Blissful Bergen – Is It Really Norway’s Most Beautiful City?

In this destination trip report, we will visit Bergen, which is considered to be Norway’s most beautiful city.

Arrival

After a long day of flying from Baku, Azerbaijan I finally arrived back in the country where I began this epic trip: Norway. It was close to midnight when I finally arrived at my hotel for the next two nights.

Being tired after three consecutive flights from Baku to Paris, Paris to Amsterdam, and finally Amsterdam to Bergen, I decided to sleep in immediately in order to be fit the following day for a full day of sightseeing around town.

Exploring Bergen

Unfortunately, the weather was lousy I woke up in the early morning the next day, with dark clouds looming in the sky and sleet falling down. I had no choice but to dress up warmly in my winter jacket and to set off regardless as I only had a single day to explore the city.

Bergen has a long history. It was once as a very important trade port and part of the Hanseatic League, bringing wealth and money to the Norwegian shores. For many years, the city was more important than Oslo, which only overtook Bergen in population size during the 1830s.

Bergen is still considered as one of Norway’s most important city’s, being an important centre for shipping, finance, industry, the offshore petroleum industry and of course tourism. The local university also brings lots of life and culture into the city.

Bryggen

The most historic area of Bergen is Bryggen, which translates to ‘the docks’. This is the area in which you can find the old Hanseatic trade houses and wharves where sailors and merchants from all over Europe mingled and where most commerce took place.

Goods were stored here too, in particular stockfish from Northern Norway before it was shipped off to destinations elsewhere in Europe. In return, the Hanseatic League’s merchants brought goods like cereal to Bergen as throughout history Norway has never been a large breadbasket (the lack of farmland is even considered as one of the major reasons why the Vikings set off on their raids and conquests).

The wharf area of Bryggen makes for an unique place to wander around and it is no surprise that it has been granted UNESCO World Heritage status.

Fortress

Next to the wharf area overlooking the entrance of the harbour are the remnants of a stone fortress which guarded the city. Called the Bergenhus, the castle is one of the best preserved stone fortifications in all of Norway.

It’s masterpiece is Haakon’s Hall, a Medieval stone hall which was the centerpiece of the fortress. It was used as a royal hall when King Haakon ruled over Norway in the 13th Century, using Bergen as its capital.

Harbour

Being a major Norwegian port, it is of course great fun to stroll around the harbour of Bergen and to watch the ships. The waterfront is lined with several (expensive) souvenir shops and restaurants.

City centre

After a quick stop in a cafe to warm up with some coffee and a cinnamon pastry, I ventured out again and walked in the direction of the commercial city centre of Bergen The streets in this part of town are lined with shops and department stores catering more to the locals than to tourists.

Bergen is Norway’s second biggest city with a population of 278,121 inhabitants. Even though this might not seem like a lot to people from other countries, Bergen does ‘feel’ quite a bit larger than its population alone suggests. Being an important regional hub and an education and business centre, the city definitely has a big town feel to it and has all the shops and facilities you might need.

Bergen old town

Perhaps the nicest part of Bergen is the old town area of Vågsbunnen and the hillside residential area located directly behind it. This area is full of gorgeous wooden houses and twisty cobblestone streets sneaking up onto Fløyen Mountain. The higher you get, the better the views over Bergen become.

It is well worth to just randomly wander through these atmospheric streets and to soak up the vibe. There are a couple of inviting cafes in this part of town too.

Lunch

After the beautiful walk through this lovely part of Bergen I headed back down towards the waterfront. As it was around lunchtime and I was getting quite peckish, I went to the fish market for some dinner.

Unfortunately it being highly expensive Norway, you need a second mortgage to pay for some fresh fish or seafood, with the cheapest dishes starting at around 50 EUR. One fish market restaurants however advertised a fish soup for a more reasonable 12 EUR, which turned out to be a tasty choice.

Blue skies

When I left the fish market I was in for a big surprise. The clouds had almost completely disappeared and the lousy, rainy weather has given way to beautiful blue skies. Talk about Norway having an unpredictable sea climate!

Just like my time in the Norwegian city of Stavanger about a month earlier at the start of the trip, I was again reminded that in a single day in Norway you can experience all four seasons of the year.

Even though I loved the foggy views of the mountains and the grey winter skies did have some appeal, the colours of the wooden houses just look so much better when the sun is shining.

Fløyen funicular

One of the biggest tourist draws in Bergen is the funicular railway which brings you to the top of Mount Fløyen. As I was already planning to take the Fløibanen funicular railway up the mountain, I could not be more happy with the change of weather.

On the top of the mountain, there are sweeping views over Bergen and the surrounding area from the viewing platform located 320 metres (1,050ft) above sea level.

Hiking

At the top of Mount Fløyen you can find a cafe, restaurant and souvenir shop – and many tourists do not venture beyond the immediate area around the mountaintop funicular station.

The funicular is however not only used by tourists but is also immensely popular with locals who embark from the mountaintop station on hikes through the nature or it being winter, on a cross country skiing tour.

There are several paths leading from the mountaintop station through the forest. Whether you embark on a long hike lasting a full day, or just plan to walk around for an hour or so, Mount Fløyen certainly is a nice escape from the city.

Witch

On the mountaintop, some prankster apparently started a joke by placing quirky signs of a witch on some trees. When I encountered the first I thought it was a bit odd, but after looking carefully I could see at least three or four more such similar signs I started to appreciate the running gag.

If anyone know if there might be an unusual story behind these signs, please drop a line and leave a comment below as I’m highly curious about the backstory.

Back down the mountain

After I took the funicular railway back down, I spend the rest of the sunlight hours aimlessly wandering around town a bit more and just soaking up the unique atmosphere and scenery.

In one street, I encountered a quirky restaurant (Roll & Rock American Diner) which had a yellow American taxi put on display in the street. As prices seemed to be relatively fair for Norway, I opted to head inside for dinner.

The restaurant had the feel of an authentic American diner, with yet another great oldtimer placed right inside the building. The hamburger which I ordered tasted great, as did the local craft beer to wash it all away.

First Hotel Marin