Norway
Norway spreads its Viking festivals along the coast, from Avaldsnes in the south-west to Lofotr above the Arctic Circle. Distances are long; plan one region per trip.
Bjørgvin Marknad is a Viking and medieval market held over a weekend in late May or early June at Hordamuseet, an open-air museum on the fjord at Stend, about half an hour south of Bergen, Norway. It is run by volunteers from the association of the same name, has been held since 2004, and the 2026 market was June 5 to 7.
The Avaldsnes Viking Festival is held in early June at the Viking farm on Bukkøy, Karmøy, twenty minutes from Haugesund Airport on Norway's west coast. Avaldsnes was the seat of Harald Fairhair, Norway's first king, and the festival is the largest of its kind in western Norway, with more than 200 Vikings camping on the island and 9,000 visitors over three days in 2026.
The Hafrsfjord Viking Market, or Hafrsfjordkaupangen, is held on the second weekend of June at Møllebukta in Stavanger, Norway, on the shore where the battle of Hafrsfjord united Norway around 872 and next to the Swords in Rock monument. It is a small, free-to-visit market run by a local reenactment group.
The Trondheim Viking Market is held over the third weekend of June at Horg bygdatun, a rural museum in Melhus about forty minutes south of Trondheim, Norway. Run by the Trondheim Viking Society, it combines a market and camp with a lecture program on clothing, finds and music.
The Midgard Viking Festival is a three-day museum festival held the first weekend of July in odd years at the Gildehallen, the reconstructed great hall at the Midgard Viking Centre in Borre, Norway, an hour and a half south of Oslo. It is run by Vestfoldmuseene, alternates with the Borrekaupangen market in even years, and the next one is July 2 to 4, 2027.
The Lofotr Viking Festival is held in August at the Lofotr Viking Museum in Borg, in the Lofoten Islands above the Arctic Circle in Norway. The museum is built around the largest Viking Age longhouse ever found, and the festival is the most remote major Viking event in the Nordics.
The Tønsberg Viking Festival is a free four-day festival on the harbor front in Tønsberg, Norway, held Thursday to Sunday in early August around the Saga Oseberg, a full-size replica of the Oseberg ship. It has run since 2015, and the organizer estimated 18,000 to 20,000 visitors in 2026, a record.
Midgardsblot is a metal and folk music festival held in August at the Borre burial mounds in Horten, Norway, an hour and a half south of Oslo. It is not a Viking market, but it has a Viking camp, a market and talks alongside the stages, and it draws the largest international crowd of any Viking-themed event in the Nordics.
The Gjallarstadir Viking Market is held on the first weekend of September at the Nebbursvollen park in Lillestrøm, fifteen minutes by train from Oslo. Run by the Gjallarstadir Viking Society, it is the closest Viking market to Oslo and one of the last of the Norwegian season.
The Avaldsnes Viking Festival is held in early June at the Viking farm on Bukkøy, Karmøy, twenty minutes from Haugesund Airport on Norway's west coast. Avaldsnes was the seat of Harald Fairhair, Norway's first king, and the festival is the largest of its kind in western Norway, with more than 200 Vikings camping on the island and 9,000 visitors over three days in 2026.
Borrekaupangen, the Borre Viking Market, is held every second year in early July in Borre Park in Horten, Norway, among the largest collection of monumental Viking Age burial mounds in Scandinavia, an hour and a half south of Oslo. It is run by the Borre Vikinglag association, and the next one is in 2028.