Bryggen neighborhood in Bergen in Norway Fjords
When you consider a trip to the Norway Fjordssure the city of Bergen It is on your route.
In fact, the image of the colorful houses of his Bryggen neighborhood It is one of the icons of this region of beautiful Scandinavian country, very visited by tourists in summer, and where it is well worth it travel out of seasoneven in winter.
I advance that the image of Bergen postcard Surely after your trip it will stay in your retina forever.
Bryggen neighborhood in Bergen in Norway Fjords
Bergen and the Hanseatic League
That image is the best current reflection of the bergen history, a city that until the 13th century was the capital of Norway,
But especially this story has been linked to the Hanseatic League, that association of cities in northern Europe that was established in the fourteenth century for commercial purposes.
While Bergen He never belonged to this association, if it became an enclave of great importance for the German trade in northern Europe.
Nowadays Bergen has been declared World Heritage by Unesco, and it is a preferred city to be visited by those who travel to Norway.
Port of Bergen in the Norway Fjords
How to get to Bergen
For to get to Bergen from Spain, in the summer season you have direct flights from Barcelona, and from its airport, which is located 17 kilometers from the city center, you will arrive in about 30-40 minutes.
The rest of the year you must opt for a flight with a stopover, specifically in Oslo.
Cruise tourism in Bergen
Of course, today the city of Bergen it is also one of the stages fixed in the route of the Norwegian fjord cruises.
In fact, in addition to oil and fishing, one of its main sources of income is the tourism, doing that, yes, Bergen In summer be plagued by cruise passengers.
Corner of the center of Bergen in Norway Fjords
It is also a city where the cruise arrives at the port and tourists can walk to the center, it is small and very easy to visit.
Since Bergen cruise passengers also do excursions around, how to navigate the fjord by boat, climb on the Flam train or make one Hardanger fjord excursion.
If you are going to go to this Norwegian city on a cruise ship, here you can sign up for a Bergen cruise tour in which with a guide in Spanish and lasting three hours you will quickly visit the main corners of the city.
If instead you want to avoid mass tourism that focuses on Bergen during most of the summer, I can confirm that if you travel outside the summer season, even in winter, you can meet the most native Bergen, that is, a very picturesque and small fishing town with great charm.
The best to see and do in Bergen
Bergen It is a city that is surrounded by seven hills, at the entrance of a 15 km long fjord.
Port of Bergen in the Norway Fjords
As a curiosity I will also tell you that it is listed as smart city by the garbage recycling system with 470 containers in the city.
With a turbine system, garbage travels at 70 km / hour to the outskirts of the city, where it is recycled.
Looking to plan your Bergen visit, here I suggest the better places to see during it, and what are the most interesting corners of what is perhaps the most beautiful city in Norway.
And if you want to deepen the knowledge of the city, you can sign up for a guided tour of Bergen in which you will be able to know little known and very interesting corners of it, beyond the most topical places.
Bryggen neighborhood in Bergen in Norway Fjords
Bryggen Neighborhood
Without a doubt the most prominent corner that you will see in Bergen It is the aforementioned Bryggen neighborhood, where you will find the most charming buildings in the hanseatic city.
Located next to port of Bergen, it is a small set of 62 wooden houses with very colorful facades, all built after a great fire that occurred in 1702.
This neighborhood that was in the process of degradation in the middle of the last century, in recent times is having a great boom and is now inhabited by a community of artists.
During your walk through Bryggen You will see craft shops, fashion and restaurants.
Hanseatic Museum at Bryggen in Bergen
Hanseatic Museum in Bergen
Together with Bryggen you can visit the Hanseatic museum dedicated to the history of the connection of Bergen with the aforementioned commercial association.
You can also see some curious buildings like the old one Meat Market, now turned into a mall with coffee Starbucks included.
Church of Santa Maria in Bergen
St. Mary's Church in Bergen
Also in this area of the port is the church of Santa Maria, which was built in 1140, and it is the oldest building preserved in the city.
From romantic style, was bombed during the WWII, and of its four covers, the most prominent is the south to preserve its Romanesque decoration with plant elements and lions in the capitals.
Fish market in the port of Bergen
Fish Market in the port of Bergen
Another place visited by tourists is the Fish market What's next to the port.
It is actually an outdoor market that you can see in summer with several stalls where you can buy fish and seafood, as well as taste Norwegian specialties with fish.
Or even curious sausages made with reindeer or whale meat.
Corner of Nordnes in Bergen
Near this market, next to the headquarters of the Bergen Tourist Office, there is a glazed building with several restaurants, the Fish Me Fishmarket, a very visited place where you can also eat fish dishes.
Stroll through the Nordnes Peninsula in Bergen
In the south shore of the port of Bergen, opposite the aforementioned neighborhood of Bryggen, it is worth walking through the Strandsiden neighborhood, where there are beautiful corners with wooden houses.
You can also see the Nykirken church from the mid-18th century, whose origin is one built in 1621 on the foundations of the former archbishop's palace.
Corner of downtown Bergen
Stroll through the center of Bergen
Beyond traveling around the harbor, you can also stroll through the streets of city center, which will not take you long since all its main corners and monuments are very concentrated.
The Blue Stone square it is the nerve center of it, and from it you can see the church of San Juan, the largest and tallest in Bergen.
Built in 1893, it is an architectural copy of the Oslo Cathedral.
Monument to Edvard Grieg in Bergen
There you also find a curious monument dedicated to fishermen in which you discover that the Vikings never had horns in their helmets.
Edvard Grieg statue in Bergen
On that walk you will see some gardens, such as the one on the Festplasen square, which you will recognize by its music kiosk, and for being located next to a small pond, and where the attention will catch you dedicated statue Edvard Grieg, famous Norwegian composer.
Saint Olaf Cathedral of Bergen
In this area you can also see the St. Olaf's cathedral in Bergen, whose origins date back to a church built by the Franciscans about 1150, which was seriously damaged in two fires that occurred in the mid-thirteenth century.
Corner of Nordnes in Bergen
With the arrival in Norway of the Lutheran Reformation In 1527, the church that was in ruins was restored by the first Lutheran bishop, and had to be rebuilt by other fires in the seventeenth century.
In the nineteenth century it was restored, disappearing Rococo decoration inside, leaving the most austere current style in line with that of the original Franciscan church.
Kode Museum in Bergen
In you trip to Bergen You can also spend some time visiting an interesting art collection, which is in the Kode museum.
Munch works at the Kode museum in Bergen
Distributed in four different buildings, in this museum you can see, among others, works byPablo Picasso Y Paul Klee, although it should be noted in the Kode 3 the collection of the famous Norwegian artistEdvard Munch.
Climb by funicular to the Floyen viewpoint
While the most iconic images of a Norwegian fjord city are those of Alesund from the viewpoint of Mount AkslaI will tell you that it is also very worthwhileclimb to a viewpoint in Bergen.
Floyen viewpoint in Bergen in Norwegian fjords
Specifically, at viewpoint of Mount Floyen you will arrive throughFloibanen funicular (round trip price, 9.50 euros) whose station you find very close to the port.
With hours from 8 in the morning until 11 at night, in just five minutes you will climb to a viewpoint from which you have excellent panoramic views of Bergen with its famous harbor and the Bryggen neighborhood in the foreground.
Floibanen funicular in Bergen
Boat trips on the fjord
Yes in your Bergen visit you have time to enjoy Adventure activities, you have the possibility of joining one of the fjord excursions, which are done by speedboat with different duration.
On these excursions you will navigate the fjord and have a very different view of the most topical visit of Bergen.
Adventure excursion through the Bergen Fjord in Norway