Bergen city break
A Bergen City break is the perfect highlight to your Scandi summer. There are places you visit that feel like they’ve stepped straight out of a fairy tale — and then there’s Bergen, which seems to have emerged out of an ancient saga, complete with salted cod, painted wooden houses and misty mountains. A perfect short break here is a heady blend of bracing weather, world-class museums, staggeringly beautiful fjords and serene natives. Nestled on Norway’s western coast, Bergen has the dubious accolade of being the wettest city in Europe, but this never dampens the Norwegian spirit. The home of composer Edvard Grieg is easily reachable by multiple airlines – we flew from Newcastle with Logan air.
First Impressions: Mist and Mountains
The changeable weather is caused largely by the seven surrounding mountains which are responsible for keeping the city well watered. Locals are undeterred. “There’s no bad weather, “only the wrong clothes.” This climate is what gives the city its green hills, mossy rocks, and apple-growing microclimate. If you are from the UK you are very used to this changeable weather but a light rain coat is advised.
Bryggen: Painted History by the Sea
A must see in Bergen is Bryggen, the photogenic UNESCO World Heritage Site of crooked wooden houses painted in cheerful primary colours. Once the 14th-century trading post of the Hanseatic League, today it’s a maze of quirky craft shops, artisan chocolate shops, and museums that creak with the stories of salt-stained merchants and their dried cod fortunes.
Wander into the Hanseatic Museum, where low wooden ceilings and lopsided floors tell you more about medieval Norwegian life than a textbook ever could.
Bergen City Break – The Fish Market: Seafood and cider
Bergen’s Fisketorget, or Fish Market has been going since the 1200s. It is more than just a place to find a fresher-than-fresh shrimp sandwich. It’s a sensory celebration of Norway’s bountiful coastline. There are king crab legs the size of small oars, and every kind of aquatic catch, including controversially, whale steaks. There’s caviar in abundance and don’t miss the delicious cloudberry jam.
Not much can be grown in this extreme climate, but Norwegians cultivate some very fine apples. Apple products include ciders, juices, and preserves all made from heirloom varieties grown just outside the city. Norwegian apples are crisp, tart, and flavourful. The cider is indeed a fine refreshing brew.
Art for art’s sake
If you’ve come for culture, KODE Art Museums deliver in spades. Spread across four neoclassical buildings around a lake in the city centre, they house everything from moody Munch prints to the dreamlike landscapes of Nikolai Astrup. Munch may be best known for The Scream, but here, his quieter, moodier pieces intrigue — all heavy skies and haunted eyes. His self portrait is actually rather colourful.
The modern art museums house collections of provoking work. Huge sculptures of people merged with birds and huge metal pipes are quite unsettling. The small mouse on a bicycle endlessly cycling around the room on a metal track while squeaking faintly, was more my cup of tea. In the next gallery an exhibition by Norwegian artist Lotte Konow Lund features a video installation of dissected parts of the artist dancing with concentrated intent, independent of each other.
Nearby, the Natural History Museum offers something delightfully different. Recently revamped, it blends taxidermy and geology and local culture. The animal exhibits are pristine and even manage to leave the confines of their glass cases from time to time! Beautifully laid out and very well interpreted this is an exceptional collection housed in a stunning building. Well worth an afternoon’s browsing.
Mostraumen Fjord Cruise: Waterfall Therapy
No trip to Bergen is complete without experiencing its defining feature: the fjords. Book a boat to Mostraumen, a narrow and jaw-dropping waterway flanked by towering cliffs, tumbling waterfalls, and a kind of wild beauty. Here the cliffs practically scrape the sides of your vessel. It’s the sort of landscape that makes you believe in giants
As the waterway opens into your first glimpse of the dramatically beautiful fjord, Peer Gynt ‘morning mood’ is played loudly over the loud speaker. Touristy? Yes, but effective and perfectly illuminating the awe of this first glimpse. During the 3-hour round trip, your captain edges the boat close to the stunning waterfalls streaming down the rock face and the little coloured houses look like something from a child’s story book. The voice over informs us that ‘Trolls may be big or small, but they are always stupid.’
Where to Stay on a Bergen City Break
Opus XVI is a former bank turned boutique hotel in the heart of the city. Run by relatives of composer Edvard Grieg, it offers understated elegance, live piano music in the evenings, and perhaps the most Norwegian breakfast buffet in the world. (Expect smoked salmon, pickled herring, and twelve varieties of brown cheese.)
If you prefer something funkier, try Hotel Norge by Scandic, a design-forward haven with Scandi-chic interiors, a spa, and views of the surrounding mountains. The lobby smells faintly of pine.
If you don’t mind walking five minutes up a steep hill there are some charming Air B&B options up around the University area with great views out over the city. We stayed in a delightful two story place up on the hill with a terrace and a stunning view out over Bergen itself. The other benefit of this is that you can cook your own meals at home if you want to save your hard earned cash. To say that Norway is not a cheap destination is something of an understatement.
What to Eat: From Reindeer to Raspeballer
Norwegian cuisine is having a bit of a renaissance, and Bergen is at the forefront. For a culinary splurge, Lysverket offers modern Nordic dishes like cod with seaweed butter or mussels steamed in apple cider, served in a former art museum by chefs who look like indie band members.
For traditional fare, don’t miss Bryggeloftet & Stuene, a wood-panelled institution where you can sample raspeballer (potato dumplings), klippfisk (salt cod), and even reindeer stew if you’re feeling bold.
Cafés abound, and the cinnamon buns at Godt Brød are so good. Pair one with a black coffee and you’ll feel ready to climb a mountain. We had a salmon burger, fries and a half a cider in the fish market. This cost almost £100 for two people.
High Trust and Higher Views
Norway is often cited as a high-trust society, and Bergen is a living example. People leave their prams (with babies in them!) outside cafés while they sip coffee indoors, a custom that would cause fainting in most of London. Locals greet strangers with warm smiles and seem to trust that everyone will do the right thing. This is a refreshingly optimistic approach that’s oddly contagious.
Final Thoughts
A Bergen City Break is the kind of trip that stays with you long after your waterproof jacket has dried. We loved the gorgeous coloured houses, the street art and the Museums. It’s a city that embraces its weather and honours its history. Bergen welcomes you into a world where trolls are real and apples are revered. The fjords — ancient, mighty, and magnificent — are always waiting.
