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Travel in Ibsen’s footsteps, and experience the same small villages, the local food and drinks, and the majestic nature that inspired Ibsen’s Peer Gynt.
About the travel
Henrik Ibsen travelled through Norway in 1862, searching for inspiration to write through collecting myths and folktales from the Norwegian people. This journey was the inspirational source for several of his most known pieces. It was in the Gudbrandsdalen valley that he found the inspiration for the world famous “Peer Gynt”, through nature, culture and local folktale.
Follow Ibsen’s footsteps on this suggested route with your own vehicle or by public transport. Even though you can travel this journey by public transport it is recommended that you drive your own vehicle, as it makes you more flexible and time efficient. Take note that this journey can only be done during the summer season, due to mountain passages that close during winter season.
The journey also includes the most authentic version of the well-renowned Norwegian theatre play "Peer Gynt" at Gålå. You can experience the theatre when you accommodate in Lillehammer or the Gudbrandsdalen valley, or on your way back from the round-trip in Norway.
Experience Norwegian lake, Norwegian valley, Norwegian mountains, Norwegian fjords and Norwegian coats at the same time you can feel the same inspiration Henrik Ibsen found on his way for over 150 years ago.
Ibsen’s home in Oslo
Start you trip in Oslo and visit Ibsen’s home. Here he lived the last 11 years of his life and wrote his last two plays. His apartment is now restored to its original splendor with authentic interior and Ibsen’s furniture. The museum’s visitor center features an exhibit on Ibsen’s life and writing. The Ibsen Museum is located in Henrik Ibsen’s gate 26 in Oslo, next to the Royal Castle. (The museum reopens in 2021, in the mean time you can follow the guided tour "in Ibsens footsteps")
On your way north to Lillehammer, plan for a trip with the world´s oldest paddle steamer, Skibladner. Either drive to Moelv and take Skibladner to Lillehammer and back to Moelv to pick up your car, or drive to Lillehammer and take Skibladner to Hamar, and catch a train back to Lillehammer.
Suggested itinerary Oslo - Lillehammer
With car: Drive to Moelv. Take the paddlesteamer Skibladner to Lillehammer and back. Drive to Lillehammer.
With public transportation: Train to Lillehammer, take the paddlesteamer Skibladner from Lillehammer to Hamar. Train back to Lillehammer.
Accommodation in Lillehammer
Lillehammer
Start the day by visiting the Lillehammer Art Museum, which can boast an art collection of nearly 1,500 works of art, dating from the 18th century up to today. Experience a journey of art depicting, among other things, national romantic period, expressionist and the new romantic eras.
Read more: Great Norwegian artists & painters
You can also pay a visit to Maihaugen and enjoy what Ibsen saw on his inspirational journeys through Gudbrandsdalen in 1862. Be a part of the Peer Gynt guided tour at Maihaugen, which is one of the biggest outdoor museums in Europe. Here you can see the Peer Gynt loft where the historical Peer Gynt once lived. Guides and actors take you back to the 18th century where you can see both the buildings and cultures that inspired Ibsen.
Suggested itinerary Lillehammer
Breakfast at the hotel
Visit Maihaugen Outdoor Museum
Visit Lillehammer Art Museum
Suggested restaurant for dinner: Hvelvet Restaurant, at Bryggerikjelleren
Peer Gynt’s kingdom | Gudbrandsdalen
Now the journey progresses further into Gudbrandsdalen valley and on into Peer Gynt’s territory. After a 45 minute drive from Lillehammer you arrive Ringebu Stavkirke (built in ca. 1220), one of 28 surviving stave churches and is one of the largest.
Continuing north in the valley of Gudbrandsdalen you arrive Sygard Grytting farm in about 20 minutes. Built in the Middle Ages, Sygard Grytting is a dignified farmhouse hotel with a 700 year history. It is one of Norway’s most beautiful and best preserved farmhouse hotels which could have been taken out of a Norwegian fairytale.
