Bergen, Norway
Notes from Christina, Juliette & Sarah.
Number of Nights - 4
Time of Year - August 2025
Type of Trip -
Quick Trip / Girls Trip / Friend Travel
TripNotes founders Juliette and Christina, along with fellow travel-loving friend Sarah, were inspired to build this quick trip to Bergen, Norway around a music festival called the Feelings Festival, where artist and DJ Kygo would be playing (the hometown hero of Bergen itself!) in Bergenhus Fortress, one of the oldest and best preserved fortresses in Norway. As it turned out, Bergen had much to offer, being a perfectly quaint and walkable city with lots of history, great restaurants, and a surrounding landscape that got us out into the fjord for a day of adventure. Sometimes the best travel experiences start with a little bit of inspiration and build into something quite memorable!
Bergen, Norway
Bergen is Norway’s second largest city, and often referred to as the “gateway to the fjords.” The city is surrounded by seven mountains and the sea, making it wonderful for natural scenery but not so wonderful for its frequent rain. Despite this, we somehow lucked out with 4 sunny and beautiful days in Bergen. Despite it being late August, temperatures remained in the high 60’s during the day. Perfect touring weather if you ask me! You may recognize Bergen in photos of its historic Bryggen wharf, with its colorful wooden houses, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Just be sure to bring your layers and a raincoat for any Bergen adventures.
We stayed at this hotel steps from the Bryggen wharf, and we all really enjoyed it. The location could not be beat, easily walkable to all parts of Bergen’s city center, and the rooms were spacious and clean. There was a large breakfast buffet each morning which we included in our room fare when booking. The hotel also offers fikka (afternoon snacks) and free dinner buffets to guests. We never sampled the dinner, but the options always sounded decent.
There are so many lovely things to do and see in Bergen. Here is a list of some of the things that did in our 4 day trip:
Explore Bryggen Hanseatic Wharf, and do a short 90 minute guided historical walking tour offered through the Bryggen Museum
The Bryggen Museum itself is a nice way to spend an hour to get a sense of the cultural history of the city
Fisketorget / Fish Market – stroll the stalls of the bustling fish market and try its fresh seafood
Bergenhus Fortress – explore Hakon’s Hall and Rosenkrantz Tower. This is where our music festival was held, and the grounds were large and fun to walk around. Highly recommend attending a music festival here!
Mount Floyen – the Floibanen funicular that takes you to the top of Mount Floyen was steps from our hotel, and an easy and fun ride to the top! Get there early to avoid the lines and the crowds. We went up first thing in the morning and there were lots of great walking trails, children’s parks, gift shops, and restaurants at the top to explore. The views are incredible of the fjords and Bergan’s seven surrounding mountains! Give yourself a few hours to explore, but note that by the time we were heading down in the afternoon it was very crowded, so try to head up early in the morning for the best experience and to avoid a long line to get on the funicular.
Local boutique shopping – wander up and down the wooden alleys on Bryggen Wharf for Scandinavian fashion, artisan goods, ornaments, and whatever else you would like
Fjord Cruise! This was a group favorite of the trip, and we purchased this full day tour through GetYourGuide. If you have ever heard of the famous “Norway in a Nutshell” tour from Bergen to Oslo (which is actually a registered trademark of Fjord Tours) the tour that we chose essentially takes us on the same route, except round-trip to and from Bergen. This specific tour took us by bus to the Njardarheimr Viking Village, then we boarded an all electric beautiful ferry for a two hour cruise through Nærøyfjord, Norway’s narrowest fjord, embarking in the adorable village of Flåm to ride the Flamsbana Railway up into the mountains to Myrdal. It was an ambitious day, but a well run tour, and we absolutely loved it. Bergen is a great springboard for other fjord cruises. Other popular cruises leaving from Bergen include Hardangerfjord, Sognefjord and Mostraumen. I would say this is a not-to-be-missed experience if you find yourself in Bergen.
Fantoft Stave Church – a short and easy ride from the city center of Bergen on the Bergen Light Rail took us out to view this reconstruction of a traditional Norwegian Stave Church. The original was built in 1150 in Fortun, Sogn and moved to Bergen in 1883. Sadly, it burned down in 1992 but was rebuilt as a faithful replica. The inside is minimalist with wooden crosses and intricate medieval woodwork. It is worth the side trip for the atmospheric, almost fairytale quality to this Norwegian relic.
Some things that we didn’t get time to do, but would save for the next trip:
Kode Art Museums
Floating Sauna Bergen
Troldhaugen – composer Edvarg Grieg’s home where you can tour his house and grounds and even catch a concert.
Cable car up Mount Ulriken – I believe this is the tallest of Bergen’s mountains
Old Bergen Museum – an open air museum with reconstructed 19th century homes
Bergen averages 150-160 days of rainfall per year, so the fact that we had 4 sunny days was remarkable!
Food & Restaurants
· Godt Bread – there are a few of these bakeries around the city, and do yourself a favor and stop in for a pastry, bread or sandwich! The bread is made fresh daily, even the gluten free bread! I was in heaven.
· Pinocchio Mat og Vinbar – This cozy tapas-style wine bar was across the harbor from the Hanseatic wharf tucked away in a little alley and recommended for ambience alone with its stone walls and candlelight atmosphere. The staff was lovely, and we had some nice small sharing plates and delicious Trolltunga cider.
· Villani Skostredet – For a change from seafood, this Italian restaurant was in the Skostredet area of Bergen, which I found so charming with its cobbled streets and bistros with beautifully decorated storefronts. This was also a cozy spot and although our service here was not good, the food was very good. They even had gluten free pasta!
· 3-Kroneren Hot Dogs – I am not a huge hot dog fan, and probably only eat one per year, but when in Rome (or Norway!)... The line for this hot dog stand was always long, so we knew it had to be good. Open until 4am daily, they specialize in reindeer hot dogs topped with lingonberry sauce and fried onions. Just trust us, you must try it!
· Fish Me – We had to eat in least one restaurant in the bustling fish market, and we tried Fish Me for some fresh sauteed mussels, halibut and delicious sushi.
· Plassen – This was an unplanned surprise. On our last day of exploring, we popped into this place for a light lunch, and it was great. We got a toast with goat cheese, arugula and lingonberry jam (I wish I took some of this home!) and a thai coconut soup that was a flavor explosion. They also had great coffee.
· Enhjørningen Fiskerestaurant (Unicorn Fish Restaurant) – We had our farewell dinner here. I was excited to eat in one of the colorful row houses on the wharf- especially the one with the anatomically correct unicorn. On the second floor, with crooked floors and door jams, the menu was small, but the food was elevated seafood with unique desserts (brown cheese ice cream!). It is a must, make a reservation in advance.
Practical Tips
· The Bergen Card might be worth getting for free bus and rail, and discounts on museums and the funicular. We did purchase this card, and I didn’t calculate to see if we had gotten our money’s worth, but it made it convenient to ride the public transit and we got discounts in the museums and the stave church.
· Expect rain! We got very lucky with the weather while here, but it rains 150-160 days per year on average, and even the locals say to always have a raincoat or umbrella handy as the surrounding mountains can make even a clear day unpredictable.
· Restaurant Reservations – we booked most of our restaurants in advance, which made it easy. There were likely some that we would not have made it into without one.
