Bergen
Municipality · Vestland
About Bergen
Bryggen's wooden wharf (UNESCO), the Fish Market, and the Fløibanen funicular or Ulriken cable car up into the seven city mountains.
What to do and where to stay in Bergen
Places to stay are run locally, with no hotel or campsite chain behind them.
1BryggenHistory & culture
The wharf's wooden merchant houses were rebuilt after the 1702 fire on foundations from the 1100s; walk the narrow passages behind the facades to the workshops and galleries.
East side of Vågen harbour, city centre · 1 h · all year
2Trollskogen on Mount FløyenLocal oddity
A forest between the top Fløibanen station and Fløysletten is full of wooden troll figures, with an obstacle course of bridges and ropes for children.
Top of Fløyen, by the upper funicular station · 30–60 min (plus the funicular or a walk up) · all year
3Vidden: Ulriken to FløyenHike
Bergen's classic 15 km mountain crossing links the Ulriken cable car and the Fløibanen funicular over uneven high ground that is colder than the city below.
From the top of Ulriken to the top of Fløyen · about 5 h (15 km one way); 7–8 h for the less experienced · May–October (snow and early dark outside that)
4Fantoft Stave ChurchHistory & culture
A stave church built about 1170 in Fortun in Sogn was moved here in 1883; it burned in 1992 and the faithful rebuild opened in 1997.
Fantoftveien 46, Fantoft (south of the centre) · 30–45 min · inside in summer; outside all year
5Troldhaugen, Edvard Grieg's homeHistory & culture
Grieg's summer home: the villa is closed for restoration until summer 2027, but his composer's hut, the cliff grave of Edvard and Nina Grieg, the park and summer concerts are open.
Hop, Fana, south of the centre · 1.5–2 h · all year (villa closed until summer 2027; concerts mainly summer)
6Old Bergen Museum (Gamle Bergen)History & culture
Some 55 wooden houses moved out of central Bergen form a streetscape of the 1800s, with furnished homes of an 1826 civil servant and an 1886 merchant family.
Nyhavnsveien 4, Elsesro, Sandviken · 1–2 h · houses open in summer; park open all year
7Leprosy Museum, St. Jørgen's HospitalHistory & culture
An 18th-century hospital where people with leprosy lived until 1946 tells the story of the disease and of Armauer Hansen, who found the leprosy bacillus in Bergen in 1873.
Kong Oscars gate 59, 3 min walk from the railway station · 45–60 min · summer only (about mid-May to early September)
8Håkonshallen, Bergenhus FortressHistory & culture
King Håkon Håkonsson built this stone royal residence and banqueting hall in 1247–61; it stands inside Bergenhus fortress next to the Rosenkrantz Tower.
Bergenhus festning, north end of Bryggen · 45 min (plus Rosenkrantz Tower) · daily 2 January–20 December (closed some event days)
9Nordnes sjøbadSwim
An outdoor bath at the tip of the Nordnes peninsula pairs a pool heated to 29°C with sea bathing in the fjord, and opens for winter bathing on some days.
Nordnesparken 30, end of the Nordnes peninsula · 1–2 h · daily in summer; some days a week in winter
10PingvinenFood & drink
A small pub in the centre serves everyday Norwegian dishes such as fish pie, meatballs and stew, with raspeballer (potato dumplings) on Thursdays.
Vaskerelven 14, city centre · 1 h · all year