Roros

Roros grew around a copper mine on a bleak high plateau, and when the mines closed the whole timber town survived, a UNESCO ensemble of tarred black wooden houses, turf roofs and a great stone church, still lived in. In the deep cold of winter, with smoke rising and snow underfoot, it becomes a genuine fairy tale.

What's there

• The wooden streets - the black-tarred timber houses and turf roofs of the mining town.
• Roros church - the great stone church that towers over the wooden town.
• The smelting works and mines - the industrial heritage that built the town, now museums.
• Winter Roros - the snow-bound town, at its most magical in the cold and dark.

When to go

Deep winter for the fairy-tale snow, smoke and cold, the town at its most atmospheric; summer for easy walking and the surrounding plateau. The winter market in February is a highlight.

Good to know

It is high, remote and can be brutally cold, minus forty has been recorded, so winter visits need serious warm clothing. It is small and quickly walked, a place to absorb rather than a list of sights. Reaching it takes real travel, by train, plane or a long drive.

Nearby

The Femundsmarka wilderness lies to the south; Trondheim is a long way north-west.