We have already met the northern city “on seven hills”, got an idea of its history and present. Bergen – the sights of this city, the former long-standing capital of Norway, are interesting in any weather, but still you need to be prepared for the fact that they will have to be examined in the rain. And if two days in a row during your stay in the “capital of rains” the sun will shine in the sky – consider that you are very lucky!
Bergen sights, their brief description, many photos and interesting videos are what awaits readers today in this story. About the city of Bergen, how it is built and how to get to it you can read here.
Most often, their inspection begins with a general acquaintance with the city and the surrounding area. The best panoramic views open from two hills, the peaks of which can be reached by funicular or cableway. We are talking about the mountains Floyen and Ulriken.
Mount Floyen and the Floibanen
The lower funicular station is just a few steps from the fish market, and you can walk from Bryggen in 10 minutes.
The funicular to the mountain (320 m) raises tourists in a matter of minutes.
If you do not want to go to the top, you can get off at one of several stops along the way and walk along the shady paths and alleys of the park, which stretches from the foot of the hill.
And here we are at the observation deck. Below lies the city of Bergen, which protrudes with a giant tongue into the blue of the fjord.
At the very top (425 m) there is a restaurant and cafe with a large open terrace, they work from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., a souvenir shop – from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Useful advice! The cost of a standard lunch in the local cafe is from 375 to 500 Norwegian kroner, which corresponds to about 40-45 euros, a gastronomic menu for a family will cost even more – about 80-90 euros. Many tourists buy lunch in the city and take it with them – it’s much cheaper.
Nearby there is a playground and an open theater, dances and other entertainments are organized here, in which you can take part, and not just look at what is happening. A little further – a small lake with gazebos, a place for those wishing to arrange a small picnic. In summer, canoes float on the lake.
Fleien can also be reached on foot. For many locals this is like a morning physical exercise, and they are engaged in it, despite the cold or rain – they are used to it. There is a webcam at the top station of the funicular. So that about what awaits you at the very top, you can see even before going up and dress accordingly to the weather.
Here is another view of Bergen from the Floyen observation deck.
You can stay here for a long, long time …
On the way back do not rush to the funicular. Slowly go down the forest paths, breathe in the healing air with full chest.
Greet the wooden trolls that will meet on the playground and in the woods in the clearing, take pictures with them – they are nice and a little strange. Norwegians are slightly obsessed with trolls, even adults believe in them. Trolls will haunt you not only here, it is one of the sights of Bergen and the whole of Norway.
- Address: Vetrelidsallmenningen 23A, Bergen 5014, Norway
- Funicular working hours: 7: 30-23: 00
- The cost of a ticket for the funicular one way 45 NOK in both – 90NOK; children’s ticket – 23/45, respectively, and a family round-trip ticket will cost 215 NOK.
Mount Ulriken
The second mountain, the highest of the hills surrounding Bergen, is different from the first.
Having reached the lower station from the center of Bergen by buses 2,13,12 or a trolleybus, take off in 64 minutes by 643 m via a cableway.
At the top, there’s a contrast right away: on the one hand, real lunar landscapes: not a single tree, giant stones scattered by fairy giants from time immemorial, and several paths that snake past gloomy rocks far, far away …
On the other hand, below, as with Fleuyen, is a green city. But you can see much further: large and small islands, cruise ships at the terminals, a myriad of channels and bays. And on the horizon the Atlantic Ocean shines under the blinding sun.
If you are lucky with the weather, here is a paradise for photographers – all the sights of Bergen are in full view, the photos will be excellent. At the top of the mountain is a television tower, a panoramic telescope is installed. There is a cafe with a fairly budget menu for Norway.
Conversely, it is better to go down the cable car too, although for extreme people there is a choice: on foot along mountain trails under the cable car, on a mountain bike or on a paraglider (with an instructor).
Interesting Facts:
- Heinrich Ibsen was so impressed by the views that they opened to him from the mountain while climbing Ulriken (1853) that he even wrote a poem dedicated to this event.
- And the anthem of the city of Bergen is called: “Views from Ulriken” (“Udsigter fra Ulriken”), but it was written even earlier, in 1790, by one Norwegian bishop.
- Ulrikstunnerlen – this is the name of the railway tunnel that crosses the northern part of the mountain, through which trains from Bergen run to Oslo. This is one of the longest (7670 m) tunnels in Norway.
Important information:
- Address: Haukelandsbakken 40 / Torgallmenningen 1 (Bus to Ulriken Mountain), Bergen 5009, Norway, tel. + 47 53 643 643
- Cable car operating hours: 09: 00-21: 00 (from May 01 to October 15)
- The cost of raising the cable car to Ulriken in both directions (price list 2017): 170 NOK (110 – one way) for children 100 NOK (one way – 70), family ticket (4 people) – 460 NOK.
Trained and athletic travelers also make trekking along the mountain trails from Fleuyen to Ulriken Mountain, breaking the highest point of the Widden rock massif, Sturfjellet Mountain. The journey takes 4-5 hours. Naturally, the equipment during the transition should be appropriate.
