Bodø is the seat of Nordland county in Norway. With more than 50,000 inhabitants, it is the second largest city in Northern Norway, on a peninsula facing the open sea, and infamously windy. The road and railway come in via Fauske. It is a gateway to the Arctic, being the northern end station of the Norwegian railway network (except the short connection from Narvik to Sweden), and an important ferry station.
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In the Viking Age, the province was known as Hålogaland, and famous for shipmaking. In 1663, Bodø was mentioned as a village with postal service. In the 19th century, fish canning became an important industry for Bodø, and made the city grow. As Nazi Germany invaded Norway in 1940, they bombed Bodø on May 27, destroying most buildings. The city was rebuilt during and after the war, and therefore looks remarkably modern. In 1960, the American spy plane U-2 heading for Bodø was shot down by the Soviet Union, and Soviet leader Nikita Chrushchev threatened to bomb Bodø. Bodø has a university, and a young and growing population.
Bodø is a long, slender city around 2–3 km in width and over 10 km long in a roughly east-west line. This makes communication by bus well established for a city this size, and during weekdays busses go every fifteen minutes to-and-from town westwards. The Sentrumsrunden bus brings you anywhere you want within the city centre, and there are also buses going northwards to the suburbs. The bus system is zonal, meaning that you pay more the further you are going. There is also a service of regional buses to other cities, but they only depart a couple of times a day, or even more rarely if the distances are long.
Bodø does not have a great abundance of eateries, but there is a decent selection of cheap restaurants, as well as a couple of good gourmet restaurants. Chonticha Thai Restaurant, Bankplassen, Storgata 11 B (200 m north of city square), ☏ +47 75-56-32-00. 12:00–22:00. Small authentic Thai restaurant with a broad range of typical Thai dishes, prepared as the Thais do to themselves – not to the tourists! Most dishes are with prawns, fish, chicken or pork. Beer (also Thai beer), wines (mostly Italian) and a nice selection of alcohol (including absinthe), located in the northern part of the pedestrian street at ground level with huge windows in 3 directions. 36 seats and a small bar section.
There are two Vinmonopolet shops in Bodø, one a short walk from the Glasshuset shopping mall, the other one inside City Nord, another shopping centre a somewhat far from the city centre. Cinema Pub (in Glasshuset). The only place to drink for those between 18 and 20. Tired travellers should steer clear, at weekends this dark basement pub is packed with drunk teenagers, and extremely noisy. 2.etg (in Glasshuset). One of the most popular late-bars/nightclubs in town. Quite crowded during weekends, but a good place if you want to go dancing and don't mind waiting a while for service. No cover c badge. Avenue (near the central bus station).
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Jul, Bodo typically sees ~20°C daytime highs and 10 rainy days.
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