ve spent quite a few days in Bodø — supposedly in transit.
It’s worth wandering the streets of Bodø.

ALSO — there is some hiking available walking from the centre of town.
I went first to Bestefarvarden. An interesting scramble among rocky cliffs overlooking the sea.
The “hike” starts close to this beach, well above the Arctic Circle.

I left a Summit Stone there.

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.
From there, I walked through an industrial zone to reach the city fortress (redoubt). Small, but interesting. With good views over to Bodø centre.

In addition, many tourists visit Saltstraumen, a small strait with one of the strongest tidal currents in the world.
There’s more to Bodø than only a transit point.
