Norwegian Farms Offer Rural Luxury

Well-being, space, local food and peaceful surroundings is something many travellers have been craving for a long time now.

All over Norway you can now find farms and manor houses rich in traditions and history, now turned into fashionable and personalized accommodations. Buildings full of soul and deep, historic roots meet modern comfort and beautiful design – and opportunities to pamper oneself.

Travellers can find local food that comes straight from the farm or nearby waters, produced and prepared with loving hands. You can share a meal which it will take a long time to forget.

Some of the farms even offer concerts and local plays with connection to the area’s culture and history. Some have created informative museums, while others make use of the surrounding nature and organize activities such as kayaking, climbing, hiking, biking and skiing in winter. Several farms sell home-made products and also give exciting introductions to traditional regional food and drinking culture.

Here is a sample of some of the more special farms and manor houses in Norway. Remember that “gård” in Norwegian means farm.

Boen Gård, Kristiansand
Boen Gård in Southern Norway oozes of noble luxury and rural atmosphere. The farm consists of 18 large and bright rooms and common rooms elegantly furnished with fireplaces, art and furniture from the time the farm was built. The kitchen is ecological and 80% self-sufficient with fruits and vegetables from the garden. Surrounding the farm is an elaborate park where sheep and lambs roam freely.

The forest around the farm invites to great hiking and fishing activities, and just 20 minutes away the city of Kristiansand offers museums, attractions, art, bars and nightlife.

Engø Gård Hotell & Restaurant, Tjøme
Engø Gård is the perfect place for a peaceful time-out in harmonious surroundings. Visitors can enjoy delicious food along with great wines, elegant rooms, afternoon teas and maybe one of Norway’s best bathhouses.

At Engø visitors can stroll along the beach, join a lobster safari or have a set of tennis at the farm’s private court. Nearby lays Verdens Ende (“the End of the World”), part of Færder National Park, with its iconic lighthouse and with opportunities for swimming, fishing and hiking.

Herangtunet Boutique Hotel
On a hill in the middle of a forest, located between Fagernes and Beitostølen in Valdres, travellers will find Herangtunet Boutique Hotel, where traditional turf roofs, store houses and barns meet modern design and exclusive vintage furniture.

The hotel offers five rooms and four suites, all decorated in a modern style. With various countries and cities as a theme, it’s almost like entering another part of the world. Exquisite food and adventures such as dogsledding, canoeing and rafting make for an unforgettable stay.
Herangtunet Boutique design hotel

Hoel Gård
Hoel Gård is situated by Norway’s largest lake, Mjøsa. The farm has a history dating back to the Middle Ages and at the farm museum and the bar “Anden Etage” (Second Floor), the hosts frequently organize house concerts and aquavit and wine courses. The farm focuses on sustainable food and produces most of what is being served in the restaurant.

Hoel Gård is also a stop for Skibladner – “the Swan of Mjøsa”, the world’s oldest paddle steamer in continuous operation since 1856. Skibladner is one of Norway’s most popular attractions.

Valbjør Gård, Vågå
Travellers will find Valbjør Gard in a beautiful cultural landscape, 700 metres above sea level. The farm can trace its roots back to the Viking era and the protected farm yard has 13 timber buildings dating as far back as the 16th century. The hosts run an ecological farm and produce goat milk and sheep meat. At their farm shop visitors can buy goat brie, goat sausages and local handicrafts.

Valbjør Gard is the perfect place for exploring Jotunheimen (“Home of the Giants”) National Park, on foot, on bikes or horseback.

Sygard Grytting
Sygard Gryttng is situated in the middle of Gudbrandsdalen valley and is still a farm fully in operation. The farm has received travellers throughout more than 700 years, and today offers 12 individually designed rooms and local food in historic settings.

Sygard Grytting was a Middle Ages hostel dating back to the 13th century and a natural stop-over for pilgrims from all over Europe and Norway, on their way to Trondheim along the Gudbrandsdalsleden, part of the St. Olav Ways. The farm has been run by the same family for 16 generations.

29/2 Aurland
29/2 Aurland is a modern boutique hotel situated between fjord and mountains, a few minutes away from Flåm, innermost in the Sognefjord. Here past salmon lord history and peasant romanticism go hand in hand with trendy, innovative architecture and street art in the farm yard.

The hotel has eight uniquely designed rooms, such as “Geitefjøset” (the Goat Barn) and “Fiskehuset” (the Fishing House). Visitors can enjoy locally produced goat salami, farm bread and freshly pressed raspberry juice, and of course a multitude of activities in the fjord landscape.
29|2 Aurland

Kvitnes Gård
After working at several of Norway’s best restaurants, master chef Halvar Ellingsen moved to Vesterålen in Northern Norway to open a gourmet restaurant at the farm Kvitnes Gard. Kvitnes opened in 2020 and Halvar creates heavenly meals to visitors and locals from ingredients produced at the farm, in warm and welcoming surroundings.
Kvitnes also offers 15 rooms, each uniquely designed, with no TVs. Who needs a TV when you have got fantastic views to the mountains and sea?

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Visit Norway is Norway’s official tourism board.

Norway is the place to experience the magical northern lights and the midnight sun above the Arctic Circle or world-famous fjords surrounded by spectacular mountains and glaciers. In the midst of stunning scenery, travellers can enjoy local food and culture in vibrant cities like Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger and Tromsø.

For best advice on Norway, click on www.visitnorway.com.

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