Port guide: Bergen, Norway

Bergen is Norway’s elegant cultural capital and has a long history, but its setting adds plenty of natural beauty – at least when it isn’t raining.

Who goes there

A wide range of cruise lines visit Bergen, which is a popular port on Norwegian and other northern European itineraries. You’ll have plenty of budget and ship choices. Norwegian companies Havila, Hurtigruten and Viking are particularly regular visitors.

Sail on in

Breakfast early, wrap yourself warmly and get up on deck for the long sail in. Your ship will zig-zag past islands on which occasional houses appear before increasing suburbia takes over. You get great glimpses of the sprawling city, duck under a suspension bridge, and finally arrive in within sight of gabled houses.

Berth rites

Ships dock at any of several spots, but all are within a walk of downtown – at least if you’re a decent walker. Bigger ships dock at industrial Dokken and Jekteviken, so you’ll have to get a shuttle out of the port area. Skolten and Festningskaien are the most scenic quays within sight of Bergen’s small castle and city centre.

Going ashore

A glimpse of Bergen’s past as a medieval Hanseatic trading port can be seen along Bryggen Wharf, where cheerfully painted gabled wooden houses lean over shadowy alleyways. The small castle that once guarded it is only of passing interest by European standards, and the Fish Market has become a tourist trap. Best walk up the hill and enjoy Bergen’s old streets of wooden houses. Then check out the Norwegian art in galleries along Lille Lungegardsvann lake, and St Mary’s Church, the town’s oldest building and a fine example of 12th-century Romanesque architecture. The excellent Bergen Aquarium is a good place to bring children.

Don’t miss

Bergen’s setting is best appreciated from above, and the easiest-to-reach outlook is Mount Floyen, just 320 metres high and summited on an eight-minute funicular ride. Short walks will lead you to scenic outlooks over mountains, lakes and the town centre. You can walk back down, but it’s longer than it looks. You will get an even better view from Mount Ulriken. For the ambitious, a classic five-hour hike links it to Mount Floyen.

Get active

Norwegians are outdoorsy people and Bergen has a fine fjord and mountain setting, so you have plenty of active options, although you should be aware that rain is experienced far more often than sunshine in this damp city. Among options are kayaking, cycling, zip-lining and fishing. Fana Golf Club is a scenic 18-hole course 11 kilometres from the city. You’ll find abundant hiking options on any of the seven mountains that ring Bergen; trails are well signposted and outlooks magnificent.

Retail therapy

You have to be slightly mad or impossibly rich to shop in Norway, although Nordic style is admittedly hard to resist. Galleriet is the best shopping mall for its many smaller designer boutiques. For Norwegian fashion, try Oleana, for handicrafts Norsk Flid Husfliden and Hjertholm. Berle Bryggen stocks a good range of upmarket knitwear. Gamle Strandgaten, Hollendergaten and Torgallmenningen are pedestrianised streets for enthusiastic shoppers.

Further afield

Bergen is a very agreeable city, and you’ll see grander fjords elsewhere in Norway, so you may want to stick to the town. Still, excursions will take you to Hardangerfjord, which gushes with waterfalls, or kayaking in the Oygarden Islands. Ten kilometres south of town is Troldhaugen, the lakeshore home of composer Edvard Grieg, who wrote some of his best works here. The interior has remained largely unaltered since Grieg died in 1907. Some cruise lines offer private recitals there.