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Travel guide
Bergen
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to September
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Welcome
Bergen, in a few days
Norway's second city, home to about 290,000 people, squeezed between seven mountains and a harbour where the wooden houses of Bryggen have stood since the fire of 1702. A funicular climbs Mount Fløyen in eight minutes, the fish market opens every day and the fjords start an hour's drive away.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Bryggen free · about 1 hThe UNESCO-listed Hanseatic wharf: 62 red, ochre and white wooden houses rebuilt after 1702, where German merchants traded dried cod from 1360 to 1754.
- Afternoon · Fløibanen funicular · about 1 h 30Running since 1918, it climbs to 320 metres in under eight minutes; at the top, a terrace over the harbour and forest trails past lakes.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Zander K Hotel€130 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Mostraumen fjord cruise · 2 to 3 hA three-hour trip up the Osterfjord into the narrow Mostraumen strait, close enough to a waterfall for the crew to fill glasses from it.
- Afternoon · The Fish Market free · about 1 hA harbour market since the 13th century: open-air stalls on the Torget quay from May to September, and the glass Mathallen hall all year.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Thon Hotel Orion€130 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · KODE art museums · 2 to 3 hFour buildings by Lille Lungegårdsvann lake; the Rasmus Meyer collection holds around twenty Munch works, including versions of Melancholy and Jealousy.
- Afternoon · Mount Ulriken · half a dayThe highest of Bergen's seven peaks, at 643 metres, reached by a cable car rebuilt in 2021, with views over the city, fjord and islands.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Clarion Hotel Admiral€140 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Fantoft Stave Church · about 1 hA stave church moved here from the Sognefjord in 1883, burnt down by arson in 1992 and rebuilt as an exact replica, reopened in 1997.
- Afternoon · Troldhaugen, Edvard Grieg's home · 2 to 3 hGrieg's 1885 lakeside villa, 8 km south of the centre; the grounds, his composing hut, the couple's cliffside grave and the concert hall are open.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Bergen€150 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Salmon and smoked fish: the quality is the reason people talk about it.
- Brunost: brown cheese boiled down to caramel, cut in thin slices.
- Kjottkaker: meatballs in brown sauce, the weekday dinner of the country.
- Prawns and shellfish, bought off the boat at the fjord quays.
- Skillingsboller: cinnamon buns the size of a fist, taken with coffee.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Everything costs a lot here, alcohol most of all. Buy it at the Vinmonopolet, not the bar.
- Book the car and the beds early in high season, above all in the Lofoten.
- Mountain weather turns fast. Check the forecast and take a layer you do not think you need.
- Pay by card everywhere, including on ferries. Cash has almost disappeared.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Norwegian
| English | Norwegian |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hei / God dag |
| Thank you | Takk |
| Please | Vær så snill |
| Yes | Ja |
| No | Nei |
| Excuse me | Unnskyld |
| Goodbye | Ha det |
| Do you speak English? | Snakker du engelsk? |
| I don't understand | Jeg forstår ikke |
| How much is it? | Hvor mye koster det? |
| Where are the toilets? | Hvor er toalettet? |
| The bill, please | Regningen, takk |
| Help! | Hjelp! |
| Cheers! | Skål! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyNorwegian krone (NOK)
BudgetAbout €175 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to September
PlugC/F · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingIncluded in the bill, round up
Emergency112 / 113
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccinations. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/bergen
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.