The Fjords and Waterfalls - 14 nights, May 2013

The United Kingdom's premier passenger ship port, Southampton was home to the great transatlantic liners of yesteryear. The port serves as your gateway to Southern England’s magnificent historic sites, national landmarks, charming villages as well as the great metropolis of London. Southampton is the ideal starting or ending point for a memorable voyage.

Stavanger is blessed with history and natural beauty. From the old port, the city radiates across a network of islands interlaced with graceful bridges. Stavanger's Romanesque cathedral and old medieval lanes blend beautifully with the modern city and spectacular countryside. Journey back in time on a tour of Utstein Cloister, a beautifully preserved Augustin Monastery from the Middle Ages.

Calling all train lovers! Tiny Flam is renowned for the 20km stretch of railway that winds and climbs alongside spectacular Sognefjord. It’s an unforgettable perspective on Europe’s longest fjord as the steepest line in the world spirals its way through twisting mountains. The views are simply spellbinding.

You'll have Kaiser Wilhem II to thank for this city. After all, when it was destroyed by fire in 1904, he decided to rebuild his beloved gateway in Art Nouveau style. Now its buildings dazzle with dreamy turrets and ornate carvings of dragons and mythical figures. Nature has played its part too, as calm waters and distant snow-capped peaks add to the charm.

Explore regal pomp and ceremony, Norwegian style. The wooden ‘Stiftsagarden’ is the city’s official royal residence and under Nidaros Cathedral’s gleaming spire, monarchs are crowned to this very day. Noted for its timbered architecture, Trondheim retains much of its medieval past.

Touch shore deep within the Arctic Circle, closer to the North Pole than Oslo. Venture out to the isolated Stappen Islands, teeming with kittiwakes, puffins and cormorants. Then stand on the continent’s edge, the North Cape Plateau. Beneath the summer sun, reindeer roam freely on the hulking granite cliff, rising from icy seas and topped with a photogenic globe sculpture.

Nearly 250 miles inside the Arctic Circle, clues as to your location are everywhere. Bars stock Arctic Beer and the Arctic Cathedral resembles a geometric glacier. So too the Polaria Arctic Centre, whose exhibits recreate a polar bear den and Arctic snowstorm. You may also spot these landmarks from the cable cars that climb Mount Storsteinen and afford spellbinding views.

Near this idyllic town, gaze up at the ‘Troll Wall’, whose immense grassy cliffs form the highest vertical mountain face in Europe. Or make an ascent of the ‘Troll Ladder’, a road whose hairpin bends zig-zag up a steep mountainside and reveal spectacular valley views close to the thundering Stigfossen Waterfall.

Unlock this fascinating ‘Gateway to the Fjords’, Norway’s second-largest city, Bergen is home to over 200,000 people. Maritime trade and oil industry are still vital to the city’s economy. Visit medieval wooden houses on the waterfront and peek inside the workshops of local painters, weavers and craftsmen where works of art – some better than others – await discovery.

The United Kingdom's premier passenger ship port, Southampton was home to the great transatlantic liners of yesteryear. The port serves as your gateway to Southern England’s magnificent historic sites, national landmarks, charming villages as well as the great metropolis of London. Southampton is the ideal starting or ending point for a memorable voyage.