10 things to love about Bergen
From the freshest seafood dinner to the best club for electronica, here’s how to make the most of our new Norwegian destination
words by Suzy Bennett
1 bryggen
A higgledy-piggledy row of warped 18th-century wooden warehouses, Bergen’s old quarter is the first stop on any visit. A relic of the days when the city was the northernmost port of the Hanseatic trade alliance, the creaky harbourside merchant houses slump against each other like a group of old drunks. Brave the warren of tiny passageways between them and you’ll find endearing little craft shops, including a pottery, pipe-maker and embroidery boutique. Sunset’s the time to visit, when the sage green, mustard and rust-red house frontages glow deep under brooding skies. The Hanseatic Museum at the city end gives good background. Open daily May– September, 9am-5pm; winter opening Thursday–Saturday 11am-2pm, Sunday 11am-4pm. Entry: summer NOK 50 (€6.25); winter NOK 30 (€3.75). www.museumvest.no
2 edvard grieg’s house
Best known for his Piano Concerto in A Minor and for the music he wrote for Henrik Ibsen’s play, Peer Gynt, Norway’s most famous composer lived in an unassuming wooden fjord-side home on the outskirts of town. The house itself is much as it was when Grieg lived there, with a jumble of photographs (his resemblance to Albert Einstein is uncanny), period furniture and manuscripts. Just as engaging as the house is the newly refurbished museum nearby, crammed full of Grieg memorabilia, including manuscripts, school reports and a record of his first recording in Paris in 1903. It’s here you get a sense of how likeable and modest a man he was. Next door is a small concert hall where summer recitals of his work are held, and a narrow path opposite the house leads to a tomb containing his ashes, blasted into a rock face. Open daily May–September, 9am-6pm; winter opening 10am-2pm weekdays, 12-4pm weekends. Entry: NOK 60 (€7.50). www.troldhaugen.com
3 fantoft stave church
Swedish sauna meets Viking ship, meets Japanese pagoda – Fantoft stave church on the outskirts of town is one of the most bizarre sights on the Bergen circuit. One of just 28 traditional wooden churches left in Norway, it was originally built in Fortun, a village near Sognefjord around 1150. When threatened with demolition in the 19th century, it was painstakingly moved piece by piece to Bergen in 1883 where it stayed until it was burnt down by a local Satanist in 1992. The current church, set among beech and pine trees, is an exact replica of the original, complete with intricate pagan carvings and dragonhead finials. Look out for the tiny window on the left where lepers and outlaws would have been allowed to listen to religious services from outside. Open daily mid May to mid September, 10.30am-2pm. Entry: NOK 30 (€3.75). For more information call +47 5528 0710.
4 havnekontoret hotel
Bergen’s newest and funkiest hotel occupies a prime location in Bryggen, the city’s old quarter. An imposing 1920s pile, it is the former headquarters of the city’s port authority. Inside is best described as boutique bling – all sleek, boxy furniture, statement flower displays, dazzling chandeliers and purple and silver thrones. Rooms have views of the wharf and city, and come complete with mock snakeskin wallpaper, power showers and L’Occitane cosmetics. Don’t miss the original Hanseatic frescoed dome ceiling in the entrance hall to the left of reception. Downstairs is a steam room, sauna, gym and relaxation area. The restaurant has a free, all-you-can eat evening meal between 6pm and 9pm, and serves tea and waffles from 3pm to 6pm. Double rooms are expensive – from NOK 2195 (€275) – but with frequent rain the order of play in Bergen, it’s worth making sure you’ve got a comfortable place to hole up when it’s wet. For more information, call +47 5560 1100, or visit www.choicehotels.no
5 torget and surrounds
Bergen’s legendary open-air fish market is the main draw for tourists in the main square, yet locals will tell you high prices and low-quality farmed fish means it’s no longer as good as it used to be. It’s still worth a brief visit, if only to buy a jar of Norwegian caviar or a fresh salmon roll for lunch. More rewarding is a stroll around the pretty 19th-century quarter behind the square, which is dotted with smart Scandinavian-chic interior design shops, shoe parlours, street cafés and funky clothes boutiques. Foodies will love Matglede to the east of the fish market, a huge delicatessen just crammed with all things fresh and wild.
6 fløyen funicular
Escape the crowds and get a taste for the lochs, fjords and hillsides that surround Bergen on a funicular ride from the town centre. The 10-minute journey whisks you to a viewpoint overlooking the city, where there are a variety of well-marked trails. The easiest is a 45-minute round trip through birch and fir woods to the small lake of Skomakerdiket. A two-hour walk will lead you to the mountain refuge of Brushytten, while a four-hour romp will take you across to Ulriken mountain, the highest of seven hills around town. Rain closes in very quickly in western Norway, so don’t forget a rain jacket, and bring extra layers – the air is cooler up here too. Sturdy shoes are a must if attempting anything beyond a stroll. A walking map is available from the tourist office in town. The funicular runs daily, 8am-11pm (from 9am Sundays). Departures every 15 minutes. Open until midnight May–August. Return tickets: NOK 70 (€8.75). www.floibanen.no
7 leprosy museum
Gruesomely fascinating, Bergen’s most off-the-wall attraction is certainly not for the faint-hearted. This former leprosy hospital was the most prominent treatment centre for lepers in Norway during the height of the disease in the early 19th century. The simple wooden wards, arranged around a cobbled courtyard, contain such macabre exhibits as a leper’s foot, a saw and scalpel used for stave church amputating affected limbs, and harrowing photographs of leprosy sufferers, their faces completely disfigured by boils and pustules. Boards tell the stories of individual patients – some as young as 12 – with the horrific effects of the disease shown in models of hands, tongues and ovaries. Open daily May–August, 11am-4pm. Entry: NOK 40 (€5). www.bymuseet.no
8 enhjørningen restaurant
Serving some of the freshest and most delectable seafood in Norway, the Enhjørningen restaurant is another must-try. Based in a former fish merchant’s house, the building dates from 1702 and is all creaky floors, low beams and wonky windows. Prices are expensive – main courses start at NOK 280 (€35) – but the food and atmosphere make it worth every mouthful. The catfish, anglerfish and salmon trio is a classic; there’s also whale carpaccio and locally caught crab and scallops. Open seven days a week June– August for dinner only. www.enhjorningen.no
9 garage club
Spawning ground of famous Norwegian bands such as Röyksopp, Kings of Convenience and rising star Annie, Bergen still has a reputation for discovering the next rock and electronica bands to hit the headlines. The Garage club has played host to most of these artists, with its Saturday afternoon listening parties, nightly concerts and jam sessions. Less grungy than you’d expect, it’s a pleasant place to whirl away an evening – but come with a full wallet: a beer will set you back upwards of NOK 70 (€8.75). www.garage.no
10 norway in a nutshell
This much-trumpeted whistle-stop tour of the fjords surrounding Bergen is well worth the hype – even if you’ve booked it on a rainy day. Taking in a relaxing cruise on the Nærøyfjord – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and a trip on the famous Flåm railway which zig-zags up impossibly steep cliff faces, the seven-hour outing gives you a taste of the region’s most dramatic scenery. Return tickets from Bergen cost NOK 895 (€112). www.fjord-tours.com
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