Bergen: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Bergen was the capital of Norway in the thirteenth century and for four hundred years the northern outpost of the Hanseatic League, the German merchants who bought the dried cod of the Norwegian coast and shipped it across Europe. It sits between seven mountains, and is one of the rainiest cities in Europe; bring a raincoat. Ninety minutes.

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A short history of Bergen

According to tradition, Bergen was founded by King Olaf Kyrre in 1070, and in the 13th century it was the capital of Norway. From around 1360 the Bryggen wharf was home to a base of German Hanseatic merchants, who bought dried fish from the north and sold it throughout Europe, and for centuries they controlled the city's economy. Many fires destroyed the wooden houses, the largest in 1702, so the colourful houses on the harbour were built after it. The composer Edvard Grieg was born in the city in 1843. The railway to Oslo opened in 1909, and in 1979 Bryggen was declared a World Heritage Site.

The ten best sights in Bergen

1
Bryggen
The wooden wharf of the Hanseatic merchants
2
Fløyen
The view over the city and its seven mountains
3
Ulriken
A cable car to the highest of the seven mountains
4
Håkonshallen
The royal hall of 1261
5
Rosenkrantz Tower
A sixteenth-century tower of the fortress
6
St Mary’s Church
The oldest building in Bergen, the Germans’ church
7
Bergen Cathedral
A cannonball from 1665 still in its tower
8
Lille Lungegårdsvann
The octagonal lake in the city centre
9
KODE
Art museums on the lake, with a Munch collection
10
Festplassen
The square on the lake for concerts

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Tours in Bergen →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Bergen:

Free walking tours in Bergen

The Hanseatic wharf

Fish Market · Fish has been sold on the harbour here for centuries. Today the stalls sell salmon, shrimp, whale and king crab, cooked to eat on the spot, at Norwegian prices; the indoor hall beside them is open all year.
Bryggen · From 1360 to 1754 German merchants of the Hanseatic League ran a closed trading post on this wharf, living unmarried in the narrow wooden warehouses, where no women were allowed to stay. The wharf has burned many times — the great fire of 1702 destroyed it — and each time it was rebuilt on the same medieval plan. About sixty buildings stand, a world heritage site.
St Mary’s Church · A Romanesque church of the twelfth century, the oldest building still standing in Bergen. For centuries it was the church of the German merchants of Bryggen, who preached and kept their records here in German, and filled it with a baroque pulpit.
Rosenkrantz Tower · A tower of the 1560s built by the governor of Bergen as a residence and fortress, on the harbour mouth. In 1944 a Dutch ship loaded with explosives blew up in the harbour beside it, damaging the tower and the royal hall and destroying the houses around.
Håkonshallen · The great stone hall of King Haakon IV, finished in 1261 for the wedding and coronation of his son Magnus, when Bergen was the capital of a Norwegian kingdom that reached to Iceland and Greenland.
Bergen Cathedral · In 1665 an English fleet attacked a Dutch convoy sheltering in Bergen harbour, and the forts fired back; a cannonball from the battle is still lodged in the wall of the cathedral’s tower.

The mountains above the city

Bergen lies in a bowl of seven mountains, and the people of the city walk them every weekend, rain or shine. A funicular climbs one straight from the centre and a cable car the highest. Half a day; trails go on into the hills.

Fløibanen · A funicular opened in 1918 that climbs in about six minutes from the centre to the top of Mount Fløyen, about three hundred and twenty metres up. It runs from early morning to late at night, and many locals take it to start a walk.
Fløyen · From the terrace at the top the whole city spreads below — the harbour, Bryggen, the lake and the islands toward the sea. Behind it paths run to forest lakes, and a troll forest of wooden sculptures waits for children.
Ulriken · The highest of the seven mountains, about six hundred and forty metres, reached by a cable car. From the top a classic walk crosses the open plateau to Fløyen in about four hours, with the sea on one side and the fjords on the other.
Lille Lungegårdsvann · Back in the centre, an octagonal lake ringed by a park, the art museums and the concert square. In the evening its fountain and the lit buildings around are reflected in the water.
KODE · A group of art museums along the lake, which hold one of the most important collections of Edvard Munch outside Oslo, gathered by a local merchant, Rasmus Meyer.
Nordnes Park · A park at the tip of the peninsula that closes the harbour, with a heated seawater pool and a totem pole given by Bergen’s sister city of Seattle. Beside it the aquarium keeps seals and penguins.

