‘Cool-cations’ became a major travel trend for 2025. Global warming is turning sunlounger escapes into roasting trays, so breezier destinations are on the rise. Scandinavia tops the list: just a few hours’ flight from London, it offers some of the world’s best cities and stunning scenery.
In Norway’s chic capital, Oslo, and the pastel-hued second city, Bergen, my family and I found the summer climate to be perfect. T-shirt and shorts weather, but it was never too steamy to trek a mountain trail, stroll Bryggen’s medieval wharf, or cruise the fjords. For our three children (aged 10, eight, and five), the two cities felt like one enormous playground — not least because Norway has trains with entire carriages devoted to soft play.
Our trip began in Bergen. It happens to be the wettest city in Europe, but we were lucky to only need our hoods up for one day. We hid from the rain in two top-tier museums. First up was VilVite Science Centre, a hands-on paradise for kids.
Upside-down bike tracks, AI games and shows kept us entertained for hours. Nearby, Bergenhus’ lesser-known Technisk Museum had a mix of vintage trams, cars, and retro memorabilia lovingly curated by enthusiastic volunteers. At the print shop, our kids created Bergen posters using lithographs and bound their own books — better than any souvenir shop knickknack — and we caught an original 1950s tram back to the city centre.
In a city surrounded by peaks, it was only right to climb one. Mount Fløyen (320m) is the most family-friendly. The sensible thing is to take the Fløibanen funicular to the top, and hike down through pictureque streets. We did the opposite: sweating up a seriously steep forest hike.
Our kids forgave us at the mountaintop: not because of the stunning views — though my daughter did lap up the ice cream sign — but the troll trail, the zip-wire filled natural playground, and tame goats to pet.
We stayed at Hotel Norge, next to the flower-filled Festplassen park and Lille Lungegårdsvann lake. Its design-led interiors featured Eames-style rocking chairs, black metal accents, and spacious rooms. Highlights included the outstanding breakfast, mixing Scandi favourites (perfectly seedy fresh loaves and fruit, yogurts, cinnamon buns, apple cake and pickled veg) with the usual egg, pancakes and croissant hits.
The sleek basement spa, with pool, sauna, and steam room) offered a lovely break from the bustle, though it’s £12 per visit (kids are free, but only allowed from 8 to 10am).
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Wanting to be even more immersed in water, we booked a fjord cruise. The shortest we could find, given our five-year-old, but it was still three-and-a-half-hours. I was nervous: past boat trips have ended in mutiny from our younger crew members. But family-run Fjordcharter gave us a great trip. The spotless, comfy catamaran had cheap waffles and a friendly guide whose commentary kept us all interested.
On rainy days, you can hold out a cup and drink from a waterfall on the cruise — but ours was in dazzling sunshine, so we instead drank in the breathtaking fjord views.
A word of warning: Norway is pricey. Meals out cost more than in London, so we headed to the student-y side of town for value. Kafé Spesial served tasty shakshuka, Ramen Ki Dama dished up great noodles, and our favourite stop was the unbeatable ice creams at Hallaisen: cinnamon bun and sour cream berry flavours were astonishingly good. Our splurge dinner at Cafe Norge also featured excellent candy beet salad and smoked cod.
To move onto Oslo, we opted for the seven-hour Vy train journey rather than a 50-minute flight. That’s where we discovered a family carriage devoted entirely to soft play. The kids loved it, burning off enough energy from bouncing to flop into the two overhead beds in our family carriage and actually sleep for a chunk of the journey. Bliss.
Norway’s capital is another family-friendly delight. We saw Munch’s Scream and Yayoi Kusama’s Pillars at the National Museum, then inspired the kids at the Nobel Peace Centre next door. We rolled down hills at the Vigeland Sculpture Park, which hosts more than 300 of the artist’s installations, including a 20m monolith carved from a single block of granite.
Across town, we all ran on the roof of the National Opera building, curled up in the knockout library next door, and ate our way around the world at the Mathallen food hall in boho neighbourhood, Grunerlokka. Our favourite meal, though, was at “the yellow house on Sagene” — Folkvang, a bistro in a quiet neighbourhood with absurdly delicious dishes including baked cod, duck cassoulet and cured trout.
We based ourselves at the Grand Hotel, Oslo’s grande dame. Our junior suite had bunk beds for the kids, dark wood floors, and cloud-soft linen. Art is everywhere: Tracey Emin’s neon The Scream glows in the lobby bar, and the breakfast room is dominated by Oer Krohg’s painting of regulars like Ibsen. Appropriately for a hotel founded by a pastry chef, the homemade Nordic cinnamon granola at breakfast was unforgettable. The hotel also hosts the Nobel Peace Prize banquet every year, after the torchlit procession through the city.
When we weren’t exploring, we unwound in the Artesia spa, with its pool, infrared cabins and skyline views from the loungers. Perfect after a day roaming this compact, walkable city: the the Grand is ideally positioned opposite the Stortinget, or parliament, the National Theatre and posh department stores.
With fabulous skyline views from the loungers, we all agreed that Bergen’s fjords and Oslo’s culture-packed streets made Norway the perfect family adventure. In a warming world, this destination encapsulates cool.
