Bergen, Norway
Bergen: Gateway to the Fjords
Bergen, the second biggest city in Norway with 230,000 inhabitants, is on Norway's west coast, surrounded by seven mountains and seven fjords. Tourism in Bergen is big, understandably, since it’s one of the most beautiful cities in Norway. In addition, it has a vast number of restaurants, hotels and attractions.
Bergen is known as the 'gateway to the fjords' and is the perfect starting place for your adventures in the fjord region of western Norway. Bergen is also the start of the famous Hurtigruten, the boat trip stretching all the way up to Kirkenes near the Russian border. Although Bergen is by the sea, it is “protected” by the island of Askøy to the west, which means it’s not as windy as you might expect from a city on the west coast. However, neither Askøy, nor anything else, can protect Bergen from precipitation. And it does rain a lot here – about 270 days a year, for a combined 2,000 mm (80 inches). That’s more than three times the amount Oslo gets. Bergen rarely gets any snow, however, since the winters here are mild, thanks to the Gulf Stream.
History
A Brief History of Bergen
Bergen was founded nearly 1,000 years ago and became the capital of Norway in the 13th century. During the Middle Ages, the city developed into a crucial trading port for the German Hanseatic League. Although the town was founded by the Norwegian king Olav Kyrre, it was the Germans who put Bergen on the world map and rightfully gave the city its name, which means “the mountains.” The history of the city is still evident today with the old wharf, Bryggen, where the Germans set up one of their four most important trading stations in northern Europe. In 1702, Bryggen suffered from a fire but was rebuilt four years later and is today on UNESCO’s world heritage list.
Bergen was the capital of Norway until 1299, when Oslo took over, but the city would continue to grow, still thriving from the trading business. In the year 1600, it was the most populous city in Scandinavia with 15,000 people. Over the next couple of centuries, the population stagnated and, by 1890, it was overtaken by the current capital Oslo. Like many Norwegian cities, Bergen was severely damaged during World War II. After the war, when the it was rebuilt, a lot of suburbs sprung up around the city, which significantly increased the population.
Sightseeing
Sightseeing in Bergen
Bergen has a compact city center set up well for pedestrians and it’s best explored on foot. From the train station you have about a 10-minute walk to the city center where you will find Torgalmenningen Square. It leads down to Torget and the fish market, where the tourist office is located. Between the city center and the train station is a big park, where the Bergen Art Museum is located. The Grieg Hall, which is mostly used as a congress center, is right next to it and on the other side of the park is the city hall with the cathedral a few blocks farther down. For shopping in Bergen, you should visit the other side of Torgalmenningen (toward the harbor) where Strandgaten is one of the best streets, with lots of good shops.
Sandviken
Sandviken
Sandviken is one of the best areas in the city and is just a few minutes walk from the harbor. Gamle Bergen (Old Bergen) is an open-air museum a couple of km north of Sandviken, with reconstructed houses (all but one is original) to make it look as Bergen did in the 18th and 19th centuries. You should definitely try to take a guided tour of this area to learn more about the history of the city. A good idea is to take one of the guided bus tours that includes Gamle Bergen, since it’s a little out of walking range from the city center (see Bus Tours below).
Bergen has plenty of other good museums. Besides the two at Bryggen there’s the Norwegian Museum of Fisheries, which is a 10-minute walk past Bryggen if you keep going along the harbor. The Norwegian west coast is well known for its fishing industry and you’ll learn everything you need to know and more at this place.
Bergen Harbor
Bergen Harbor
The harbor in Bergen is quite large and has always been of great importance to the city and the country at large. The inner part, known as Vågen, ends where the fish market is located. The harbor has brought a lot of business to the city over the years but it also brought diseases such as the plague, killing 70% of the population in the Middle Ages. Afew generations ago, there were so many boats in the harbor that you could walk across it from one end to the other. Today, the boats are mainly going to and from Sognefjorden and Stavanger, but there are quite a few cruise liners as well. An estimated 230 cruise ships visit Bergen every year.
