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Bergen waterfront, Norway

© Innovation Norway / Jens Henrik Nybo

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Things to see in Bergen

Tourist information: 

Bergen Turistinformasjon (Bergen Tourist Information)
Vågsallmenningen 1
Tel: 5555 2000.
www.visitbergen.com

During summer, there is an additional information office by the harbour at Skoltegrunnskaien and another all year at Flesland Airport.

Passes: 

The Bergen Card allows free bus travel within the city limits, discounted parking and free or discounted admittance to many of Bergen's museums and attractions, sightseeing tours and entertainment venues. A 24- or 48-hour Bergen Card can be purchased at the tourist information office, the railway station, the Express Boat Terminal, youth hostels and many hotels and camping sites.

Akvariet I Bergen (Bergen Aquarium)

On the tip of the peninsula, the Bergen Aquarium contains one of the finest and most extensive collections of marine fauna in Europe. Seventy tanks and three outdoor pools are complemented by an extension containing a realistic nesting cliff, open-plan tanks, an exhibition and video facilities. There are also sections covering marine industry and polar sea life, and an exhibition featuring amphibians and aquatic reptiles. The feeding of the penguins and seals is always popular with visitors.

Admission Fees: Yes.
Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Nordnesbakken 4, Bergen, Norway
Telephone: 5555 7171.
Website: http://www.akvariet.com
Bergen Kunstmuseum (Bergen Art Museum)

Located in several buildings along the Lille Lungegårdsvann lake in the city centre, this Bergen institution is a must-see for any art lover. If you're short of time, focus on the fascinating Rasmus Meyer collection, where some of the best Edvard Munch paintings outside Oslo are on display, as well as major works by other significant Norwegian painters. The Stenersen Collection next door focuses on modern art, again with big names on display, including Max Ernst, Vassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso.

Admission Fees: Yes.
Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Rasmus Meyers Allé 3 and 7, Bergen, Norway
Telephone: 5556 8000.
Website: http://www.bergenartmuseum.no
Bryggen (Wharfside)

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.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address:
Bryggens Museum

After the destruction of several Hanseatic houses in 1955, archaeologists excavated the area and unearthed the remains of the oldest settlement ever discovered in Bergen (dating from the 12th century). This museum was built around the remains, and displays various artefacts, including traditional costumes. Collections include runic inscriptions, ceramics and other items illustrating commerce, shipping, cultural activities, handicrafts and everyday medieval life. Temporary exhibitions are also staged here.

Admission Fees: Yes.
Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Dreggsallmenning 3, Bergen, Norway
Telephone: 5558 8010.
Website: http://www.bymuseet.no
Damsgård Hovedgård (Damsgård Manor)

This lovely 1770s manor house is in Laksevåg, 3km (2 miles) west of Bergen city centre and is considered Europe's best-preserved wooden building from this period. The gardens of 200 years ago have been recreated - both in terms of the plants and the overall design.

Admission Fees: Yes.
Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Alleen 29, Bergen, Norway
Telephone: 5594 0870.
Website: http://www.bymuseet.no
Fløibanen Funicular Railway

Fløibanen has been carrying people 320m (1,050ft) up the Fløyfjell Mountain for more than 80 years - a one-way trip takes about eight minutes. The views over the city and offshore islands from the summit are spectacular. There is a restaurant (summer only) and shops at the top, as well as mountain walkways.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Vetrlidsalmenningen 23A, Bergen, Norway
Telephone: 5533 6800.
Website: http://www.floibanen.no
Gamle Bergen Museum (Old Bergen Museum)

Situated about 7 minutes' bus ride (see Tours of the City ) from the city centre, this open-air museum features a collection of around 40 houses depicting life in Bergen as it was in the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.

Admission Fees: No (except for tours).
Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Nyhavnsveien 4, Bergen, Norway
Telephone: 5539 4300.
Website: http://www.bymuseet.no
Hanseatiske Museum

The Hanseatic Museum is housed in one of the oldest wooden buildings in Bryggen. It was razed to the ground in 1702 but subsequently rebuilt. Furnished in 18th-century style, it provides an insight in to life at that time as lived by a wealthy Hanseatic merchant.

Admission Fees: Yes.
Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Finnegårdsgate 1A, Bergen, Norway
Telephone: 5554 4690.
Website: http://www.museumvest.no
Mariakirken (St Mary's Church)

This is Bergen's oldest building (dating from the first half of the 12th century) and one of the country's best examples of Romanesque architecture. The pulpit is generally regarded as the finest example of baroque decorative art in Norway. Concerts are regularly performed here in the summer months.

Admission Fees: Yes.
Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Dreggen, Bergen, Norway
Telephone: 5559 3270.
Website: http://bergen.kirken.no
Rosenkrantz Tower/Håkon's Hall

Built in the 1560s by Erik Rosenkrantz, governor of Bergenhus, Bergen Castle once served as a fortified residence. It incorporates earlier structures including a 13th-century keep and is adjacent to the equally significant Håkon's Hall, named for King Håkon Håkonsson, who ruled Norway from Bergen in the mid 1200s.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Bergenhus Festning, Bergen, Norway
Telephone: 5558 8010.
Website: http://www.bymuseet.no
Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum (Western Museum of Decorative Arts)

This museum has extensive exhibitions of historic and modern arts, crafts and design. The collections span 1,000 years and are drawn both from Norway and overseas. The museum also features one of Europe's biggest collections of Buddhist temple sculpture and a regular programme of temporary exhibitions.

Admission Fees: Yes.
Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Nordahl Brunsgate 9, Bergen, Norway
Telephone: 5533 6633.
Website: http://www.vk.museum.no

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