Best Things to Do in Bergen

Bergen rewards travellers who stay flexible with the coastal sky: rush up the mountains and out onto the fjords as soon as the clouds part, and save the medieval halls, art museums and cosy bakeries for passing rain showers. Here are the ten experiences that define a visit.

1. Walk the hidden wooden passages of UNESCO-listed Bryggen. Step behind the famous waterfront row to see timber warehouses rebuilt on their 12th-century footprints after the 1702 fire, and visit the Hanseatic assembly rooms at Schøtstuene.
2. Ride the Fløibanen Funicular up Mount Fløyen (320m). Six minutes from the harbour, the summit terrace opens onto panoramic fjord views, forest lakes, Cashmere mountain goats and an easy downhill walking path back to town.
3. Soar to the highest of the Seven Mountains on the Ulriken643 Cable Car. Ascend in Norway's largest gondola cabins to the 643-metre rocky alpine peak of Mount Ulriken, or hike the 13-kilometre Vidden ridge trail across to Fløyen.
4. Cruise the waterfalls and narrows of Osterfjord and Mostraumen. Board a 3.5-hour round-trip catamaran directly from Zachariasbryggen at the Fish Market through sheer mountain walls to the roaring Hesjedalsfossen waterfall.
5. See Edvard Munch and Nikolai Astrup at the KODE Art Museums and Troldhaugen. Explore the world's third-largest Munch collection beside Lake Lille Lungegårdsvannet, then visit composer Edvard Grieg's Victorian villa and lakeside composing hut.
6. Get lost in the white wooden alleys of Nordnes, Sandviken and Skuteviken. Wander car-free cobbled lanes called smau lined with rose bushes and 18th-century clapboard cottages, finishing with a heated seawater swim at Nordnes Sjøbad.
7. Explore Bergenhus Fortress, Håkon's Hall and St Mary's Church. Step inside the 1261 royal stone banquet hall, climb the spiral stairs of 16th-century Rosenkrantz Tower and see Bergen's oldest 12th-century church.
8. Take the Bybanen light rail to Fantoft Stave Church. Walk through beech woods to the dragon-headed wooden stave church and the lakeside park of royal residence Gamlehaugen.
9. Taste creamy Bergen fish soup and a warm skillingsbolle. Pair a bowl of traditional Bergensk fiskesuppe with a giant cinnamon roll baked in Bergen since Hanseatic times.
10. Take a full-day excursion to Nærøyfjord and the Flåm Railway or Hardangerfjord. Experience Norway's two most famous western fjords on a day return from Bergen.