One of the best walks in the city is the one at Bryggen, with the old wooden houses at the wharf lined up looking over the harbor. These houses, originally built during the Hanseatic era, are not quite as old as they look. A fire in 1702 destroyed all of them, but they were rebuilt soon after. The oldest house on Bryggen is the Hanseatic Museum, which is well worth a visit. There are also guided tours of Bryggen several times a day that start at Meeting Point Bryggen, which is in the same building as another museum, the Bryggen Museum. This is the best starting point for a tour of the old Hanseatic district and its attractions, whether you take the guided tour or choose to explore on your own.
Bergen Fish Market
Bergen Fish Market
Bergen has the largest open-air fish market in Norway and it’s at the end of the harbor, which is also where the tourist office is located. The market is open every day of the year except Sundays from September to May and, in addition to fish, offers fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers, handicrafts and souvenirs. The fish market is always buzzing with people and is a great place to stop and get a bite to eat as well.
Bergen from Above
Bergen from Above
You should definitely not miss the opportunity to see Bergen from above and there are plenty of opportunities, with seven surrounding mountains. The most popular way is to take the Fløybanen funicular, which runs every day from early morning until late night year-round. It’s downtown just a five-minute walk from the fish market and it takes only seven minutes to get to the top of Mount Fløyen, where you will have a fantastic view of the entire Bergen area. Fløybanen is the most visited attraction in Bergen.
Another option is the cableway to the top of Mount Ulriken, the highest mountain in Bergen. This trip is best accessed in combination with the Bergen in a Nutshell tour, which includes a guided bus tour in the city.
Troldhaugen
Troldhaugen
Troldhaugen was the home of world-famous composer Edvard Grieg who lived in Bergen most of his life. The house is today one of the biggest attractions in Bergen, although it wasn’t even in Bergen at the beginning; the house hasn’t moved but, in Grieg’s days, Bergen was just a small town and Troldhaugen’s location in southern Bergen was considered the countryside. Grieg was born in 1843 and built Troldhaugen in 1885, where he lived for the next 22 years before passing away at age 64. His home is interesting Bergen to visit but even more impressive is the concert hall, Troldsalen, a beautiful building just around the corner. Built in 1985, Troldsalen hosts concerts three times per week and every day during festival weeks.
Bergen Aquarium
Bergen Aquarium
The Bergen Aquarium is one of the biggest in Europe and definitely the best to visit in Scandinavia. At the tip of the peninsula on the south side of the inner harbor, it opened in 1960 and over 200,000 people visit every year to watch the seals, penguins, snakes and numerous kinds of fish. There are three outdoor pools along with 70 indoor tanks; enough to keep you busy for a whole day.
Hurtigruten
Hurtigruten: Norwegian Coastal Voyage
Hurtigruten, the Norwegian Coastal Voyage, goes from Bergen to Kirkenes, through fjords, past glaciers, around islands – with some of the most dramatic scenery you will ever encounter.
A Brief History of Hurtigruten
A Brief History of Hurtigruten
Connections with Bergen and northern Norway have existed for centuries, long before the Hurtigruten opened in the late 19th century. The people in northern Norway came down with their dried fish (tørrfisk) and traded it for goods such as salt, sugar, flour and other items they needed, which they couldn’t get where they lived. Considering the limited transportation options in those days, boat travel was the natural choice – the fjords and mountains made trekking over land difficult and time-consuming. Boats could also transport far more goods.
Today, times are a bit different and Hurtigruten is not primarily a form of transportation, but a scenic sightseeing tour. A boat departs the Bergen Harbor every day year-round; a round-trip to Kirkenes and back takes 11 days and passes thorough 35 ports. If you feel that an 11-day trip is too much, a one-way trip from Bergen to Kirkenes takes six days. You can take a car onboard, then drive it from Kirkenes back down the coast or wherever else you’d rather go. You can also travel shorter distances on the Hurtigruten and by doing so you might actually end up saving time as opposed to other means of transportation. Going from one port to the next on the Coastal Voyage could well be faster than taking the bus or car and remember that there are no train connections along the coast north of Bodø.
