Norway > Hordaland > Bergen
Bergen
N 60°23.397', E 5°19.527'
2009-07-24
http://www.visitbergen.com/en/
Our rating: 7.80
Overall rating: - Rate this place - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Bergen is the second largest and important tourist city in Norway. It is located in the western part of the country, in a fairly remote area. From 1217 to 1299 it used to be the capital of Norway, the seat of kings. Curiously, the main tourist sites of the city are not associated with the heyday of the monarchy, but with more recent centuries. The Bryggen waterfront, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1979, owes its appearance to Hanseatic merchants, unofficial rulers of the city. Colorful wooden houses are a symbol of the city and the oldest medieval settlement of the country.
Bryggen waterfront ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bryggen waterfront ©Yuriy Buriak
There's a lot of other wooden buildings in the city, such as McDonald's.
Wooden McDonald's in Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Rosenkrantz Tower (1270) ©Yuriy Buriak
On the side of the bay opposite to Bryggen there's a beautiful district with wooden houses, don't miss it.
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
The Fish Market is located on the waterfront. We bought there some shrimp sandwiches and frozen fish cakes. The city center is small, you can explore it in a half of a day. Next we went to the Fløibanen funicular (schedule ) and rose to Mount Fløyen (320 meters). There's an observation deck at the top which offers a classic view of Bergen. Besides, a dozen of hiking trails start from the top station. They are well marked, but you can download additional maps here .
View of Bergen from Mount Floyen ©Yuriy Buriak
Different gaming devices along the walking paths at Mount Floyen ©Yuriy Buriak
Next morning we visited the estate of Edward Grieg, a famous Norwegian composer. Even if you don't know who he is, you know his music that was used in hundreds of movies and cartoons. The most recognizable tunes are "In the Hall of the Mountain King" and "Morning Mood". See the timetable and how to get there at the official website . We arrived early in the morning and walked alone. On the shore near the house you can see the morning scenery that inspired the composer. Beautiful, isn't it?
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Troldhaugen (Troll Hill) - House of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg ©Andreas Sandberg, wikimedia.org
What else to see in Bergen and useful links:Church in Fantoft (1170, map ) Open-air museum Old Bergen (map )Manor Damsgård (map )Aquarium (map )Bergen Science Centre (map )Bergen Card More photos of Bergen:
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Map of Bergen ©Yuriy Buriak
Getting there: Bergen has its own airport, here you can see a list of airlines that fly there. There's a bus service from the airport to the city ($15, on weekdays the buses run every 20 minutes), the schedule can be found here . The Oslo - Bergen railway is the highest in northern Europe. Check out the train schedule and buy tickets here . Journey time is approximately 7 hours, ticket price from Oslo starts from $50. In Bergen you can also buy train tickets at the tourist information office (3 Strandkaien). List of Bergen bus companies . A schedule of ferries to Bergen is here .
Tags, Norway: city , sea , ski lift Tags, all countries: city , sea , ski lift
- Rate this place -
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Our rating - 7.80
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Visitor's rating - 0.00
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help