Grieg, stave churches and the fjord

South of Bergen are the home of Norway’s greatest composer, a wooden stave church and a violinist’s island palace; east, the road runs to the Hardanger fjord. A full day and a car.

Old Bergen Museum · About fifty wooden houses of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, moved here from the old town when it was cleared, and set up as a small town with a baker, a dentist and a sailor’s home.
Fantoft Stave Church · A stave church of the twelfth century, built of wood with carved dragon heads on its roofs, moved here from the Sognefjord in 1883. In 1992 it was burned down by an arsonist from the black metal music scene; it was rebuilt as an exact copy.
Troldhaugen · Edvard Grieg, born in Bergen in 1843, lived here with his wife Nina for twenty-two years, writing in a small hut by the lake. They are buried together in a tomb cut into the cliff above the water, and summer concerts are held in a hall beside the house.
Lysøen · The violinist Ole Bull, the first Norwegian star of world fame, built a villa on this island in 1873 in a fantastic mix of Moorish and Norwegian styles, with an onion dome. A small ferry crosses to it in summer.
Steinsdalsfossen · On the road to the Hardanger fjord, a waterfall about fifty metres high where a path runs behind the falling water, so you can stand dry behind the curtain. The fjord around is famous for its orchards and cider.
Bergen Station · The Bergen Line, opened in 1909, climbs from here over the Hardangervidda plateau to Oslo, crossing the highest point of Norway’s main railways; from it a branch drops down the Flåm valley to the Sognefjord.

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Getting to Bergen and getting around

Bergen Airport · Light rail or bus to the centre in about forty-five minutes
Bergen Station · The end of the scenic railway from Oslo
Fløibanen · The funicular up Mount Fløyen

Cheap eats in Bergen

Bergen eats fish: Bergen fish soup, creamy and slightly sweet with root vegetables; fish cakes; and the dried cod that made the city rich, cooked in many ways. The local bun is the skillingsbolle, a big cinnamon roll. Norway is expensive; a fish cake in a bun or a cinnamon roll from a bakery is the cheap meal.

Fish Market · Fish soup and fish cakes on the harbour
Skostredet · Cinnamon rolls in the lane cafés
Bryggen · Old-style dining rooms in the wharf houses
Fløyen · Waffles with brown cheese at the top
Steinsdalsfossen · Hardanger cider and apples

Museums in Bergen

Bergen’s museums tell of the Hanseatic merchants, the old wooden town, Edvard Grieg and Munch.

Bryggen · The Hanseatic museum and assembly rooms
KODE · The Munch collection
Troldhaugen · Grieg’s house and concerts
Old Bergen Museum · The old wooden town
Lysøen · Ole Bull’s island villa

Nature and day trips near Bergen

Bergen is the gateway to the fjords of western Norway — the Hardangerfjord and the Sognefjord — and the city’s own seven mountains are walked every weekend.

Ulriken · The walk from Ulriken to Fløyen
Fløyen · Forest lakes behind the summit
Steinsdalsfossen · Behind the waterfall
Nordnes Park · Sea views at the tip of the town

Things to do in Bergen with kids

With children: the troll forest on Fløyen, the aquarium’s penguins, the funicular and a waterfall to walk behind.

Bergen Aquarium · Seals and penguins
Fløyen · The troll forest
Fløibanen · The funicular ride
Steinsdalsfossen · Walk behind the water

Holy places in Bergen

Bergen’s churches are medieval stone and wooden stave — the merchants’ church on the wharf, the cathedral with its cannonball, and a stave church rebuilt after a fire.

St Mary’s Church · The oldest building in Bergen
Bergen Cathedral · The cannonball in the tower
Fantoft Stave Church · Dragon heads on a wooden church

Nightlife in Bergen

Bergen is a student and music city — many Norwegian bands came from here — with bars around the harbour and the lake, and summer concerts.

Festplassen · Concerts on the lake square
Bryggen · Bars along the old wharf
Skostredet · Small bars in the lanes

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Frequently asked questions about Bergen

What is there to see in Bergen?

The top sights in Bergen are Bryggen, Fløyen and Ulriken. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Bergen?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Bergen without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Bergen?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Bergen, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The Hanseatic wharf.

How do you get to Bergen and get around?

The main ways are Bergen Airport, Bergen Station and Fløibanen. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Bergen, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Bergen that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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