Flåm, Norway
Flåm
Flåm is mostly known for its famous railway, but also for the natural surroundings, with some of the best areas for outdoor activities such as hiking and biking. It’s in a valley at the end of the Aurlandsfjord, which is a branch of the grand Sognefjord. Since 1992, the main road between Oslo and Bergen (the E16) has been going through the Flåm area, which obviously hasn’t hurt the town’s popularity. Myrdal, near Flåm, is one of the stations on the Bergen Railway line, the line between Oslo and Bergen.
Sightseeing in Flåm
Sightseeing in Flåm
Borgund is not the oldest nor the biggest stave church in Norway; those honors belong to Urnes and Heddal respectively, but it’s the most distinctive because it is so well preserved. Borgund was built around the year 1150 and has most of its original parts still intact.
The church can be found along the E16 Highway east of Lærdal by the end of the Sognefjord. You can get there from the Flåm area either by taking the car-ferry from Gudvangen or taking the Aurland Road, aka the Snow Road, which is only open in the summer. Otherwise, the world’s longest roadtunnel, the Lærdal Tunnel (24.5 km/14.7 miles long) is at your disposal. The Borgund Stave Church is open May-September.
Sogn & Fjordane
Sogn and Fjordane
For those seeking the pulse of a big city, don’t bother coming to Sogn and Fjordane, where the biggest town is Florø, with 10,000 inhabitants. This county, which stretches from Geiranger in the north to the Voss area in the south, has some of the most fascinating natural sights Norway can offer. Take for example the Sognefjord, the longest and deepest of all the fjords in the world; or Jostedalsbreen, the biggest glacier in mainland Europe. You will also find here the highest mountain in Scandinavia, Mount Galdhøpiggen, 2,400 m (7,200 feet) above sea level.
The Jostedalsbreen Glacier
The Jostedalsbreen Glacier
The biggest glacier in mainland Europe, Jostedalsbreen, is today popular for recreational purposes and easily accessible through guided tours. There was a time, however, when the glacier had to be crossed by people transporting their cattle from the Sognefjord area to Nordfjord or vice versa. That was no small feat considering the huge size of the glacier. Jostedalsbreen has, like most other glaciers, several branches (also known as tongues or arms), of which 22 carry individual names. Some of the best known branches are Nigardsbreen, Austdalsbreen and Bergsetbreen.
Jostedalsbreen can be accessed both from the north and the south. There are tourist information centers in Skei, Byrkjelo, Olden, Stryn and Sandane, on the Nordfjord in the north, and Balestrand, Sogndal, Hafslo, Gaupne and Skjolden, on the Sognefjord, south of Jostedalsbreen. You can stop by any of these to pick up a road map of the area.
Two of the best places to visit at Jostedalsbreen are Jostedalen and Fjærland, which are both accessed from the south. Both also have tourist information centers.
The Nigardsbreen Glacier
The Nigardsbreen Glacier
Jostedalen, north of Gaupne, is where you access the Nigardsbreen Glacier, which is probably the best-known and most popular branch of the Jostedalsbreen Glacier. More than 30,000 tourists visit Nigardsbreen every year; considering the relatively small area people occupy between the village of Jostedal and the glacier, it can get pretty crowded with tourists here during peak season (July-August).
From Sogndal, there are several buses leaving daily for Jostedalen via Hafslo and Gaupne. The trip up is as much of a sightseeing trip as it is transportation, with the grand glacier on the left, the high peaks of the Jotunheimen Mountains to your right and the turquoise water of the Jostedal River running alongside the road.
Just north of Fjærland, you will find the Bremuseum. The museum is well worth a visit if you’re interested in facts about glaciers and fjords. You can also see the fantastic panoramic film showing Jostedalsbreen.
Møre & Romsdal
Møre & Romsdal
In the northern section of the western fjord region of Norway is the county of Møre and Romsdal. The three main cities here are Ålesund, Molde and Kristiansund, all by the sea. The most famous fjord in the county is Geirangerfjord, which is one of the best-known and most popular in Norway. There are over 6,000 islands along the coast but you don’t have to go far inland to find high mountains and some of the most impressive sights in Norway, many of which can be seen from the roads.
