Trondheim, Norway

An atmospheric city with much of its antique centre still intact, TRONDHEIM was known until the sixteenth century as Nidaros ("mouth of the river Nid"), its importance as a military and economic power base underpinned by the excellence of its harbour and its position at the head of a wide and fertile valley. The early Norse parliament, or Ting, met here, and the cathedral was a major pilgrimage centre at the end of a route stretching all the way back to Oslo. After a fire destroyed much of the city in 1681, Caspar de Cicignon, a military engineer from Luxembourg, rebuilt Trondheim on a gridiron plan, with broad avenues radiating from the centre to act as firebreaks. Cicignon's layout has survived intact, giving the city centre an airy, elegant air, though most of the buildings date from the commercial boom of the late nineteenth century. With timber warehouses lining the river and doughty stone structures dotting the main streets, the centre is a suitably dignified and prosperous setting for the cathedral, one of Scandinavia's finest medieval structures.

Trondheim is now Norway's third city, but the pace is slow and easy and the main sights are best appreciated in leisurely fashion over a couple of days. Genial and eminently likeable, Trondheim is also a pleasant place to wave goodbye to city life if you're heading for the wilds of the north.