Trondheim and the Famous Atlantic Road
Norway’s Atlantic Road (Atlanterhavsvegen) has become world-famous, ever since been hailed the “world’s best road trip” in 2006 by a British Newspaper. It has also been awarded “Norwegian Construction of the Century” in 2005. The road has become a popular place for the car industry to film sports car advertisements and it has also starred on an episode of the popular British TV series “Top Gear”.
Recent rumors of a James Bond movie being filmed here with a high-speed car chase along this unique stretch of coastal road will no doubt further contribute to its stardom status.
A much less desirable accolade (in my opinion ) is as one of the world’s most dangerous roads. The notoriety gained because of it’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and reports of vehicles struggling to negotiate waves crashing down over the road and battling strong winds when weather conditions are less than ideal. During its six years period of construction, it was reported that workers had to battle no less than 12 hurricane-force winds. Fortunately for us, we had flat calm seas during our visit.
Ever since deciding on our Norway travel itinerary by motorhome, driving the Atlantic Ocean Road has always been in our plans (although maybe a fast sports car or motorbike would have been more appropriate) and with so much hype to live up to, we were eager to find out for ourselves what the fuss was all about.
Opened in 1989, at a construction cost of 122 million NOK, the Atlantic Road connects the island of Averøy with the mainland via a series of architecturally interesting bridges. There are altogether eight bridges connecting the small islands spanning over the 8.3 km road.
Photo credit: Visit Norway
There are four resting places and viewpoints along the way, with the Eldhusøya being the largest rest area. Located on a scenic spot at the ocean’s edge with an elevated hiking path that has been constructed of metal latticework secured on poles, it gives a feeling of floating over the land near the water’s edge. There is an Information Centre here with WC facilities and a car park.
Elevated hiking path that has been constructed of metal latticework secured on poles.
As you walk around the metal walkway, you discover this giant crab made entirely of discarded plastics found in this area. The artwork was made by local children.
We stayed parked overnight by the Storseisundet Bridge (Norwegian: Storseisundbrua), the longest of the eight bridges and also the most beautiful and most photographed.
See our motorhome parked near the Storseisundet Bridge.
Apparently this bridge is a cantilever bridge (cantilevers are structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end…the things you learn on the road!!!) It was great to stay overnight at this unique place and Brian was even able to test his fishing skills from the bridge. There is a fishing platform from the Myrbærholmen bridge making it possible for anyone to give it a go at catching their dinner. We did.
Great sunset from the fishing platform.
Cyclists and bikers love the Atlantic Road.
So what is the verdict? Was the Atlantic Road the best drive of our lives?
Although we can appreciate the ingenuity of this engineering project and how exhilarating the drive must be, particularly during stormy weather with massive ocean waves cascading over the road and bridges…in our opinion, there are more exciting road trips in Norway than this one, however fabulous it looks in the aerial pictures. But we did enjoy it…we loved it in fact and would definitely recommend it as a must-do if you find yourself traveling/driving around this corner of the world.
Trondheim
We stopped here for one night on our way to the Atlantic Road. Having just completed the Kystriksveien Coastal Route, we stayed on the E6 going South. We forgot to have a short stop in nearby “Hell” (yes…honestly) and snap at least one picture of the “Welcome to Hell sign”. A bit of a cliché I know, but it would have been fun…anyway we carried on towards our overnight stay, an aire with motorhome services very near the center of Trondheim.
Trondheim is Norway’s third-largest city. A very photogenic place, compact and easy to explore on foot with some pedestrianized areas in the heart of the city. Lovely cafes, restaurants and museums.
Pedestrianized town center with lots of interesting shops.
Relaxing in the sun by the cruise terminal.
Gate into the old town with colourful wooden houses and cool cafes.
We particularly enjoyed the harbour, the colourful wooden houses of the old town and the Nidaros Cathedral. The Nidaros Domkirke (Cathedral) is the Northernmost Gothic structure in Europe. It has a beautiful façade covered in statues of biblical characters and Norwegian Kings.
