Northern countries Cruise - from Southampton - 132722

Southampton is the largest port in Great Britain. It is from here that the Mayflower set sail for the New World, as commemorated by the Mayflower Memorial. The town's landmark is the 'Bargate', a city gate built by the Normans. Southampton is also known as the entertainment capital on the South coast. Cinemas, theatres, museums, bars and pubs, art galleries and all kinds of watersports attract thousands of visitors.

Norway's fourth-largest city grew important through herring fishing. At the beginning of the 20th century it was also home to the largest canned foods industry in the world. Today, Norway's oil capital is characterised by a mixture of Nordic rustic charm and a cosmopolitan atmosphere, which visitors can experience during a visit to the fish market in particular. Since the city has been spared any fires, entire districts with the original old wooden houses have been preserved. Almost 200 of these restored white wooden buildings in narrow steep cobbled streets with gas laterns in the Gamle Stavanger area are a reminder of the time of the city's founding. Sights include: Canning Industry Museum, the Maritime Museum, Utstein monastery, Lysefjord, Romanesque-gothic cathedral.

Bergen is one of the most charming cities in Norway, not least due to its unique setting between seven hills. With a population of 218,000 it is the second-largest city in the country and the capital of "Fylke Hordaland". The town of Bergen was granted the city charter in 1070 by Bishop Olav Kyrre. Not that long after, in 1217, King Hakon IV. declared the town to the Norwegian seat of government. Today, the oldest and most famous wooden houses of the city are at the "Bryggen", the former dock of the Hanseatic League. These unique buildings were among four properties in Norway to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Sights include: the Hanseatic museum, the Bryggen Museum, Bergenshus fort, St. Mary's Church and the Leprosy Museum, and the aquarium.

The Norwegian harbour town of Alta lies in the beautiful countryside at the mouth of the "Altaelv", one of the best salmon rivers in the world. The town was once a small market place visited twice a year by the shamans; today it has a population of 16,000 and is an important economic and administrative centre for the western Finnmark. Sights include: the main attraction is "Hjemmeluft", the huge area covered with rock carvings, which was discovered in 1973 and can be accessed via the "Alta-Museum" in the southern part of Bossekop.

The port of Ålesund, which stretches across three islands, was reconstructed after the great fire of 1904 with Art Nouveau architecture. The best view of the city and the skerries before the coast is to be had from the observation hill "Aksla", which can be reached on foot via 418 steps or - the more comfortable option - by car. The panorama restaurant "Fjellstua" is located here. The Ålesund Museum provides an insight into the city's history. At Atlanterhavs Park, visitors can marvel at the creatures that inhabit the Atlantic in a huge sea water aquarium. Around 4 km to the east of the city centre is the Sunnmøre Museum which has various sections. The Medieval Museum gives an idea of what daily life was like at that time and there is also an outdoor museum and a maritime exhibition with old fishing boots and reconstructed Viking ships. The popular trip to the bird island "Runde", to the South-West of Ålesund, provides a very special natural phenomenon.

Southampton is the largest port in Great Britain. It is from here that the Mayflower set sail for the New World, as commemorated by the Mayflower Memorial. The town's landmark is the 'Bargate', a city gate built by the Normans. Southampton is also known as the entertainment capital on the South coast. Cinemas, theatres, museums, bars and pubs, art galleries and all kinds of watersports attract thousands of visitors.