Norway – Things to do in Bergen
After starting in Oslo and exploring the Sognefjord and Hardangerfjord areas, my mom and I finished our Norway trip in Bergen. Being the second biggest city in Norway, it felt larger than the tiny towns we visited, but not overwhelming. The feel of the city is modern, despite all of the wooden houses and historical buildings. It was also significantly colder in Bergen than in the fjords. With 200 days of rain, there was a high chance it would rain while we were there – and it did! We planned our indoor and outdoor time strategically and did a lot of walking, final souvenir shopping, and saw some of the sights. In this post, I’ll cover some unique things to do in Bergen.
With only two nights in the city, we stuck to the downtown wharf and Bryggen historic area, with the exception of our visit to the Edvard Greig Museum. We visited the Greig Museum on our way into Bergen, while we had a car. I wouldn’t recommend having a car in Bergen – there are narrow streets with scant parking.
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A Mini Intro to Bergen
Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. Known as “the heart of the fjord”, Bergen is on Norway’s west coast and was a strategic location for trading with Europe. Though a larger city, it doesn’t feel overwhelming for travelers. There are distinct areas with modern architecture mixed with the old buildings, winding cobblestone pathways, and a central harbor. Bergen was colder than the small towns in the Fjords we visited with rain two out of three days we were there. It rains 200 days out of the year, so bring layers!
Things to do in Bergen: Funicular to Mt. Fløyen
My favorite activity in Bergen was to take a funicular, known as Fløibanen, from the downtown area straight up the hillside to Mt. Fløyen for a fantastic view of the city. The Fløibanen runs consistently during the high and shoulder season, but double-check the hours in winter. The extra fun thing about the funicular is that it has a clear glass roof, so you can see the changing view as it climbs straight up the mountain. At the top, there are viewing platforms, a restaurant, a playground, a gift shop, and some informational signs.
Based on the weather, we knew we would have a clear morning, so we got to the station by 9:00 am. This is a popular activity, so I do recommend going early if possible. The timing worked out, so we got a front-row seat on the way up. It takes about 5 minutes to climb the hill, but it seems to fly by. At the top, you get out and see the main viewing platform in front of you. This is a great spot to take photos of the city. Once you’ve done that, you can walk away from the funicular toward the other side of the mountain for a different view. Along the way, you might see the resident goats, who help keep the vegetation in check.
By the time we explored the other side, we were very chilled.
Unfortunately, the cafe/restaurant was not yet open in the morning at that time of year. Instead, we took a few photos with the photogenic troll in the playground, peeked in the gift shop, and headed back down the hill to the nearest coffee shop to warm our hands. I loved the view and experience of riding the funicular and would recommend it to all people!
Bryggen
Although a bit confusing, the Bryggen is the darling series of red, orange, and white buildings that face the wharf. The buildings are a UNESCO World Cultural Site and difficult to miss. These buildings were originally built by the Hanseatic League (a confederation of merchants stretching from Northern Germany that dominated the Baltic Sea) as a center for trade. You can wander the shops that now occupy the buildings or eat out front. Though, to better understand Bryggen, I recommend that you take a tour with the Hanseatic Museum, which I cover in the next section.
Hanseatic Museum Bryggen Tour
If you have the time and interest in history, I recommend taking a walking tour with the Hanseatic Museum to better understand how the Bryggen came to be and the Hanseatic League in general. The tour lasts for about an hour and has you walk through the alleyways as the guide tells you more. The Hanseatic League set up shop in Bergen beginning in 1350 to trade Norwegian stockfish with grain and other necessities in Europe.
The buildings, made from wood, have burned down a couple of times. Due to the potential of fire, the Hanseatic League had strict rules regarding candles or any open flame. They also had rules for other aspects of life, including not to marry any local woman. The idea was for boys from Northern Germany to apprentice as a merchant and move up into another role somewhere else – not to integrate into Norwegian society. You’ll even notice fencing around the back of the block. This led to Bryggen to be its own, self-sufficient community of merchantmen.
The tour is super informative and at the end of the tour, you have the opportunity to explore the interior of one of the buildings. I enjoyed the tour and since we were at the end of our trip, I liked having someone explain the Hanseatic Society, rather than reading the plaques.
Bergenhus Festning
My mother and I did about half of the Rick Steves Walking Tour in Bergen. It starts you out near the Bergenhus Festning, or rather Bergen Fortress, which is wonderful to explore the courtyard and grounds. This building is one of the oldest and best-preserved stone buildings in Norway. Most of Norway’s historic buildings are wooden, so we were happy to get our castle-fix by visiting the fortress. We did not pay to visit the museums inside the fortress but instead walked part of the spacious grounds. On a pleasant day, I recommend checking it out.