Hanseatic Quay Bruggen
Perhaps this is the main attraction of Bergen (Norway), its visiting card.
Hanseatic merchants settled here in the 14th century. Historians talk about some dictatorship of these “aliens”, their monopoly and infringement of the rights of local people – all this is true. But in the 21st century, you catch yourself thinking that you are grateful to those without whom there would not have been a unique Bergen embankment Bryggen, which glorified Bergen among hundreds of thousands of tourists.
Every year, some come here just to look at the bright multi-colored houses and walk along the narrow streets between them. This entire quarter is under the protection of UNESCO as part of the World Cultural Heritage.
Bryggen means a mooring or pier. Wooden houses throughout their history have been subject to frequent fires. After one such in 1702, only a quarter of the buildings remained, which you can see now. The wooden Bruggen burned in 1955, then a museum was built on this territory – in the most extreme 6 houses.
Now the complex consists of 60 colorful houses, they are located souvenir shops, cafes, restaurants, offices of travel agencies. Some are used by artists as studios.
A simple walk along the Bergen promenade with a quick step takes only 10 minutes. But inquisitives, even without going to museums, can spend half a day here, just looking at interesting places in souvenir shops, leisurely wandering around the side streets, sitting in a cafe with a cup of tea or coffee and watching passers-by, at the same time admiring wonderful landscapes.
What else to see in Bergen? Of course, walking along the promenade, the museums located here cannot be ignored in any way. Let’s go to one of them.
Museum of the Hanseatic League and Schötstuene (Det Hanseatiske Museum og Schoetstutne)
The main part of the Hanseatic Museum on the Bryggen embankment is the main chamber of the German mission. It belonged to the merchant Johan Olsen.
All exhibits here are authentic and preserved from the 18th century, some dated to 1704! They once stood in trading floors, an office, rooms where merchants received guests.
The bedrooms for office workers are interesting – these are tiny wardrobes that closed at night.
Merchant chambers were more comfortable.
In wooden houses it was impossible to make fire, food was prepared in special buildings – schøtstuene (guest). Here, merchants engaged with students, held business meetings and feasted in their free time.
- Address: Finnegarden 1a | Bryggen, Bergen 5003, Norway, tel. +47 53 00 61 10
- The attraction works every day from 9:00 to 18:00.
- Cost:
from May 01 to September 15 – 160 NOK, for students – 140 NOK, children can visit the museum for free
from September 16 to December 31 – 100 and 80 kroons, respectively.
Fish Market
Halibut, cod, pollock, shrimp and crabs, whale meat and liver – all this is an abundance of living creatures living in the northern seas, you will find under the canopies of this “half-open” market in Bergen.
True, the market is more tourist, Bergen residents fish in other places. You can cook seafood bought right here on the spot, and you will taste a seafood dish in the fresh air with a glass of fresh beer.
If you have no time to wait, there are a lot of sandwiches with salmon and other seafood to choose from.
They say many seafood elsewhere in Bergen is cheaper. But to look at the gifts of the northern seas, gathered in one place, is worth at least out of simple curiosity.
Address: Bergen Harbor, Bergen 5014, Norway, tel. +47 55 55 20 00
All of the above attractions can be seen in Bergen in 2 days.
Prices on the page are for September 2017.
And now let’s go a little further and open the gates to the country of the fjords. After all, it is believed that they are here, in Bergen.
Hardangerfjorden
South of Bergen, in the North Sea off the island of Strour begins the third in the world in length and second in Norway Hardangerfjord.
It crashes into the coast of the Scandinavian Peninsula for about one and a half hundred kilometers (according to various sources, 113-172 m, 7 km wide) and ends at the plateau of the same name. The largest depth of the fjord is 831 m.
Norwegians consider the area along the shores of this fjord a fruit garden, and tourists, due to the milder climate, prefer to rest in the local villages.
It is good here in the spring, when cherry and apple orchards bloom, and in the summer and autumn, when they bear fruit. Local farmers grow a lot of strawberries and northern raspberries.
Fishing, excursions towards the glacier, to the waterfalls, boating – it’s never boring here. Near the village of Ulke, even an annual crucian championship is held.
Interesting Facts
- Secrets at the bottom of the fjord: on April 20, 1940, the German destroyer “Trygg” found an eternal refuge
- At the mouth of the fiord (Rosendal), tourists can see a miniature castle, the smallest in all of Scandinavia (17th century)
The most beautiful views of the famous Folgefonn Glacier (220 sq. M, 1,647 m high) are obtained from the Sjerfjord, one of the smaller fjords into which the Hardanger Fjord is divided. There is a ski center and a snow park on the glacier.
Our short walk is over, and we are leaving Bergen, the sights in this city have not ended, there are still quite a lot of them, interesting and exciting. But let’s leave something the next time. In the meantime – on the road, for new experiences!
What to see in Bergen and what makes this city special is well told and shown in the video below.
