17 Fabulous Things to Do in Bergen, Norway (My Memories)
When you’re planning your first trip to Norway, where will your dart land on the map?
On the metropolitan capital of Oslo, home to the iconic Vigeland sculpture park and Operahuset? The Art Nouveau treasure that is Ålesund? Scenic Lofoten with her signature rorbuer red fishing cabins?
All worthy choices, but for me, the dart landed on the mountain city of Bergen in 2017, and I have never looked back.
Bergen, formerly Bjørgvin and also known as the City of Seven Mountains, lies nestled into a nook on Norway’s craggy southwestern coast. It’s the country’s second largest city, a former capital in its own right, and my favorite place on earth. I’ve been four times now, and each time is filled with comfortingly familiar experiences and new gems alike. While I’ll never claim to know everything about Bergen, I have a long, long list of sights, eats, and places I adore, and I’d love to share a few of them with you!
Picturesque Places
On the ground or atop a mountain, Bergen is full of unforgettable views.
Fløyen and Fløibanen
One of the fabled Seven Mountains, Fløyen is notable for how close it is to Bergen: right in the middle of it all! You can have lunch in the fishmarket and then, even at a leisurely stroll, be at the Fløibanen funicular entrance in under ten minutes. You can hike up Fløyen, there’s a nice winding pathway up, but I really do suggest taking the funicular up to the top. It’s an amazing ride–four minutes if you get the direct trip–that allows you to see the city unfurl at your feet through the big glass windows of the car. And then once you’re at the top? There’s some glorious hiking, a café, a fine dining restaurant, and best of all, one heck of a view. I never get tired of it.
Ulriken
Another of the famed Seven, Mount Ulriken is the highest of them at 2,110 feet. Though not as lofty a height as Kilimanjaro, it’s still a notable mountain beloved of hikers for its accessibility and fantastic views. Like Fløyen, you can walk up to the top, or there’s an alternative way in the Ulriksbanen cable car. While there’s a restaurant and TV tower at the top, the big draw with Ulriken is the hiking, with the Vidden hike to Fløyen being a popular route.
Bryggen
Many cities in Europe played host to the legendary Hanseatic League of seafaring merchants, but they may have left their most indelible mark on Bergen in the form of Bryggen, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. The string of colorful wooden buildings is perhaps the city’s most iconic sight, seen on postcards, in textbooks, and on pretty much any article you’ve ever read about Bergen. Many tourists are content to photograph the 18th-century structures and check out the clubs and cafés on the waterfront, but you really need to go into the alleyways here and explore the local shops with artisanal jewelry, artwork, and crafting. And if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to tour the tiny but mightily historic Theta Museum, a powerful remnant of Norway’s WWII Resistance movement.
Explore the City
Honestly, if you do nothing else, just walk around! Central Bergen is full of crooked little cobbled streets that it’s fun to explore. Put on your most comfortable walking shoes and get a little bit lost, or take a walking tour. Nordnes with its array of old wooden houses and seaside Sandviken are particularly nice neighborhoods to poke around in.
My Memorable Experiences
Don’t just stick to the big tourist sights, go a little rogue!
Heit Bergen Sauna
I have long loved a good sauna, and I knew when I went back to Bergen on my most recent trip that I wanted to try out one of the floating saunas I’d been seeing on Instagram. Heit Bergen has four locations for you to get your steam on, all with spectacular views and top-notch facilities. While I wasn’t brave enough to leap into the cold fjord water around the sauna–the only way to get your blood moving properly!–I still enjoyed sitting in the hot steam room, the scent of woodsmoke in my nostrils and a great view of Mount Ulriken filling the picture window.
Bergens Tekniske Museum
If you like retro vibes, this museum is going to be right up your street! The Bergens Tekniske Museum in Møhlenpris is one of the city’s more unusual museums, celebrating the development of transport and communication with a large collection of antique cars, trams, trains, and vintage office machines. It’s only open on Sundays from April to October–Saturdays are added in the summer months–making it a very special and niche experience indeed. And your ticket includes a round-trip ride on one of their restored vintage trams, which is a charming, if somewhat bone-rattling, transport experience.
Gamle Bergen
Another of Bergen’s unusual museums, Gamle Bergen is an open-air arrangement of 55 historic wooden structures that used to stand in the city proper but have now been moved and restored to become a sort of miniature village near Sandviken. From May to September, you can enjoy re-enactments by actors in historical dress, eat ice cream, play games, and explore some of the old buildings. Gamle Bergen is accessible via public transit, but in the summer months you can–and should!–get there via Beffen, Bergen’s vintage electric ferry system.
Get Tickets For A Concert
Some of Norway’s greatest musical artists come from Bergen. From renowned composer Edvard Grieg–whose home, Troldhaugen, you can visit, and it’s so worth it–to the comedy-music brother act Ylvis, Bergen is rich in music of all kinds, and there’s always some kind of concert somewhere. And you should go! Even if you don’t speak Norwegian, you’ll have a good time at a great show with amazing music and you’ll be in a fantastic, responsive audience. It’s so, so fun to attend a concert in Bergen and I can’t recommend it enough.
