Flåm sits at the very end of the Aurlandsfjord — a branch of the Sognefjord, the longest and deepest fjord in Norway — and it is one of the country’s most visited destinations, famous for the Flåmsbana mountain railway and the dramatic landscape that surrounds it. Among the properties that have defined this village’s hospitality tradition, Fretheim Hotel stands apart. Built in the late nineteenth century and lovingly maintained through multiple generations, Fretheim is genuinely historic in a way that matters — and its sauna and hot tub give guests a way to unwind after the sensory intensity of a day in one of Norway’s most spectacular landscapes.
Sauna and Hot Tub
The indoor sauna at Fretheim is a proper Finnish-style room — hot stones, wood-panelled walls, the kind of penetrating dry heat that restores aching muscles and quiets a busy mind. Guests alternate between the sauna and the outdoor hot tub, which in good weather gives a view toward the fjord and the mountain walls rising steeply on all sides. After a day on the Flåmsbana, cycling the Rallarvegen, or kayaking on the Aurlandsfjord, the combination of sauna and hot tub is exactly the recovery that the landscape seems to demand.
The Hotel’s History and Character
Fretheim’s architecture is part of the classic Norwegian “Swiss style” that dominated fjord hotel building in the late 1800s — wooden, elaborate, gabled rooflines that somehow suit the mountain landscape perfectly. The interiors reflect this heritage while offering comfortable modern standards. The restaurant serves Norwegian classics with local ingredients, and the wine cellar has been developed with more care than most fjord hotels manage.
Flåm and Surroundings
The Flåmsbana alone — a 20-kilometre mountain railway that climbs from sea level to 867 metres through tunnels and gorges — would justify a visit to Flåm. Add the Sognefjord kayaking routes, the Rallarvegen cycling track (one of Norway’s most celebrated long-distance bike routes), and the hiking trails above the valley, and you have a location where the sauna earns its place as essential post-activity recovery rather than mere luxury.