Nidaros Cathedral, Scandinavia’s largest medieval building.
There are also many interesting hiking trails around this area, but unfortunately, the weather turned a bit wet on our last day and therefore we just decided that it was time to move on.
From here onwards the next parts of Central and Southern Norway things get a bit more complicated. We will need to work harder at our planning since there is still lots to see, but to string the route together without having to backtrack on ourselves will be a little bit more tricky. Norway is a very skinny country further North so everything is more or less in line, but much fatter down here and with the attractions well spread out. We are still loving the wilderness and raw nature of this country, but know that the central and Southern parts will be a little bit busier since this part is more popular and accessible to other travelers.
Having completed the Atlantic Road drive our next scenic driving route is the incredible Geiranger-Trollstigen. It should be interesting to navigate all those hairpin curves by motorhome!
Wow!! Gorgeous scenery. My hubby would love to drive this on his motorcycle.
Darlene, your husband would have a blast. This road is ideal for a motorbike trip, it gives a feel of being part of the landscape. Brian is also a biker he has recently sold his BMW and his Harley…but I think he wished he could have done this trip on one of his bikes.
It all looks so orderly,clean and serene. Hmm that Brian looks like he can always find a nice place to relax :).
Norway is very clean and orderly. A rich country with great infrastructure, sparsely populated. Wages are high, there is a very generous welfare system for all citizens, people trust their government. I could live here (in a city like Oslo) if it wasn’t so cold for most of the year…and expensive 🙂 Brian does seem to sniff out all the relaxing places…lol.
Looks like a beautiful drive, and I love that bridge. I can certainly see why it’s world famous. Seems like an ideal place to live.
Suzanne, it is a beautiful bridge. I think you would have fun photographing it 🙂
So the Atlantic Ocean trip did not live up to expectations.. Still awesome though. What a fabulous bridge!! I agree it was a shame you did not take that cheesy picture of ‘Welcome to Hell’, but we all need cheesy pictures once in a while – I am sure you would have found an original way of presenting it. Great post, you’re doing a great job selling Norway to all of us.
Lieve
Sometimes places can be over- hyped and in my opinion the Atlantic Road was one of those places. But…yes that bridge is awesome. I was very keen to go to “Hell”…but we missed out and now I can’t say “I have been to Hell and back”…Norway has exceeded our expectations. We are almost at the end of our trip and will be heading home very soon 🙂
What a photogenic bridge, Gilda! Great fun from every angle and I’d happily spend time surrounded by so much water. Trondheim looks very nice too. 🙂 🙂
Jo, it is a very photogenic bridge and it has became the icon of the Atlantic road. On this road trip you are totally surrounded by water and feel part of the coastal environment 🙂 Trondheim was lovely, but the weather was a bit of a wash out there.
You two are having too much fun, I think. Norway is on my never ending list of places I’d love to see and experience.
I’m fairly certain I would not want to drive that road and cross those bridges with waves crashing! 😉
Patti, I would not want to cross those bridges during a storm with waves crashing either…a thrill I can definitely live without. We have had a lot of fun during these last few months of travelling by motorhome, it certainly has surprised me how much I have enjoyed it. I would recommend Norway for you and Abi, I think you would both love it.
The road looks like an engineering marvel. You have seen such astounding scenery on this trip. I was sorry to hear about the loss of your phone on Facebook. Ugh. Best wishes for travel southward. I’ll be watching for updates.
Sue, this road is indeed an incredible feet of engineering. We have been super impressed with the Norwegian infrastructure of bridges and tunnels in incredible places. I have never been through so many amazing tunnels in my whole life. Yes I lost my mobile phone. I was taking a picture of a beautiful waterfall and at the same time balancing my umbrella (it was raining) with my other hand. A recipe for disaster, the phone flipped over and I saw it disappearing down the waterfall 🙁 being very honest, I cried…silly I know. All replaceable apart from the photos, which I have not been backing up, another lesson learned. Thank you for your support 🙂
Such dramatic and beautiful scenery, looks like an amazing time. Love the cathedral too, with the intricate details and architecture.
