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It is not without reason that the wizard Harry Potter and film star Tom Cruise have shot scenes for iconic films along the only section of railway in Møre og Romsdal. Would you like to experience an impressive train journey in magnificent scenery, across spectacular bridges and between perpendicular mountainsides? If so, you should buy a ticket for the Rauma Railway from Åndalsnes, or experience it when you take the Dovre Railway from Oslo or Trondheim.

The most beautiful train journey in Europe

The popular travel guide publisher Lonely Planet named the Rauma Railway the most beautiful train journey in Europe in 2012 and 2022. They describe the picturesque railway journey between Dombås and Åndalsnes as follows:

‘A big thank you to the engineers who managed to build this railway in the most difficult terrain imaginable. Enjoy the sensational views of mountain peaks, steep mountain faces and mountainsides leading to exposed mountain plateaus, while you travel along the Rauma river. You pass the highest perpendicular rock face in Europe, Trollveggen cliff, and you also cross the beautiful Kylling bridge.'

© Leif Olestad

Harry Potter and Tom Cruise

The magnificent scenery of the Romsdalen valley has inspired numerous film shoots in the area. Tom Cruise spent several weeks there shooting scenes for the seventh film in the Mission: Impossible series. Exactly which villains Ethan Hunt will come up against in Romsdalen remains to be seen.

Harry Potter has also visited the Rauma Railway. The scenes were used in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth film in the saga about the wizard.

Travel on the Rauma Railway to Åndalsnes

The Rauma Railway has stations at Åndalsnes, Bjorli, Lesjaverk, Lesja and Dombås, and it is an important link between Trøndelag and Eastern Norway and into Møre og Romsdal. The Rauma Railway has a direct connection to the Dovre Railway. This means that a quick change of trains in Dombås makes it simple and quick to get to Oslo and Trondheim.

Travel on a scheduled bus service

Daily bus services also operate from Åndalsnes to and from the towns Molde, Ålesund and Kristiansund, and Geiranger when the Trollstigen road to Valldal is open for the season.

Rauma – the best municipality in the world for people who love nature

The final destination on the Rauma Railway, Åndalsnes, is one of the smallest towns in Norway with a population of around 2,400. Rauma municipality describes itself as ‘the best municipality in the world for people who love nature’, which is reflected in the local people’s pride in and passion for the nature and surroundings they live in. The area the Rauma Railway passes through features some of Norway’s most famous tourist attractions such as Trollstigen road, Romsdalseggen ridge, Rampestreken viewpoint, Trollveggen cliff, Romsdalshorn mountain and Rauma river.