Ålesund
Ålesund
Ålesund is the biggest city in the county, with 35,000 inhabitants, and it has a unique setting on seven small islands. The best view of the city is found at the nearby mountain Aksla and anyone who visits the city should walk (or drive) up to see the city from above. The history of Ålesund can be divided into two parts, before and after the fire; most of the city burned to the ground in 1904 and had to be rebuilt. The architects who created the new city gave it a unique style which is, apart from its location on small islands, what makes it so special. Although tourism is big in Ålesund today, fishing remains a major part of the economy.
Molde
Molde
Molde is a bit farther up the coast from Ålesund and is the second-biggest city in Møre and Romsdal, with 24,000 inhabitants. There are good reasons to visit Molde as well, although it’s not quite as scenic as Ålesund. The city center is modern since many buildings were destroyed during the Second World War and had to be rebuilt. Molde is known as “the city of roses” and the roof of the city hall is covered with these flowers. The cathedral is also worth visiting in Molde but the one thing most people probably associate with the city more than anything is the Jazz Festival that takes place here every summer in August.
Sightseeing in Møre and Romsdal
Sightseeing in Møre & Romsdal
Trollstigen
Of all the scenic roads in Norway, the Golden Route, which you find between Åndalsnes and the Geirangerfjord, is one of the best. One section of this route is Trollstigen, near the town of Åndalsnes, about a one-hour drive from Molde. This is one of the most thrilling drives anywhere in Norway.
If you are the driver in the car, keep your eyes on the road through all 11 turns of Trollstigen, which winds its way up the mountain Stigrøra, and wait to enjoy the view until you get to the viewpoint at the top (unless you are coming in from the opposite direction, in which case you start at the top). In addition to the view, there’s a restaurant and a museum where you can see photos and tools used for constructing Trollstigen, which was inaugurated in 1933 by King Haakon VII. Keep in mind before coming here that Trollstigen is, for safety reasons, closed during the winter and usually opens sometime in mid- or late May, depending on the weather.
Trollveggen
Trollveggen
Trollveggen (The Troll Wall), just outside of Åndalsnes, is the highest vertical mountain wall in Europe at 1,000 m (3,000 feet) and the total length from the valley to the top is nearly twice that distance. “The wall” is one of the biggest attractions in the area; most people come for the views, but there are others with more adventurous agendas in mind.
Climbing is understandably a popular activity here but also demanding, even if you are not climbing the vertical section. Trollryggen is the longest climbing route in Europe (4,000 m/12,000 feet) and it was climbed for the first time in 1958. The vertical wall, Trollveggen, was not conquered by climbers until seven years later when two teams, one Norwegian and one English, spent two weeks in their quest for the top. There are some easier routes available in the area as well; a visit to the Åndalsnes Tourist Office is highly recommended as a start.
Raumabanen
Raumabanen
Raumabanen is a stretch of railway 114 km (68 miles) long from Dombås in the neighboring county of Oppland to Åndalsnes in Romsdal. It is one of the most scenic train rides in Norway and takes you through the famous attractions in the area such as Trollveggen in Romsdal. The journey runs year-round and takes about an hour and 20 minutes. The best place to start is in Dombås then heading west to Åndalsnes. The first stretch is just a warm-up but once you get past Bjørli, at about the halfway point, the ride takes you into a new dimension with some really spectacular scenery. The area around Verma is the real highlight of the trip with tunnels, bridges, waterfalls and incredible views of snow-covered mountains even in the summertime. In one of the tunnels, the train makes a U-turn and exits just below where it entered the mountain. This kind of engineering was necessary when designing the tracks in this hilly terrain and gives passengers a feeling of riding a rollercoaster more than a regular train ride. Vermafossen Waterfall, with an 850-m (2,550-foot) drop, and the Kylling Bridge are two of the sights to look forward to on this trip. The Kylling Bridge is a beautiful stone bridge, one of the best-looking railway bridges you will find, especially at night when it’s lit up. The best view of it is not from the train, however, but from the road outside the town of Verma.