At Sygard Grytting you can overnight in one of the majestic buildings dating from 1650-1860 and also enjoy a good traditional Norwegian meal cooked with fresh commodities from their own vegetable garden and fruit orchards. You can also take a guided tour around the dignified hotel and its gardens.
Peer Gynt by Gålåvatnet is a theatre performance staged annually as part of the Peer Gynt Festival held in late July / early August. Beside a lake and between a forest and steep mountain in Gudbrandsdalen you can experience Norway’s most well-known traditional folklore fairytales in a spectacular outdoor theatre setting. The dramatic poem “Peer Gynt” is played worldwide, but it was here that Ibsen found his inspiration. The outdoor theatre is also well suited for international guests, via English and German introductions, summary leaflets and audio guides. Sygard Grytting offer transportation to the event.
Suggested itinerary Peer Gynt's kingdom | Gudbrandsdalen
Visit: Ringebu Stave church
Visit: Peer Gynt at Gålå
Visit and stay the night at Sygard Grytting
Gudbrandsdalen valley and Lom
After a day or more in Peer Gynt’s territory the journey goes on towards Songnefjellet. According to Ibsen’s notes he experienced the Gudbrandsdal way of life, which included fiddle playing, dancing and homemade liquor drinking in Lom, which we often see in several of the scenes in Peer Gynt.
On the way to Lom, you can visit Vågå Stave Church and Lom Stave Church. In Lom it is also possible to visit the “Bygdemuseet” building museum, where you will find 22 timber built houses from the 16th - 17th and 18th century. Houses that have seen and heard everything! The houses have been transported from farms and villages in Lom, Skjåk and Vågå. We reccommend to stay at Røysheim Hotel before travelling over the mountain towards the fjords and the coast.
Suggested itinerary Sør-Fron - Lom
Vågå Stave church
Lom Stave church
“Smak i Lom”
Bygdemuseet
Accommodation: Røysheim Hotel
Norwegian mountain - Sognefjellet
Ibsen walked over the mountain “Sognefjellet”. However, by car you can drive past green meadows in Bøverdalen on your way to the majestic mountains. The road winds its way up to the summit, which is 1434 metres above sea level which makes this the highest mountain pass in Northern Europe. Along the way there are view-points where you can stop and appreciate nature and the mountain air. The same air that Ibsen must have inhaled on his journey over the mountain.
On your journey to and through the Norwegian fjords you will be able to do all sorts of activities. Find out what to see and do in the Sognefjord area. On this trip we recommend to stop and stay in Lærdal a day or two. Lærdal is a historical city, where fishermen have been welcomed since the middle of the 1850s, and has many buildings from this time. Lærdal also has one of the best-preserved stave churches in Norway.
Suggested itinerary Lom - Lærdal via Sognefjellet
Sognefjellet
Lærdal
Accommodation: Eggum Gard
Norwegian fjords
To continue your travel, go back to Sognefjord and travel past Leikanger, take a ferry over to Balestrand, continue to Hoyanger and then up to Førde. On this road you will see some of the best views in Norway, with steep mountains and deep fjords. The view is breathtaking. One of the small villages that Ibsen liked well on his journey was Hellesylt. Today you can visit the Peer Gynt gallery there, an exhibition by the artist Oddvin Parr, which consists of large wooden carvings inspired from Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, which cannot be found elsewhere. In the gallery you can also find video guiding, by Dennis Storhøi, who played the role of Peer Gynt at Gålåvatnet from 2008 - 2013.
In Hellesylt you can stay at Villa Norangdal that was built in 1885, to accommodate tourists who came to explore the mountains. In 2003-2007 Villa Norangdal had a total “make over” and was re-opened as a Boutique Hotel focused on design history.
Suggested itinerary Lærdal - Hellesylt
Lærdal
Peer Gynt Gallery
Hellesylt
Accommodation in Hellesylt: Villa Norangdal
Hurtigruten, Ålesund - Bergen
Continue your travel to Ålesund, and return to Bergen with Hurtigruta to explore the scenic coast of Western Norway. In Bergen we recommend you to visit Troldhaugen, Edvard Grieg’s home. Grieg is the composer of the Peer Gynt suite.
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