Peta
Peta, this short road trip does deliver a lot in beautiful scenery…well worth it. A true engineering success. The Nidaros Cathedral is a beauty, it was nice to visit some cultural sites in Trondheim, since this trip has been mostly about the scenery and the outdoor activities.
Wonderful scenery and looks as though you are having a fantastic time. I love the cathedral too with its intricate details and architectural design.
Peta
This is very really unique helpful information. keep it up. Thank you so much!
Martina, you are very welcome. I am glad you are finding helpful information here and thank you for visiting and commenting 🙂
I am happy to hear that you had calm seas for your trip along the Atlantic Road. Despite Brian’s driving skills, it wouldn’t be much fun in a motorhome in hurricane force winds. It’s pretty cool that he was able to catch a Norwegian seafood dinner from the fishing platform. Tondheim looks very alluring. Your vivid photos absolutely pop.
Joe, I was very relieved when the weather forecast was for very calm seas. The road is very exposed, so it would have been madness to drive it in bad weather. It was always his dream to fish in Norway and to do it there on the famous Atlantic Road was the “icing on the cake”. I enjoy cities that can be explored easily on foot, Trondheim was one of those and indeed it was a lovely place. I hope you have a great time in the Netherlands.
Beautiful! Gorgeous! Stunning! I am running out of words to describe the scenery you guys are seeing. It’s also nice to see the images now that we’re back in Rome and have real Wifi. Haha! Those Italian cities are gorgeous but sheesh..those thick walls make internet a joke! I hope James Bond does film there, I can only imagine how awesome the chase would be. Keep enjoying life on the road!
Kemkem, thank you, Norway has had us mesmerized on several occasions…truly incredible scenery. We have had few issues with poor Wifi here also, it is a bummer when that happens, but glad you are having better connections in Rome. I will be keeping an eye out for the new JB movie…they usually have at least one incredible car chase. Our life on the road is fast coming to an end, we are leaving Norway on Monday on a ferry to Denmark and a slow drive home getting there by the start of October.
That is a cool looking road. Looks like you had some good photo shooting weather.
It is a well photographed road, particularly the Storseisundet Bridge which has often been pictured often in bad weather…but I was glad to have had really good weather there for our road trip 🙂
Wow it all looks spectacular Gilda though I wouldn’t want to drive across that bridge in wild storms either! Looks so peaceful and serene on the days you were there 🙂 Trondheim looks such a pretty place – Norway is high on my wish list! 🙂
Norway should definitely be on your list, it is a stunning country. We had great weather for most of our time in Norway, only the last 2 weeks we have had more rainy days rather than sunny days. Trondheim was cute and very easy to explore on foot. Sorry you are getting messages of technical issues when commenting on my site, I hope to get it sorted soon 🙂
Yes Norway has been on the list for some time as I have a Norwegian friend from way back (we met at ante natal classes in London with our first babies)! Anyway we have kept in touch ever since even though she moved back to Norway nearly 30 years ago. She lives in a small town in the south near Kristiansand so I’d love to visit her. Her daughter’s partner is from Melbourne in Australia though they now live in Norway and our younger daughter lives in London – “global village”! I don’t think I’d want to drive like you did but some of the trains look spectacular eg Oslo to Bergen. Funnily enough I bought the Eyewitness Travel guide to Norway recently … 🙂
As a Norwegian I should probably not sing its praises, but I still think the Atlantic road is something special. I am happy you were able to enjoy it in some sunshine and despite the storm. And then I agree with you, there are certainly more spectacular road trips to be made in Norway, 🙂
Otto, being Norwegian gives you even more reason to sing its praises and rightly so. The Atlantic Road is an incredible feet of engineering, linking some beautiful islands to the mainland. We loved it, but certainly there are many other road trips that are equally or even more beautiful. Your whole country is fabulous for a road trip, we felt privileged to have been able to spend 3 months there.