
Picture a workday that doesn't end with a stressful commute home, but with a hike up a mountain trail overlooking an entire fjord, sunlight still hanging high over the water even though it's already past five in the afternoon. That's not a travel agency's marketing fantasy - it's everyday life in the city that has just been named the best place to live in Europe.

The city we want at 25 is unlikely to be the city we would choose at 45. Later, priorities shift again. Nightlife gives way to a quieter pa