Geiranger is a village of a few hundred people that receives more than a hundred times that number of visitors in a summer day, mostly off cruise ships that anchor in the fjord. It sits at the very head of the Geirangerfjord, at the bottom of a steep amphitheatre of mountains, and the arrival from above is one of the best things you can do on two wheels in Norway: a series of tight hairpins dropping through forest and rock with the water coming into view bend by bend.
The road in is the famous one, the Ørnevegen or Eagle Road, with eleven hairpins and views over the fjord and its waterfalls. It is steep, so use engine braking and keep your speed down on the descent, especially on a loaded bike; I have smelled more than one set of brake pads on the way down. In summer it is busy, with coaches, camper vans and other riders sharing the road, so patience is part of the deal. On a sunny day the whole fjord is green and silver, and the waterfalls, among them the Seven Sisters across the water, are at their best in early summer when the snowmelt is heavy.
The village has fuel, groceries and plenty of places to eat and drink, though prices are high by any standard because everything arrives by road or sea. A café on the waterfront is the obvious place to sit and watch the ships come in. Some of the cruise vessels are larger than the village itself, and the contrast is half the entertainment. The fjord was listed as a World Heritage site in 2005 for its landscapes, and you can see why from the quay: sheer walls, abandoned mountain farms perched high above the water, and a surface so still that the cliffs are doubled in the reflection.
The abandoned farms deserve a thought. Families once lived and farmed on tiny ledges here, climbing ladders and chains to reach their land, and children were reportedly tethered to stop them falling. It is a reminder of how hard life was in a landscape that now appears so serene. Stay for the evening if you can, when the ships leave and the village exhales.