Bryggen

Considered by UNESCO to be one of the world's foremost showcases of the Middle Ages, Bryggen consists of a series of gabled buildings situated on the old wharf of Bergen. It stands as a reminder of Bergen's prominent role in the days of the Hanseatic League, an organisation founded by a group of northern German towns to protect their mutual trading interests in the 13th to 15th centuries. The buildings were mainly used as warehouses for the dried fish trade, but also contained offices and simple living quarters for merchants, journeymen and apprentices.

Today, Bryggen is alive with restaurants, cafés and artists' workshops, and a colourful attraction at the eastern end is Torget, a weekday market selling fruit and vegetables, handicrafts and souvenirs. and Saturday 0700-1500. Slightly reduced hours operate outside the peak season.