Sandane is the main town in Gloppen municipality, with around 2,600 people. It sits at the head of Gloppefjorden, a side branch of Nordfjord. E39 runs right through the centre of town on the way north to the Anda ferry.
The setting is good. A sand shore, a salmon river, green farmland rising into steep hills. Archaeology shows people have lived here since at least the Iron Age, and the place was important in the Viking period. The modern town grew up around a natural harbour used for coastal trade in the 1800s, and the wooden warehouses down by the water still give a sense of that era.
The main reason to stop is the Nordfjord Folkemuseum on the hill just east of the centre, an open-air museum with 45 historical buildings. If you have an hour and a half, that is the thing to do. If you only have ten minutes, walk down to the harbour and have a look west along Gloppefjorden. A small regional airport sits a few kilometres north near the ferry quay at Anda, with flights to Oslo and Bergen.
The town centre is ordinary. Functional shops, a supermarket, a school, a small regional hospital serving the district. It is not a tourist town, and that practical honesty is part of its character.
The setting is good. A sand shore, a salmon river, green farmland rising into steep hills. Archaeology shows people have lived here since at least the Iron Age, and the place was important in the Viking period. The modern town grew up around a natural harbour used for coastal trade in the 1800s, and the wooden warehouses down by the water still give a sense of that era.
The main reason to stop is the Nordfjord Folkemuseum on the hill just east of the centre, an open-air museum with 45 historical buildings. If you have an hour and a half, that is the thing to do. If you only have ten minutes, walk down to the harbour and have a look west along Gloppefjorden. A small regional airport sits a few kilometres north near the ferry quay at Anda, with flights to Oslo and Bergen.
The town centre is ordinary. Functional shops, a supermarket, a school, a small regional hospital serving the district. It is not a tourist town, and that practical honesty is part of its character.