The Mountains Are Calling: Bergen’s 7 Best Hikes
It’s said that the best views come after the hardest climb, and after four visits, I find that this is especially true in Bergen, Norway’s City of Seven Mountains.
Norway’s second-largest city, Bergen is a busy urban center nestled within a clutch of mountains, so close that you can–and I have!–literally climb one of them from the middle of the city itself. These aren’t Norway’s tallest mountains, but neither are they anything to sneeze at; walking up the 400 meter Fløyen alone without using the popular Fløibanen funicular will take you at least an hour.
Reaching the summits above Bergen rewards you with beautiful, sprawling views of the city, but the journeys up to and between them are equally as rewarding. There’s a reason why Bergen’s hikes are such a popular activity for visitors! A fun fact is that Norway is hardcore about that friluftsliv, or time enjoyed outdoors, and for all that it’s a city, Bergen may be the place where friluftsliv is the most deeply integrated into the urban culture.
Headed to Bergen soon? Ready to get your hike on? Here’s Bergen’s 7 best hikes, all close to the city so even the longest round trip will get you back in time for dinner.
Hot Tip: I mention taking the Skyss bus alot; I find it’s the most economical and efficient way to get around this very hilly city! I keep the Reise and Billett apps downloaded on my phone and buy a 7-day Zone A pass each visit for 315 NOK or $33 US; this covers pretty much all of Bergen’s bus routes and includes use of the light rail, making it easy as pie to get from the airport to the city center. The bus pass is honestly my best tip for getting around town since it covers so much.
Fløyen
The easiest to get to from pretty much anywhere in Bergen, ascending Fløyen is an excellent trek for beginner travelers as it’s really more of a walk than a hike; you’ll be following a winding trail that sometimes takes you through residential neighborhoods. Don’t let the coziness and well-kept paths lull you into complacency, though. There is about a 300 meter elevation gain and parts of the journey can be steep, though it is really pleasant and there are lots of resting points along the way. And this is Bergen, so it’s likely to be a bit damp and slippy; wear water-resistant shoes with a decent grip and pack a light rain poncho in your day pack at the very least. Remember, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!
Getting There: The most direct path up is Fløysvingene; it’s well marked, well paved, and takes you right to the Fløyen viewing platform at the top; depending on how fast you walk, this can take about an hour.. To get back down, you could simply reverse course, but I recommend taking the funicular–it’s a quick ride, and a one-way ticket is 80 NOK, or about $9 US; there’s an incredible extra payoff in getting to see the city unfold at your feet, truly a breathtaking sight.
Ulriken
Bergen’s highest mountain makes for a popular hike with locals and visitors alike. As with several of Bergen’s hiking routes, you’ll see some athletic people of questionable sanity (I kid, I kid!) actually jogging up the mountain, and it’ll be a normal activity for them; feel free to not do that. You can simply enjoy a nice leisurely walk up via one of many routes, the most trafficked being the Oppstemten or Sherpa Steps, a 1,333 step staircase built by actual Nepalese Sherpas to provide a clear path up Ulriken. With a 600 meter elevation gain, this is a genuinely nice if moderately challenging hike, and you can take the cable car back down (a one-way ticket is 255 NOK, about $27 US) for fun; newly refurbished, the Ulriken643 has long been one of Bergen’s top attractions.
Also read: Best Hikes in the World
Getting There: Take Skyss Bus 12 (get the Skyss Reise app here) to Montana, then follow the signs up the mountain for about a kilometer. When you get to an intersection with a sign that shows you your route options, take the Oppstemten route. The Ulriken hike is about one and a half hours, and it’s gorgeous. Plus you can pick fruit at the Food Forest (link is in Norwegian) along the way!
Stoltzekleiven
Another hike popular with locals, there’s a trick to Stoltzekleiven: it’s a one way trip! Tucked up on Sandviksfjellen, the mountain sentry over the Sandviken neighborhood, Stoltzekleiven starts with over 800 very steep and narrow stairs; you’re looking at a pretty rapid 300 meter elevation gain! Because this path is relatively well-trafficked, you can’t really turn to go back down, so the only way out is through. It’s truly a stunning forest walk, though, with plenty of streams and pretty scenery, so very worth the effort. Once at the top, continue over to Fløyen for about 40 minutes, take the funicular down, and treat yourself to a Trekroneren hot dog for all your considerable hard work.
Getting There: The easiest and most direct path is to go from Festplassen; take the 3 (Støbotn) or 4 (Flaktveit) bus to Munkebotn and get off. Then walk southwest on Munkebotn to Fjellveien until you see the Stoltzekleiven sign. It takes about 15 minutes to get there.
