Fjaerland Book Town

Fjaerland became Den Norske Bokbyen in 1995, following the model of Hay-on-Wye, and the village of around three hundred residents now holds several kilometres of shelving distributed through old buildings: a former ferry waiting room, barns, a stable, a boathouse and a converted post office, selling mostly Norwegian secondhand books with sections in English, German and other languages. Several outlets are unstaffed, with an honesty box for payment. The setting does most of the work: the village sits at the head of a green glacial fjord below the arms of Jostedalsbreen, and it was reachable only by boat until a tunnel opened in 1986. The Norwegian Glacier Museum is at the village edge.

What you actually see

• The book buildings - barns, boathouses and sheds converted to shelving.
• The honesty boxes - unstaffed outlets where buyers pay themselves.
• The fjord setting - green glacial water below the Jostedalsbreen arms.
• The Glacier Museum - an exhibition on ice and climate at the village edge.

When to go

May to September, when the shops open, roughly from late spring to early autumn; outside that season almost everything is shut. The summer boat from Balestrand is the pleasant way to arrive.

Honest expectations

Most stock is in Norwegian, so English-language browsing is limited to a few sections. The shops are seasonal and some are unstaffed with irregular hours. The village is tiny with limited food and accommodation.

Nearby

Boyabreen and Supphellebreen glaciers are up the valley; Balestrand lies across the Sognefjord.