Heading out from Bergen, the western fjords beckon. The most popular initial target is the Hardangerfjord, a delightful and comparatively gentle introduction to the wilder fjords that lie beyond. Also popular is Voss, inland perhaps, but still a sports centre of some renown, and a useful halfway house en route to Flåm, draped beside the Aurlandsfjord and at the end of a spectacularly exciting train ride down the valley from Myrdal. Nonetheless, scenic as all this is, it's the Sognefjord, further to the north, that captivates most visitors, its stirring beauty amplified by its sheer size, stretching inland from the coast for some 200km. Beyond, and running parallel, lies the Nordfjord, smaller at 120km long and less intrinsically enticing, though its surroundings are more varied with patches of the Jostedalsbreen glacier visible and visitable nearby. From here, it's another short journey to the splendid Geirangerfjord – narrow, sheer and rugged – whilst, hopping over a mountain range or two, the town of Åndalsnes boasts an exquisite setting with rearing peaks behind and the tentacular Romsdalsfjord in front. At the west end of the Romsdalsfjord is the region's prettiest town, Ålesund, whose centre is liberally sprinkled with charming Art Nouveau buildings courtesy of Kaiser Bill.

This is not a landscape to be hurried – there's little point in dashing from fjord to fjord. Stay put for a while, go for at least one hike or cycle ride, and you'll really appreciate the western fjords in all their grandeur. The sheer size is breathtaking – but then the geological movements that shaped them were on a grand scale. During the Ice Age, around three million years ago, the whole of Scandinavia was covered in ice, the weight of which pushed the bottom of what would become the fjords down to depths well below that of the ocean floor – the Sognefjord, for example, descends to 1250m, ten times deeper than most of the Norwegian Sea. Later, as the ice retreated, it left huge coastal basins that filled with seawater to become the fjords, which the warm Gulf Stream keeps free of ice.