Experience Sortland

When looking for a hotel for a trip to Sortland, it helps to first decide what you want to focus on during your stay: would you like to centre it on the museum and visual art, cultural offerings or trails? Sortland offers specific points of interest for each of these interests, which are easy to distinguish from one another.

Art and the blue townscape

The Vesterål model is on display at the Sortland Museum, which also has a museum shop. Galleri Ariblå, Kulturfabrikken’s visual art exhibition venue in Sortland, offers a different way to engage with visual art. The townscape is also distinctive: several buildings are painted in shades of blue and adorned with poems. This is why Sortland is known as “the blue town by the sound.” The museum, gallery and poetically decorated façades each offer a different focus, giving art and culture enthusiasts several specific points of interest for their trip.

Kulturfabrikken, cinema and café

Kulturfabrikken in Sortland houses concert halls and a library. Sortland kino is also part of Kulturfabrikken. Its aim is to show a broad and varied film programme for all sections of the population. The Kulturkaféen often hosts cultural performances on Fridays at 12 noon, accompanied by coffee, freshly baked waffles, warm yeast pastries and cakes. If you are planning your visit specifically around a performance, check the event dates for your travel day.

Trails and excursion areas in town

Some of the town’s most important and most frequently used excursion areas are Sortlandsmarka, Selnesstien, the floodlit ski trail, and the trails leading up to Steiroheia and Bøblåheia. Selnesstien is accessible and adapted for people with disabilities. The options therefore range from an appropriately designed trail to routes with the named mountain destinations and a floodlit ski trail. The different names help you distinguish between the excursion areas when planning your time in Sortland.

More options in the wider Sortland destination

The wider Sortland destination offers additional activities and trails. Ånstadblåheia Alpine Centre is approved for junior and senior slalom, as well as junior giant slalom, and has its own children’s slope. The wider destination also offers opportunities for kayaking, mountaineering and fishing. Its cultural trails include the Jennestad–Holmstaddalen Cultural Trail, the Sami Cultural Trail in Holmstaddalen, and the Selneselva Nature and Cultural Trail. Their names alone distinguish their focuses: culture, Sami culture, and nature and culture.

Akvakultur i Vesterålen is located in the small village of Blokken in Sortland municipality. The provider offers a guided exhibition tour, a RIB trip to a fish farm, and a tasting of smoked salmon from its own production. Vesterålen Adventures offers various boat tours year-round, including trips to the Trollfjord. The offerings differ in focus: Akvakultur i Vesterålen combines an exhibition, a trip to a fish farm and a tasting, while Vesterålen Adventures focuses on various boat tours.

Getting to Sortland

Buses run daily to Sortland, the largest town in Vesterålen, from larger cities in Northern Norway. The Norwegian coastal voyage Hurtigruten also calls at Sortland daily. If you want to coordinate your arrival with other travel plans, check the timetables for your chosen travel day. These connections provide a practical starting point for planning your journey, while the cultural and excursion offerings provide different focuses for your stay.

Discover more destinations: Godfjord, Vesterålen, Sigerfjord.

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