Great Restaurants to Eats in Bergen (My Picks)
Skip the chain restaurants and enjoy a meal from any of these great Bergen eateries
Daily Pot
I confidently tell people that Daily Pot is not just my favorite restaurant in Bergen, it’s my favorite restaurant in the world. Now, granted, I am a dedicated souphead; I think soup is the best meal you can have, and Daily Pot serves some truly beautiful and delicious ones. They have soups for vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores, all made of fresh ingredients and with a wide array of toppings available. My favorite is the Thai Pot, with hearty sweet potato and chickpeas, topped with pickled onion, feta, and quinoa.
Pingvinen
If you want good, real Norwegian food, locals will tell you that Pingvinen is where you must go. They’ve been serving Bergen for fifteen years now, dishing up traditional Norskmat alongside their own culinary adventurings. Go on Thursdays to partake in the good hearty Bergen tradition of eating raspeboller!
Dirty Vegan
I’m a pescatarian, but I love a great veggie burger, and honestly Dirty Vegan serves the best veggie burger I think I have ever tried in my life–and I have eaten so, so many veggie burgers. This is where you’ll find the most perfectly deliciously junky vegan comfort food; I adored the BBQ Stack, a juicy patty on a cloud of a buttery bun with crisp lettuce, tangy barbecue sauce, and two thick onion rings. To. Die. For!
Fjåk
I’ll go to the mat for Norwegian chocolate; not one trip to Norway has gone by without me bringing home a clear ten pounds of the stuff! I am passionate about the subject, and there is no Norwegian chocolate more deliciously innovative than Fjåk, the country’s first bean to bar artisanal chocolate producer. Their marvelously tasty chocolate can be found in many shops around Bergen, as well as in their café in the city center. My very particular favorite is the milk chocolate bar with Norwegian brown cheese–trust me on this one, it’s incredible.
Trekroneren
Trekroneren is the icon of Bergen eats, having been serving up their enormous sausage dogs in their iconic red stand near Bryggen since 1946. With a menu of 25 dogs from bratwurst to lamb to reindeer and more, plus toppings to go with, this is a Bergen institution you simply cannot skip.
Norwegian Food
You can’t visit Norway and not try these truly Norwegian delicacies
Brunost
When I tell people about brunost, Norway’s delicious sweet brown cheese, I get some really crazy looks. “Cheese? That tastes like caramel fudge? Why?”
Well, because it’s delicious, that’s why! I routinely bring home a big block of ekte gjetost, the version made of pure goat’s milk whey, but all brunost is a wonderful treat. Eat it on crispbread, stir it into oatmeal, top your ice cream with it, or, most Norwegian of all, layer it on a hot waffle with strawberry jam. There is no more purely Norwegian food item than brunost.
Skillingsboller
While my personal favorite Norwegian pastry is the custard filled skoleboller cardamom bun, you can’t pass up trying a Bergen icon, the skillingsboller. The Norwegian answer to the cinnamon roll, Bergen claims it as their own and as such, this buttery sugared dream of a pastry is found in every grocery store and bakery in the city. It used to be sold for one skilling–hence the name.
Fiskesuppe
Obviously as a souphead and seafood lover, I adore Bergen’s famous fish soup. Light yet filling, with all the great flavors of the sea and fresh vegetables, this is such a great meal on one of Bergen’s notoriously rainy days. You can get a delicious bowl at the Fisketorget, but it’ll be on the pricey side. Many Bergensers get theirs at Søstrene Hagelin, where delicious Norwegian seafood treats have been made using the same family recipes since 1929.
Smash
Another Norwegian snack that earns me some odd looks when I describe it to others, Smash is the perfect sweet and salty indulgence. Corn chip horns coated in chocolate sounds weird, but I promise it’s a fabulous movie night treat, and I have converted everyone who ever judged it before trying it–that’s how good it is!
Whale or Reindeer Jerky
Whale and reindeer jerky are not really in my foodie wheelhouse, but my friends who have come to Bergen with me do say they are quite tasty. If you have friends who don’t care for chocolate (couldn’t be me!), then unique Norwegian jerkies can make a yummy souvenir for them. Just check your customs rules to confirm whether or not you can bring dried meat from other countries home with you.
Bergen in a Nutshell: A City That Stays With You
Bergen has been nestled deep in my heart for nearly a decade now; I truly consider it my spiritual home, and my greatest joy in life is sharing it with others. Now, if I had really shared it thoroughly, we’d be here forever! Still, this little list of must-dos includes some of my very favorite Bergen experiences that I hope might become some of yours, too. Which ones will you add to your Bergen Bucket List?
