1 rooftop car, 1 toddler, 1 adventurous couple travelling 10 000 km to North Cape

Would you travel from France to the North Cape with a toddler in a rooftop tent? This french couple did it!

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Covering nearly 10,000 kilometers in 6 weeks by car with a rooftop tent to reach the North Cape from Lyon: that was the adventure my husband Victor, our two-year-old daughter Nina, and I embarked on this summer.

It was more of an adventure than just a trip, taking us to the far reaches of Lapland while allowing us to explore France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Today, I'm delighted to share with Design Hunger our four favourite spots to sleep, in case you dream of embarking on a Scandinavian adventure as well.

The Far North was our dream. We wanted to set foot on this land of adventure, cross the Arctic Circle, explore Lapland, experience the midnight sun, encounter moose, camp in the heart of Fjords, and be alone in the middle of this magnificent nature.

These six weeks were a precious time for the three of us, away from the daily grind, pushing us out of our comfort zone in every sense. Traveling 10,000 kilometers in six weeks with a two-year-old child is definitely not a walk in the park, but it creates memories for a lifetime. In short, it was more of an adventure than just a trip.

With Victor, we have a somewhat ambivalent approach to travel. We enjoy both camping in the middle of nowhere and staying in design hotels. Beyond our preferences, this way of traveling suited our road trip with a rooftop tent in Scandinavia with a baby.

While we were fortunate with the weather during the first three weeks of our journey, it became more capricious later on. So, it was necessary to find the comfort of solid accommodations for a while, to take a hot shower and dry our wet belongings. Here are our four favourite sleeping spots, ranging from wild camping to design hotels.

Dyrehaven, Copenhagen

Copenhagen was our first real love during this journey to the North. It's a vibrant, human-scale city filled with cozy cafes and easily explored by bicycle. Setting up our rooftop tent in the city was not practical, so we initially considered spending the night in a hotel.

However, since we hadn't made any reservations in advance, only expensive options were available. So, we decided to enjoy our day in the city and then find a spot outside of town. We expected to sleep in an ordinary parking lot but ended up at Dyrehaven.

Dyrehaven is the former royal big game hunting ground, now transformed into a park. You can walk among 300 red deer, Sika deer, and over 1500 fallow deer, all of which are not at all shy. We literally slept 10 meters from the park entrance, with a view of the deer from the small window of our rooftop tent. This spot was so incredible that we decided to stay for two nights instead of one.

Lapland View Lodge, in the heart of the Lapland forest

We had just crossed the Arctic Circle and were driving through the Lapland forest when Victor noticed distant shining glass cubes. Intrigued, we decided to follow the steep, winding road to see what it was. That's how we stumbled upon the Lapland View Lodge.

Located in Luppio, Sweden, but almost on the Finnish border, this hotel is a great example of Scandinavian design: clean lines, minimalist decor that emphasizes natural and high-quality materials, and an impressive ability to blend in with nature. Nature is the real queen here.

Trevarefabbrikken, Lofoten Islands

Steep mountains, picturesque fishing villages with red-painted houses, fish drying in the open air, crystal-clear water and cosy little addresses: Lofoten is a concentrate of everything that makes Norway so beautiful. At the heart of this incredible archipelago is the trendy village of Henningsvær. Here we found our favourite hotel of the entire trip: the Trevarefabbrikken.

Housed in a former sawmill that also served as a factory for making cod liver oil, the Trevarefabbriken is a real insider tip. The place is incredible, all waxed concrete and huge window fronts facing the sea. The rooms are cosy and tastefully decorated, like our flat, only better.

The staff are so personable that they gave us an upgrade to the loft for the price of a room because it hadn't been booked. They serve pizza from the wood-fired oven there and there are regular events, game nights and other DJ sets where locals and tourists mix.

Burfjord, a private beach in the heart of a fjord

Just after reaching the Arctic Circle and beginning our descent south, we discovered one of the most beautiful spots of our vacation near Burfjord. While Victor was driving, I was searching for small side roads on Mapsme, often leading to secluded spots ideal for spending the night. And then suddenly, a road on the right. We ventured down it, despite the steep path (an advantage of traveling in a 4x4), and eventually discovered a small pebble beach all to ourselves, nestled in a fjord.

Picture vast stretches of land surrounding crystal-clear, incredibly deep water. We had one of our most beautiful evenings here, enjoying sausages cooked on an improvised campfire. Victor even took a little boat ride on the small, unattached boat left on the beach, as is customary in Norway, where trust and respect prevail.

These spots made our Scandinavian adventure even more memorable, offering a mix of nature, culture, and design that we'll cherish forever.

- Anais Amans

If you enjoyed this article, you should check our Wild Food and Natural Stays with Quinta Kismet