Last year my Mum and I spent Christmas in the stunningly beautiful town of Flåm Norway. It was an exceptionally beautiful time of year to visit and felt like walking through a snow globe. I have plenty of tips to share so I am pouring them all into this guide.
The Flåmsbana
The most common way to arrive into Flåm is via the Flåmsbana, a 1 hour train ride that takes you slowly down the valley and into Flåm. You can also drive to Flåm or even get a ferry from Bergen.
The Flåmsbana connects with trains from Oslo and Bergen via Myrdal station. The word station gives the illusion that you might be running from platform to platform to make your Flåm connection. In reality, Myrdal station is just one platform with two train tracks. You will get off the train on one side and hop onto the Flåmsbana on the other side. No need to panic that you will miss your connection!
You need to book your train to Myrdal station (generally from Oslo or Bergen) and tee it up with your Flåmsbana train tickets. The VY website can help you book both at once to tee up timings. As long as the trains are on time, shorter transfer times shouldn’t worry you.
In summer and in some seasons, you will probably be jostling for a prime seat on the Flåmsbana. We were lucky that it wasn’t excessively busy on Christmas day so we got a seat easily.
The Flåmsbana train is a sightseeing train as opposed to a convenience and comfort train. Don’t expect toilets or a coffee shop. If your connection is long enough, there are both of these facilities at Myrdal station. The train from Oslo and on to Bergen have these facilities too, so I’d recommend using them before you board the Flåmsbana.
The station in Flåm is right in the centre of town. Unless you are staying in a remote cabin or further around (like in Aurland) you should be able to walk to your destination.
My recommendation for the Flåmsbana
My recommendation is to sit on the side opposite the train doors. Although both sides had spectacular views and the train door side was view heavy at first, I found the view of Flåm valley and church to be the highlight. This is best viewed from the seats opposite the doors, both on the way down and on the way back. Other people say that the right side is best, but this is my hot take. Keep in mind you can sit on the other side for the return journey, so don’t stress too much.
Train from Oslo to Myrdal
The train from Oslo to Myrdal has toilets and a cafe. The coffee is not great but they have warm snacks and had freshly baked cinnamon rolls when we were on board.
The train takes about 4 1/2 – 5 hours. In winter, I highly recommend getting an early train as the sunlight hours go by so quickly. You want to be on the Flåmsbana during daylight hours so work backwards from here. I recommend Googling the daylight hours for the time you intend to visit.
We booked the cheapest economy fares and didn’t get offered a seat selection. Luckily we ended up with one seat on each side and nobody on the seats next to us, so we got the best of both worlds. I recommend the left side for the Oslo to Myrdal journey. There was so much magical scenery and the right side, although lovely in many parts, had more retaining wall.
If you can swing it, I recommend paying extra to select your seats (particularly in peak seasons). This means booking a more expensive ticket than the economy saver.
Christmas in Flåm
We spent Christmas eve and Christmas day in Flåm before taking the train to Bergen on Boxing Day. It’s worth noting that Norwegian Christmas day is on the 24th rather than the 25th of December. Things in Oslo started closing on the 22nd or 23rd of December. Many places weren’t open right up until New Year and a little after that, so make sure you factor that in.
We stayed at the Fretheim Hotel in Flåm because most other places were closed. In fact, the only restaurant that was open over the festive period (aside from the Fretheim hotel restaurant) was the Flåm Bakery. Even the supermarket was closed!
Luckily for me, the Flåm Bakery had great coffee, gluten free pizza bases (they also serve pizza) gluten free packaged goodies and wine. It is such a handy little bakery located right in the centre of town (they have wine, too!).
Despite most hospitality venues being closed, Flåm was busy. Not jam packed, but the hotel was full and the activities were pumping. All of the activities in Flåm (the sightseeing boat, Stegastein trip, sauna, rib boats, etc) were all open over the Christmas period.
The Fretheim hotel was only offering a Christmas buffet when we visited, which was fine but very expensive. If that’s not your thing, you will need to plan ahead. As I mentioned the supermarket was closed and most other things were closed. The bakery had pizza and wine but closed quite early so you have to get in on time.
If you have a number of specialty dietaries, I’d recommend bringing some safe snacks for this period. Your options will be much more limited than times outside the festive period. The bakery had gluten free options as discussed, but I can’t speak to other dietaries.
Booking activities in Flåm
When I was researching Flåm and what to do, I read a lot of negative reviews about the booking service Norway’s Best. As such, I decided to leave it and book activities when we got into town and decided what we wanted to do.
I can’t speak for all hotels but in the lobby of the Fretheim, the only way to book activities was via a Norway’s Best kiosk. There is also booking centre in the building that houses the Bakery run by (you guessed it) Norway’s Best, you are dealing with the company any way you look at it. I actually realised that Flåm Bakery is also part of Norway’s Best when I was writing this article!
With that in mind, I would recommend booking your activities in advance. A lot of things were booked out by the time we came to decide which was a shame.
I will say that the Norway’s Best website is a good place to start when choosing which activities you want to do in Flam. I’d also recommend looking up some hikes if you are a hiker and visiting in the right season for it.
The Flåm floating sauna and the rib boat Fjord safari have their own websites and don’t need to be booked through Norway’s Best. There is also a car hire company in Flåm that I would definitely use if I went again. It would be amazing to drive around the fjord and into neighbouring towns – I was just a bit nervous about driving in snow and we had limited time.
So, although we didn’t do all of the activities, I do have recommendations below.
Activity recommendations
- Flåm floating Sauna. We didn’t do this and I really regret it because Flåm would have been my preferred sauna spot out of everywhere we visited. The views are insane, it’s quiet and peaceful and the sauna is in a gorgeous spot. You can book ahead and you can book a private sauna too. Make sure you book Flåm and not Aurland.
- Stegastein viewpoint. This was a gorgeous little trip where the drive there was as scenic as the viewpoint. It was great to be able to see more of the valley by road without a car, as you drive through the neighbouring town of Aurland. It was only a couple of hours from memory but a great little activity.
- Walking to Flåm church. We walked to Flåm church on Christmas day in the afternoon and it was the most magical walk ever. We were lucky that there was some snow coverage and it was the most gorgeous walk. We didn’t realise there was a Christmas service on earlier in the day because internet resources said there wouldn’t be. I recommend checking directly with the church or with your hotel before you arrive if you’d like to go. I am not religious but the church is so cute and worth a visit. We got lucky enough to come across a caretaker who offered to show us inside.
- If not the church, choose a hike or walk. There is so much stunning scenery and on foot was such an immersive way to see it.
Where to eat and drink in Flåm
This depends entirely on when you will be in Flåm. We were there over Christmas and many things were closed, including most hotels. So, from experience I can only recommend Flåm Bakery! However, there were plenty of places on my list.
I will say that Flåm is very walkable and you’re not likely to miss any of the restaurants in town. I did really want to go to Aegir brewpub, Coffee and Eats (the Combi van style food truck) and The Fjord Farm but they were all closed over Christmas.
Restaurant Arven at the Fretheim seems to be highly rated. They were only offering buffet options when we visited and for two primarily vegetarians, it wasn’t amazing value and the food was just fine. I’d be intrigued to see if the a la carte offering was nice but it wasn’t available during our stay so I can’t say with any confidence.
At the end of the day, you’re not in Flåm for the food. With that said, there are a surprising amount of options and you won’t be go hungry while you’re there.
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