Bodø is a coastal town in northern Norway on the outer part of the Bodø peninsula a little north of the Arctic Circle and has 42,102 inhabitants (2020).

Bodø is a modern city nestled between jagged peaks and in winter you can see the beautiful northern lights above the Vestfjord because Bodø is located just north of the Arctic Circle. It has a mild coastal climate because of the Gulf Stream.
 

The history of Bodø

Bodø is Northern Norway's second-largest after Tromsø and is a quite young town.  It was established as a trading town in connection with the cod fishery at Lofoten, but it was not large herring catches until the end of the 19th century. Also, the production in the Sulitjelma mines and the first coastal steamer service to other Norwegian cities gave the town prosperity.

In May 1940, Bodø was subjected to a German terrorist bombing, like many other towns in Norway, which destroyed most of it.
 

What to see and do 

A half-hour's walk out of the city centre you can visit the old stone church dating back to the 13th century. It has a baroque interior from the 17th and 18th centuries.

As a top attraction in Bodø, we can recommend the home to the Norwegian Aviation Museum. Here you can see Spitfires, a U2 spy plane and a flight simulator and an old traffic control tower.

The Norland museum is a 14 old building beside the fjord, and here is a beautiful hiking area where you can have a perfect walk along the fjord and after your walk, you can enjoy a cup of coffee in a cafe in the Nordland Cultural Centre.

Nearby Bodø you can drive to Saltstraumen where the combination of powerful currents and a narrow twice a day creates a vast rush of water and violent "kettles" or whirlpools and is the most powerful maelstrom in the Nordic countries with 370 million cubic metres of water through the sound.

Saltstraumen is a joy to seabirds and anglers.

Discover the midnight sun and the Northern lights

The midnight sun can be seen from 2 June to 10 Juli and is one of the unique experiences in the Nordic countries in the Arctic region.

See where to see the Northern Lights 

Food and drink in Bodø

If you wish to try local food you have to taste Møsbrøm flatbread, the king of flatbreads. If you wish to go to bars - there are 2 great bars at the top of two hotels. 

 
How to get to Bodø

Bodø is one of the country's major airport hubs, with frequent departures to Oslo and southern Norway and also regional flights to destinations all over Northern Norway.

Bodø is also the final station on the Norwegian rail network and Bodo is, therefore, a staging post for summer visitors as it is the end of the Nordland railway line, and here the backpackers continue north to by bus and coastal express or take a ferry over to the Lofoten Islands.