Montraumen Cruise
Although we had already taken a fjord cruise from Flam, I wanted to see as many fjords as possible. This is why we also went on the Montraumen Cruise with Rodne. It was raining when we boarded the boat, which was honestly a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. We hit pockets of rain during the trip but also got to see more of the area surrounding Bergen and enter the port, like the original sailors and merchants. Within 3 hours, you speed out of Bergen into a fjord all the way to the town of Mo. You’ll stop a waterfall and slow down through the quaint fjord towns. Read this post for more information on this very cool activity.
Edvard Greig Lunchtime Concert
A little outside of Bergen, you can visit the home of a famous Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg. A museum and concert hall has also been set up on the property of Troldhagen for you to explore. We visited to be in time for a lunchtime concert, where we heard his music come to life, followed by a tour of his home. Both were incredible. We also checked out the Museum about his life, visited his small composing hut, and saw his final resting place facing the water. Expect to spend a couple of hours at this peaceful retreat.
Troldhagen is about 20 to 30 minutes south of Bergen. We stopped by on our way into Bergen when we still had a car. There are other modes of public transportation, so take a look at a few options before you go. You can read more about my experience at the Edvard Greig Lunchtime concert in this blog post.
Where to Sleep and Eat
Since we returned our car in Bergen, it was very important to us that we were walking distance to the downtown wharf area. We decided to stay in this Airbnb, which was directly behind the Bryggen in an area with cobblestone streets and white buildings. There was absolutely no parking in this area, but it was also a fantastic location. It was a 10-minute to 15-minute walk to everything in the central downtown area. We also had to walk through Bryggen to get to most things, which I enjoyed!
Like in Oslo, I found more vegetarian places to eat in Bergen. We had one nice meal at Pygmalion, which serves both vegetarian food as well as meat. After the Monstraumen cruise, we were freezing! That’s when we stopped by a soup place to warm up. For full veggie details, check out my Vegetarian Eats in Norway blog post.
Putting it all together
As I mentioned in the intro, we spent two nights in Bergen, which is not long to explore a city. I do think this made us pick the things that interested us the most. On our main full day, it was almost entirely outdoor activities. Something to think about with all the rain that Bergen gets. Here’s a rough outline of how we put it all together.
Day 1:
Day 2:
- Funicular Ride and Exploration
- Part of Rick Steves Walk – starting at Bergenhus Festning
- Short lunch back at our Airbnb with grocery store sandwiches
- Tour of the Bryggen with the Hanseatic Museum
- Monstraumen Cruise with Rodne
- Early light supper at Suppologen and late snack at McDonalds
Day 3:
- Super early flight
WHAT TO PACK TO EXPLORE BERGEN IN FALL
The weather in Norway is variable, especially so in autumn. I ended up bringing many light layers so I could adjust to the various weather conditions. Here are a few items that came in handy:
- Rain Jacket and/or windbreaker, especially for the fjord cruises where it’s extremely windy at the front of the boat.
- Puffy mid-layer that packs up small like the Patagonia nano-puff jacket. Or, for something a little more casual looking, I’m trying out the Patagonia pack-in jacket. The wouldn’t recommend the maroon jacket I’m wearing in some of the photos because it didn’t block the wind very well, and I was chilly!
- Wool layering long sleeve, like this one from Smartwool. Or consider a tank top to wear UNDER your cute sweaters for extra warmth.
- The white fuzzy cardigan you see in some of the photos was a gift from years ago. Some similar cardigans are this one on Free People, a formal attire cardigan at Anthropologie, or even this one from Amazon could work.
- Leggings – athletic ones are always great to have, but also consider bringing a base layer with wool to wear under your pants. (Everytime you see me in jeans, I’m wearing another layer underneath!!)
- Lightweight fleece gloves were handy (pun intended)! I ended up wearing them on the fjord cruises and in Bergen where it was cooler. These ones from REI are supposed to allow you to touch the screen through the gloves – that would have been amazing because I kept having to take one glove off to take photos.
- Cute fleece-lined beanie.
- Extra large scarf or scarves! H&M typically has some cute chunky scarves each fall.
- Boots that you can comfortably walk in, but also keep your feet warm. The ones you see in the photos look good, but are often not warm enough! Consider some cute but function boots from Clarks or Sorel.
- A handy dandy refillable water bottle is ALWAYS a good thing to bring with you.
Overall Thoughts: Things to do in Bergen
Although we didn’t have a ton of time, I do feel like we accomplished the things we wanted to do in Bergen. I tend to prefer activities that are interactive, so we prioritized the funicular, lunchtime concert, cruise, and guided walking tour. We opted to skip other museums, including the impressive Kode art museum, during this trip to Bergen. The coldest weather we experience in Norway was in Bergen, so these indoor activities might be perfect on a future trip. Overall, I would say I liked Bergen. For the future, I would likely opt to fly into or out of Bergen to have quicker access to the fjord lands, which is where I want to spend most of my time. However, what I got in Bergen was a bit more history of the country, which I deeply appreciated.
Have you been to Bergen? Anything that I missed? Let me know in the comments, so I can add it to my list next time I go. I have a feeling I will be back to explore more of the fjords.
Happy Travels,
Hanna