Lyderhorn
Across the fjord from Sandviksfjellen is another of the seven mountains, Lyderhorn. Standing about 400 meters over the suburb of Laksevåg, as with many of Bergen’s mountains, it’s a popular daily activity to hike up and around Lyderhorn for many locals.
Following the popular Gravdal route–approximately 7 kilometers roundtrip, allow 3 or more hours for your exploration–is both beautiful and historically rewarding for hikers; along the pathway are several war memorials and fortress remnants dating as far back as the late 19th century. Once you reach the top, thanks to a 400 meter elevation gain, you’ll get to enjoy a jaw-dropping, sweeping vista of Bergen, her fjords, and the other seven mountains. If your usual birds-eye view of Bergen is from Ulriken or Fløyen, this will be a new treat of a view for you!
Getting There: From Festplassen, take Skyss bus 6 (Lyngbø) to Lyderhornsveien; then transfer over to bus 44 (Gravdal) and ride it to the Gravdal stop. From the bus stop, walk 1.5 kilometers north up Gravdalsveien and Gravdalsbakken to the Lyderhorn parking lot and follow the signs to begin your hike.
Løvstakken
The view from the top of Løvstakken–the highest mountain on Bergen’s western side–is one that makes the somewhat fiddly and challenging journey to get to it utterly and entirely worth it. It’s absolutely stunning and may well be the best way anyone gets to see how Bergen really is an actual large city, despite its small-town cozy feel!
Typically, the route start near the Danmarksplass light rail station is the most popular one, but there are several paths upward, and which one you take really depends on just where you want to start. They’re all lovely treks, with different challenges and an approximate 300 meter elevation gain; the Danmarksplass route is perhaps the best marked. But you can also mingle your Løvstakken visit with a stroll along the new pedestrian bridge at Løvstein, which is also a very pleasant walk.
Getting There: This is one of those circumstances where I may be very familiar with Bergen and I really am very confident in my ability to wield a mean hand with the Skyss Reise app… but I feel much more comfortable leaving the navigation for a Løvstakken hike to the experts at Visit Bergen. You’ll see why!
Vidden
Bergen’s most popular and challenging hike is the Vidden route between Ulriken and Fløyen. The popularity is for good reason; it’s a gorgeous hike with unparalleled views, allowing you to see an enormous amount of Bergen and the fjords. On really clear days, you can even see the distant, ancient Folgefonna glacier!
The challenge is that it’s a 15 kilometer hike, taking several hours (plus a further one if you want to start your journey hiking up either mountain to the route start)–you can’t really throw a Kvikk Lunsj bar and a jacket into your day pack and call it good, you’ll need some substantial snacks, a water bottle, and good shoes; you might even consider a pair of walking sticks. Vidden is an altitude hike in a rainy climate, so it will be cool and possibly quite muddy. But if you like a good invigorating hike with spectacular view payoff, you’ll love the Vidden route.
Discover more: Best Hikes in Europe
Getting There: Follow the directions for either getting to Fløyen or Ulriken above. Then follow the signs.
Slottet
This one is a little bit of a hear me out; the Slottet hike is outside of Bergen, and getting there is going to be a bit more complex than the rest of these; that said, if you want a gorgeous hike with the payoff of an Instagram-worthy fjord and mountain view? It’s worth it.
Slottet–Norwegian for The Castle–is referred to as Bergen’s version of Preikestolen, the Pulpit Rock cliff in southern Stavanger that is a social media darling. Smaller in size but no less impactful for all that, Slottet is in Modalen, a municipality slung along the long crooked finger of Vestland’s Osterfjord. Seen from below, the craggy outcropping does indeed resemble an ancient, rugged defensive keep. From atop, thanks to about 200 meters of vertical gain, your view is a majestic expanse of Norwegian natural beauty for miles; still, mirror-like fjord waters, rolling mountaintops, and ribbons of waterfalls. Slottet is for sure a substantial day trip from Bergen, but you’ll remember it for years to come.
This is a hike that’s a bit long but often considered easy, and very suitable even for families to experience together.
Also read: Best Family Travel Tips
Getting There: You can book a fjord cruise and tour that leaves out of Bergen’s Fisketorget, which is honestly my recommended method since it just takes so much off your hands and lets you really enjoy the trip. Otherwise, the fine folks at Visit Bergen are once again my preferred source for the best driving or public transport directions on this one.
The Mountains Are Calling; Will You Go?
The summer travel season is fast approaching, and maybe you’re trying to decide where to go. Italy? The Canary Islands? France? Greece? Spain? Or… well, consider Norway! If you’re not so attached to the idea of a sun-soaked beach summer, Norway’s beautiful hikes are a great way to get close to nature and remember how to breathe and relax.
