Voss is a small mountain town between Bergen and the Sognefjord that has reinvented itself as Norway's adventure sports capital. Paragliders launch off the ridges, white-water rafters tackle the rivers, skiers and snowboarders pour into Myrkdalen and Voss Resort in winter, and in summer the town fills with kayakers, climbers, and skydivers. Extreme Sports Week (Ekstremsportveko) every June turns the whole place into a festival of people throwing themselves off things.
The town sits on the shore of Vangsvatnet lake, hemmed in by steep slopes. The centre — Vossevangen — is compact: a railway station, a couple of squares, the medieval Voss Church which somehow survived a direct German bombing raid in 1940, and the modern Voss Gondol that whisks you straight up to the top of Hangurs in seven minutes. From there a network of marked paths spreads across the high plateau.
Voss is also the gateway to Norway's most spectacular fjord scenery. The town is a fixed stop on the Bergen Line and the standard starting point for the "Norway in a Nutshell" route, which combines train, bus, and boat through the Nærøyfjord. The Stalheimskleiva road south to Flåm, with its hairpin descent past two waterfalls, is one of the great drives in Europe.
What it isn't is sophisticated. Voss is functional rather than charming — adventure outfitters, hotels, a couple of decent restaurants, and not much more. People come for what's around the town, not for the town itself. Two nights is enough unless you are skiing or have your own outdoor agenda.