Discover Bø in Vesterålen

Bø in Vesterålen offers different perspectives on the coast, art and stories. Nearby, literary themes at Bø Museum meet sculptures by the sea and traces of the fishing industry. Beaches and historic sites in the wider destination of Bø also offer inspiration for planning a holiday. If you are looking for a holiday rental, you can start by considering whether culture and art or coastal landscapes and beaches will shape your excursions more.

Museum and maritime art

Nearby, Bø Museum is located at Vinjesjøen. At Parkvoll, the former residence of the local governor, the museum gives special attention to Regine Normann. Normann is known for her fairy tales and novels. Children can visit the fairy-tale forest at the museum and see a fishing cottage and a boathouse. Literature, imaginary worlds and historic buildings sit side by side here, offering concrete points of interest for different members of the family.

Art nearby also tells stories about a range of subjects. In Vinjesjøen stands “Mannen fra havet”, a 4.5-metre-tall sculpture by Kjell Erik Killi Olsen and Bø’s contribution to the Skulpturlandskap Nordland art project. In Vinje is “Rodd Fiske”, a seven-metre-long sculpture in Corten steel by Christin Løkke. It tells the story of Løkke’s Sámi grandfather from the coastal region, whose boat was rammed and sunk in the harbour at Skjervøy in 1954. A contribution to an art project and a sculpture based on a specific family story offer two different ways to engage with art.

“Ræk III”, an installation by sculptor Harald Oredam made from driftwood and a basalt column from Iceland, stands on Buholmen in Hovden. Also in Hovden, the original stone pier from 1899 is still visible. It is considered evidence of local craftsmanship and coastal culture. Together, these works broaden the view from individual sculptures to the materials and traces of coastal history.

Beaches and coastal landscapes

Two beach measurements in the municipality make for a useful comparison. Svinøyvalen is 1,870 metres long and so shallow that you can wade across to Svinøya. Fjærvollstranda is 800 metres long and is the second-longest beach in Bø municipality. This makes Svinøyvalen more than twice as long; the possibility of wading across to Svinøya is an additional, distinctive feature of the coast.

The wider destination of Bø offers landscapes ranging from open sea coast and sheltered skerries to white-sand beaches, alpine peaks, bird cliffs and wetlands. The coastline is 294 kilometres long and deeply indented by fjords; steep, rugged mountains are a defining feature, particularly in the northwest and east. Nyke/Tussen Nature Reserve protects one of the largest and most geomorphologically well-developed boulder beaches in Nordland. It includes a continuous boulder beach stretching 3.5 kilometres.

The hiking trail from Nykvåg to Sandviksanden offers another perspective on the coast. It follows the shoreline and provides views of the six distinctive bird cliffs around Nykvåg. The shoreline and cliffs are the thread running through this route. When planning your trip, you can therefore choose between an excursion focused on coastal scenery and visits centred on art or cultural history.

Cultural history in the wider destination of Bø

Bø Church was consecrated in 1824 and is the sixth church at this historic church site. The church contains five late-medieval sculptures from Lübeck. At the Føre archaeological site, stone cists, burial mounds and standing stones are visible. These places offer different expressions of cultural history: church art at a historic site and visible traces of an archaeological site.

At low tide, you can walk to Svinøya. It is home to Northern Norway’s largest registered collection of Iron Age burial mounds. On Buholmen, meanwhile, fishermen specialised in “rav og rekling”: fatty strips of Greenland halibut that were dried and then smoked or salted. This is a historic fishing tradition, not a statement about food available today. The Friluftsgalleri in Vinjesjøen displays all 36 sculptures from the Skulpturlandskap Nordland project.

When looking for a holiday rental, you can use these themes to guide your search: Would you like to prioritise excursions centred on art and literature, are you more interested in beaches and coastal landscapes, or would you like to include historic sites?

Discover more destinations: Guvåg, Straumsjøen, Hovden, Bø, Steine.

Go to the wider travel overview: Bø.